Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008

Transcription

1 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 A progress report prepared by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of State Lands

2 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 At a Glance Florida Forever Benchmarks is a progress report produced every six months by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI). This report tracks progress of the Florida Forever program in acquiring lands for a broad array of natural resources, including biodiversity, water resources, and sustainable forestry. The report is based on a set of benchmarks that represent an amount of each resource that could feasibly be acquired by the Florida Forever program, based on the total amount of land acquired from 2001 to The benchmarks are reasonable estimates based on analysis of the distribution of resources throughout the state. A variety of reports, data, and documentation to support DEP acquisition efforts are available on the FNAI website at: This report addresses only that portion of Florida Forever funds allocated to the State Board of Trustees (BOT) and administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of State Lands (DEP) in coordination with the Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC). That portion amounts to 35% of total Florida Forever funds. As of Fall 2008, Florida Forever acquisitions made by the Board of Trustees have achieved substantial progress in protecting priority areas for natural resources. Lands important for surface water, wetlands, and forestry in particular have been acquired in amounts equal to or greater than expected. However, the program has made little progress toward conservation of those natural communities that are least represented on conservation lands, and has made only moderate progress in protecting species habitat and landscape corridors (Exhibit 1). Exhibit 1. Board of Trustees acquisitions have achieved substantial conservation progress across several natural resource categories, while some resources have seen little progress.* Resource Category BOT Progress Comments Insufficient progress on highest priority species habitat; good Species FAIR progress on red-cockaded woodpecker and black bear. See page 13. Under-Represented Natural Communities Landscapes Watersheds POOR FAIR VERY GOOD With the exception of pine flatwoods and sandhill, very little progress protecting the state's under-represented natural communities. See page 15. Measure modified to reflect partial progress toward completing landscape connectors; acquisition of large landscapes has exceeded benchmark. See page 18. Very good progress protecting surface waters and floodplains, including springs. See page 20. Wetland Communities VERY GOOD Very good progress protecting all priorities of wetlands. See page 21. Forestry VERY GOOD Acquisition of forestry resources has greatly exceeded benchmarks. See page 22. *Progress scored based on FL Forever Conservation Needs Assessment and F-TRAC analysis. See appendix for more details. Florida Natural Areas Inventory 2

3 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Introduction This report provides an overview of progress made by the Florida Forever program in protecting natural resources that are the focus of this landmark environmental land acquisition program. The original Florida Forever Act in 2001 called for increased accountability in measuring the progress of acquisitions to protect a variety of natural resources. In response, the Florida Natural Areas Inventory has worked with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Division of State Lands, to assess resource conservation priorities and evaluate potential acquisitions. This report offers a look back at Florida Forever progress from 2001 to The Background section provides general statistics on Florida conservation lands, Florida Forever funding, and land acquired by the program. The Establishing Benchmarks section offers a summary of how much resource protection could reasonably be achieved by Florida Forever. The Benchmark Progress section compares Florida Forever acquisitions to date against the benchmarks and evaluates progress by resource. Finally, the Appendix provides more explanation of the statistics and graphs presented throughout the report, along with regional maps showing locations of Florida Forever acquisitions. Background At the start of Florida Forever in 2001, there were 8.7 million acres of land managed for conservation in Florida, or 25% of the state s 34.7 million acres. As of Spring 2008, there are 9.9 million acres of conservation lands, or 28% of the state (Exhibit 2). Exhibit 2. Florida Conservation Lands, Then and Now Managing Agency Baseline 2001 Spring 2008 acres Federal (USFS, NPS, USFWS, etc.) 4,031,958 4,026,748 State - DEP, DOF, FWC (BOT)* 2,849,380 3,386,963 State - Water Management Districts** 1,318,087 1,777,634 State - Other (university reserves, Dept. Of Mil. Affairs, etc.) 84, ,157 Local (cities & counties) 286, ,197 Private (TNC, Audubon, etc.) 142, ,661 Total 8,712,982 9,880,360 USFS = US Forest Service; NPS = Natl. Park Service; USFWS = US Fish & Wildlife Service; DEP = FL Dept. of Environm Protection; DOF = FL Div. of Forestry; FWC = FL Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission; TNC = The Nature Conserv *includes 151,570 acres of less-than-fee conservation easements. **includes 324,250 acres of less-than-fee conservation easements. Florida's conservation lands preserve our natural resources for future generations (A. Jenkins photo). Florida Natural Areas Inventory 3

4 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Exhibit 3. Florida Forever Annual Funding Allocation Addns. & Inholdings, 13.5 Working Waterfronts, 7.5 Rural Lands Easements, 10.5 Recreation (FRDAP), 6 Greenways & Trails, 4.5 The Florida Forever successor program, passed by the Florida legislature in May 2008, altered the funding allocation among programs. Annual allocation to the Board of Trustees remains 105 million dollars, or 35% of total funds (Exhibit 3). FL Communities Trust, 63 Board of Trustees (DEP), 105 Water Management Districts, 90 figures in millions of dollars To date, nearly 650,000 acres have been purchased with Florida Forever funds (Exhibit 4). The Board of Trustees account for the bulk of lands purchased so far through Florida Forever. Prior to 2008, Florida s water management districts received a funding allocation equal to BOT, but some of their funds are spent on capital improvements. Regional maps showing Florida Forever acquisitions are located in the appendix. Exhibit 4. Florida Forever Acquisitions by Program, Acquisition Agent Fall 2008 Past 6 Months Board of Trustees (via DEP Div. of State Lands)* 361,139 16,538 Water Management Districts** 223,856 3,636 Office of Greenways & Trails 2,162 0 Additions & Inholdings 22,824 1,689 Florida Communities Trust 36,292 1,663 Total 646,272 23,526 *includes 63,364 acres of less-than-fee conservation easements. **includes 85,296 acres of less-than-fee conservation easements. Establishing Benchmarks What Can We Expect Florida Forever to Achieve? Overall, Florida Forever Board of Trustees acquisitions will add a relatively small portion of natural resources to public conservation lands. Most resource categories encompass broad areas of the state, much more acreage than a program that has acquired around 360,000 acres could protect. Not all of these resources must be acquired to ensure their protection many natural resources are compatible with working landscapes such as agriculture or silviculture. Nevertheless, success in conserving Florida s most important natural resources will require further efforts beyond what Florida Forever has achieved, across the full range of possible conservation actions. Florida Natural Areas Inventory 4

5 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 The Board of Trustees has acquired 361,139 acres through the Florida Forever program duration of The FNAI Florida Forever Conservation Needs Assessment maps locations of high priority natural resources throughout the state, and the Florida Forever Tool for Efficient Resource Acquisition and Conservation (F-TRAC) analysis identifies an ideal portfolio of lands that would provide the most protection for the broadest range of resources given the amount of land acquired (see Appendix for links to documentation). Using these analyses, we can estimate the amount of each resource that we could reasonably expect to acquire through Florida Forever. Viewing the estimates as benchmarks allows us to measure Florida Forever s progress in conservation efforts. Not all benchmarks should be considered equally. Each natural resource category is divided into priority classes in order to better identify the most important lands statewide for each resource. The highest priorities should be considered the primary targets for land acquisition. Only benchmarks for the top three priority classes for each resource are used to evaluate overall progress as reported in Exhibit 1. We should not expect the Florida Forever program to achieve 100% of every benchmark. Several factors may work against efforts to purchase the ideal lands for resource protection (Exhibit 5). Nevertheless, these benchmarks provide a reasonable and challenging measure against which to evaluate Florida Forever progress. Exhibit 5. Acquiring the most valuable resources is not always a practical option for a variety of reasons. Willing Sellers Florida Forever is a willing seller program, and some owners of land with high resource value may be unwilling to sell at a fair market price that the state is willing to pay. Parcel Configuration Parcels available for purchase may be large tracts or bundles of several tracts, not all of which feature resources of interest. The state may choose to purchase the entire area in order to acquire important resources on a subset of those lands. Prohibitive Cost Many lands in Florida that are known to support valuable natural resources are simply far too expensive to be considered an efficient use of Florida Forever dollars. Management Needs Conservation land managers face a variety of challenges that are affected by the size and configuration of land parcels under their jurisdiction (for example: prescribed burning; security enforcement). Land purchases may include areas beyond the resources of immediate interest in order to facilitate land management. Tradeoffs Because the F-TRAC analysis is optimized across several different types of resources, exceptional progress in acquiring lands for one resource type may come at the expense of achieving benchmarks for other resource categories. The following graphs illustrate the baseline of natural resource protection at the start of the Florida Forever program, and the additional resource protection that could be achieved based on F-TRAC estimates/benchmarks. Note that these benchmarks apply to Board of Trustees acquisitions only. Additional acres of these resources are likely to be acquired by other Florida Forever programs. Florida Natural Areas Inventory 5

6 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Protecting Florida s Biodiversity: Rare and Threatened Species Habitat Both FNAI and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have mapped habitat for a broad range of rare and/or threatened species. Those efforts are combined in the F-TRAC analysis for a summary view of habitat conservation priorities for nearly 300 species. The sum total of species habitat priorities in Florida is nearly 22 million acres far more than could be acquired by the Florida Forever program. However, substantial progress could be made in protecting the top priority of species habitat: priority 1 habitat could see an increase from 26% protected to 37% if the benchmark were achieved (Exhibit 6). Exhibit 6. Florida Forever could make substantial progress in protecting high priority species habitat.* 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 Remaining Florida Forever Benchmark Baseline Protected ,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Priority 6 Species Habitat *Please see Appendix for an explanation of the bar graphs included in this report. Examples of rare species that could receive substantial protection if benchmarks were achieved: Pine-woods aster (Aster spinulosus), red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), and Barbour s map turtle (Graptemys barbouri). (Photos by P. Russo, D. Hipes, D. Jackson.) Florida Natural Areas Inventory 6

7 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Protecting Florida s Biodiversity: Under-represented Natural Communities This resource category includes natural communities that were under-represented on conservation lands at the beginning of the Florida Forever program. In this case, under-represented means that less than 15% of the original, historic extent of the community type was protected on conservation lands when Florida Forever began in Some of these communities occupy a relatively small area in the state, and as a result Florida Forever could potentially acquire nearly all remaining area for those communities (Exhibit 7). Exhibit 7. Natural communities with smaller areas could be almost entirely protected by Florida Forever. Communities of moderate extent could see substantial protection, while those that cover large areas are likely to see minimal increase (continued on next page). Note: values in parentheses are Heritage Global Ranks, which are estimates of global rarity (G1 = critically imperiled; G5 = secure). 13,000 12,000 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 Remaining Florida Forever Benchmark Baseline Protected Upland Glade (G1) Pine Rockland (G1) Tropical Hammock Seepage Slope/Bog (G2) (G3) Natural communities less than 15,000 acres Seepage slope with pitcher plants, Blackwater River State Forest, Santa Rosa & Okaloosa Counties (G. Knight photo). Florida Natural Areas Inventory 7

8 acres acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Exhibit 7 continued. 300, , ,000 Remaining Florida Forever Benchmark Baseline Protected , ,000 50,000 0 Scrub - Central Ridges (G2) Scrub - other (G2) Dry Prairie (G2) Sandhill Upland Lake (G3) Natural communities: 15, ,000 acres Coastal Uplands (G3) 1,100,000 1,000, , , ,000 Remaining Florida Forever Benchmark Baseline Protected , , , , , ,000 0 Sandhill (G3) Upland Hardwood Forest (G4) Pine Flatwoods (G4) Coastal Wetlands (G5) Natural Communities greater than 300,000 acres Florida Natural Areas Inventory 8

9 number of corridors/landscapes Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Protecting Florida s Green Infrastructure: Greenways and Large Landscapes The University of Florida GeoPlan center, in cooperation with DEP, has developed an Ecological Greenways Network that identifies hubs of large natural areas that are mostly protected on current conservation lands, and linkage corridors that would allow wide ranging animals such as bear and panther to migrate between hubs. These ecological greenways have taken on additional importance in the face of potential impacts from global climate change, which could result in significant species migrations. FNAI also mapped important large natural landscapes that would benefit from further conservation efforts. The Florida Forever Act identifies large landscapes as natural areas of greater than 50,000 acres. These resource categories were not included in the F-TRAC analysis (see Appendix for links to documentation), so benchmarks were estimated by comparing the F-TRAC portfolio results to those areas identified as high priorities for greenways and landscapes (Exhibit 8). For greenways, the benchmarks count the number of actual greenways corridors completed, rather than acres acquired. Almost by definition greenways and landscapes occupy large areas, so we would not expect the Florida Forever program to achieve substantial progress in these categories. Note that greenways corridors were identified around existing conservation lands, so none were completed at baseline. Also, there is not a fixed total of large landscapes (any area larger than 50,000 acres would qualify), so no remaining value is shown in the graph. Exhibit 8. Florida Forever can achieve moderate progress toward completing greenways corridors and protecting large landscapes Remaining Florida Forever Benchmark Baseline Protected Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Large Landscapes Ecological Greenways Network Priority Florida Natural Areas Inventory 9

10 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Protecting Florida s Water Resources: High Quality Watersheds This category includes priorities for important surface waters and natural floodplain. The surface waters included in this analysis are those with generally good water quality that need protection, such as springs, aquatic preserves, shellfish harvesting areas, seagrass beds, national estuary preserves, and water bodies designated as Outstanding Florida Waters. Water bodies with poor quality that are in need of restoration are generally not included in this analysis. Surface water and floodplain priorities cover a large portion of the state, so we would not expect substantial portions to be acquired through Florida Forever (Exhibit 9). Water resources are also a focus of Florida s water management districts, which receive Florida Forever funds separate from those of the Board of Trustees. Exhibit 9. Florida Forever is likely to protect a relatively small amount of high quality watershed priorities. 11,000,000 10,000,000 9,000,000 8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Remaining Florida Forever Benchmark Baseline Protected Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Priority 6 Priority 7 High Quality Watersheds Lands adjacent to Lake Okeechobee are among the highest watershed priorities, due to the lake s status as a source of drinking water for a large segment of south Florida s population. Florida Natural Areas Inventory 10

11 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Protecting Florida s Water Resources: Wetland Communities Wetlands have long been the focus of both regulatory and conservation efforts. As a result, a substantial amount of the highest priority wetlands already have protection status. While Florida Forever is likely to add only a small percentage, the program could still acquire more than 150,000 acres of additional wetlands (Exhibit 10). Exhibit 10. Florida Forever is likely to protect a relatively small amount of remaining wetlands. 7,000,000 6,000,000 5,000,000 Remaining Florida Forever Benchmark Baseline Protected ,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Wetlands Floodplain swamp, Torreya State Park, Liberty County (G. Knight photo). Florida Natural Areas Inventory 11

12 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Protecting Florida s Forestry Resources One purpose of Florida conservation lands is the sustainable harvest of natural resources, primarily timber. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Forestry (DOF) manages Florida s state forests. For this analysis, the highest priority forest resources are those lands that are most suitable for growing pine and are nearest to industry mills. A relatively small amount of additional forest lands are likely to be added to the state s conservation lands by the Florida Forever program (Exhibit 11). Exhibit 11. Florida Forever is likely to protect a relatively small amount of additional lands suitable for sustainable forestry. 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 Remaining Florida Forever Benchmark Baseline Protected ,000, ,000 0 Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Sustainable Forestry Florida s state forests are a significant component of the state s conservation lands, providing recreational opportunities and habitat protection in addition to sustainable forestry. Florida Natural Areas Inventory 12

13 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Benchmark Progress What Has Florida Forever Achieved So Far? The following graphs compare the benchmarks for each resource to actual Board of Trustees acquisitions from the start of Florida Forever purchases in 2001 through Spring Species Habitat Progress: FAIR Florida Forever has exceeded benchmarks for mid- to low-priority species habitat. However, more than 40,000 additional acres of higher priority habitat need to be acquired to achieve benchmarks (Exhibit 12). Exhibit 12. Acquisitions have made good progress on mid- to low-priority species habitat, but protection of top priority habitat is well below what could be achieved. 80,000 70,000 Remaining needed to achieve Benchmark BOT acquisitions in excess of Benchmark BOT acquisitions up to Benchmark 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Priority 6 Species habitat To date, eight species have seen at least 10% of their habitat protected through Florida Forever acquisitions. In addition, habitat for seven wide-ranging species covers 5% or more of lands acquired (Exhibit 13). Florida Natural Areas Inventory 13

14 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Exhibit 13. Notable Species Habitat Acquisitions Species BOT Acres Acquired Percent of Species' Habitat Percent of BOT Acquisitions 10% or more of species' habitat acquired: Cooley's meadowrue 22 64% 0.006% Apalachicola rosemary 5,432 30% 1.6% Fire-back crayfish 1,216 29% 0.4% Florida yew 1,238 20% 0.4% Florida waxweed 1,237 17% 0.4% Telephus spurge 2,386 13% 0.69% Florida torreya 1,119 11% 0.3% Beautiful pawpaw 2,131 10% 0.6% 5% or more of BOT acquisitions: Red-cockaded woodpecker 83,767 4% 23% Florida black bear 79,985 5% 21% Crested caracara 60,516 3% 18% Florida sandhill crane 56,622 1% 16% Eastern indigo snake 58,343 1% 16% Florida panther 32,551 1% 9% Wood stork 24,643 1% 7% Cooley s meadowrue (Thalictrum cooleyi). Several projects on the ARC list could make a significant contribution toward protecting habitat for a variety of species (Exhibit 14). Acquisition efforts on some or all of these projects could substantially improve progress for the Species benchmark measure. Exhibit 14. Florida Forever BOT projects that would contribute the most toward protection of species habitat. Project Apalachicola River Bear Creek Belle Meade Brevard Coastal Scrub Ecosystem Caloosahatchee Ecoscape Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed Coupon Bight/Key Deer Hosford Chapman's Rhododendron Protection Zone Lake Wales Ridge Ecosystem Ochlockonee River Conservation Area Panther Glades Southeastern Bat Maternity Caves Twelvemile Slough Remaining Acres Priority Areas for Resource 11,743 entire project 100,462 pine-woods aster habitat in central portions of project 8,586 panther, red-cockaded woodpecker, and big cypress fox squirrel habitat on northen portion of project 29,196 scrub jay and titusville balm habitat on western portion of Titusville Wellfield site 15,315 entire project 41,378 entire project 1,447 entire project 6,927 Chapman's rhododendron habitat on western half of project 32,757 Sun-N-Lakes South, Avon Park Lakes, and Silver Lake sites 3,216 western portions along river to protect mussel species 33,587 entire project 578 Geromes Cave and Sneads Cave sites 8,569 entire project Florida Natural Areas Inventory 14

15 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Under-Represented Natural Communities Progress: POOR Florida Forever Board of Trustees acquisitions have made substantial progress in protecting sandhill and flatwoods two of the 13 natural community types that are priorities for conservation. However, very little progress has been made on the other 11 priority community types. Overall, less than 44,000 acres (12% of lands acquired by BOT to date) include under-represented natural communities (Exhibit 15). There are mitigating circumstances to explain lack of progress for some of these communities. For example, 84% of pine rocklands had been acquired at the onset of Florida Forever, and remaining parcels are largely unwilling sellers or prohibitively expensive. Seepage slope/bog communities tend to occur in small patches within a larger natural area matrix, and acquisitions in such areas are generally focused on the larger landscape. In such cases, only a small percentage of the purchase counts toward protection of the seepage slope/bog community. Nevertheless, further efforts to acquire lands for these resources are warranted. Exhibit 15. Florida Forever has acquired very little land that supports under-represented natural communities (continued on next page). 3,500 3,000 2,500 Remaining needed to achieve Benchmark BOT acquisitions in excess of Benchmark BOT acquisitions up to Benchmark 2,000 1,500 1, Upland Glade (G1) Pine Rockland (G1) Tropical Hammock (G2) Seepage Slope/Bog (G3) Natural communities, benchmark/acquisitions < 5,000 acres Upland Hardwd. Forest (G4) Florida Natural Areas Inventory 15

16 acres acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Exhibit 15 continued. 16,000 14,000 12,000 Remaining needed to achieve Benchmark BOT acquisitions in excess of Benchmark BOT acquisitions up to Benchmark 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 0 Scrub - Central Sandhill (G3) Coastal Uplands Coastal Wetlands Ridges (G2) (G3) (G5) Natural Communities, benchmark/acquisitions 5,000-15,000 acres 60,000 50,000 40,000 Remaining needed to achieve Benchmark BOT acquisitions in excess of Benchmark BOT acquisitions up to Benchmark 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Scrub - off central ridge (G2) Dry Prairie (G2) Sandhill Upland Lake Pine Flatwoods (G4) (G3) Natural communities, benchmark/acquisitions greater than 15,000 acres Florida Natural Areas Inventory 16

17 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Several projects on the ARC list could make a significant contribution toward protecting these natural communities (Exhibit 16). Acquisition efforts on some or all of these projects could substantially improve progress for the Natural Communities benchmark measure. Exhibit 16. Florida Forever BOT projects that would contribute the most toward protection of under-represented natural communities. Project Dade County Archipelago Apalachicola River Big Bend Swamp/Holopaw Ranch Bombing Range Ridge Adams Ranch Lake Wales Ridge Ecosystem Fisheating Creek Ecosystem Florida Keys Ecosystem Remaining Acres Priority Areas for Resource 325 Miami rockridge pinelands sites 10 & 14, Navy wells site 2, tropical hammocks of the Redlands southwest hammock 11,743 upland glades on northern portion 58,208 scrub and dry prairie over much of the project 35,402 scrub in north, dry prairie in south 11,018 dry prairie over much of project 32,757 Hesperides, Silver Lake, Carter Creek, Highlands Ridge, and Sun-N- Lakes South sites 109,055 dry prairie over portions of project 8,128 Sugarloaf, Cudjoe, Little Knockemdown, Middle Torch, and Ramrod Keys; Lake San Pedro, Dove Creek, Newport, and North Key Largo Hammocks Scrub at Catfish Creek, portions of which have been acquired as the Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve State Park (G. Knight photo). Florida Natural Areas Inventory 17

18 number of corridros/landscapes Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Landscapes Progress: FAIR Landscape corridors between core natural areas frequently involve several "links" in a "chain" of ownerships. Although success cannot be declared until all links in a chain are completed, measuring partial progress toward achieving linkages is also important, and is reflected in this analysis. Currently, one Priority 2 corridor is considered complete (Suwannee River to Osceola NF), and two Priority 1 corridors are within 1 mile of a complete connection (Exhibits 17 & 18). For large landscapes, the addition of three areas greater than 50,000 acres in size has exceeded the program benchmark. Completing greenway corridor connections is perhaps the most challenging task of Florida Forever land acquisitions. If owners of key parcels are unwilling to sell then the corridor remains incomplete even if a large percentage of its area has been acquired. In addition, many corridors span large distances and would required substantial acreage to complete. Exhibit 17. Partial progress has been made in completing ecological greenways and good progress in acquiring large landscapes Remaining needed to achieve Benchmark BOT acquisitions in excess of Benchmark BOT acquisitions up to Benchmark no benchmarks identified for Greenways priorities Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Large Landscapes Ecological Greenways Network Exhibit 18. BOT acquisitions have made progress toward completing several landscape corridors Landscape Corridor Priority: Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Full Connection Minimal Connection <1/4 mile /4-1/2 mile /2-1 mile >1 mile Florida Natural Areas Inventory 18

19 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Several projects on the ARC list could make a significant contribution toward completing landscape corridors (Exhibit 19). Acquisition efforts on some or all of these projects could substantially improve progress for the Landscapes benchmark measure. Exhibit 19. Florida Forever BOT projects that would contribute the most toward completion of Landscape connections. Project Remainin g Acres Minimum Distance to Complete Connector Priority Areas for Resource Annutteliga Hammock 19,172 1/2 mile Chassahowitzka WMA to Withlacoochee SF Annutteliga Hammock 19, /2 miles Chassahowitzka WMA to Chinsegut WEA Big Bend Swamp/Holopaw 58,208 1/2 mile Triple N Ranch WMA to Three Lakes WMA Bombing Range Ridge 35,402 5 miles Avon Park Air Force Range to Lake Wales Ridge SF Camp Blanding - Osceola Gwy / Northeast Florida Timberlands 146,582 / 88, miles Camp Blanding to Osceola NF Corkscrew Regl Ecosys. Wtrshd 41, miles FL Panther NWR to Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed Etoniah/Cross Florida Greenway 64, miles Belmore SF to Rice Creek CA Fisheating Creek Ecosystem 109,055 7 miles Fisheating Creek Easement to Babcock Ranch Kissimmee-St. Johns Connector 35, miles Kissimmee Prairie Preserve SP to Fort Drum Marsh CA Northeast Florida Timberlands 88,083 4 miles Camp Blanding to Belmore SF Osceola Pine Savannas 28,152 2 miles Bull Creek WMA to Three Lakes WMA Panther Glades 33,587 8 miles Dinner Island Ranch WMA to Seminole Reservation/Big Cypress NP Ranch Reserve 12, /2 miles Three Lakes WMA to Escape Ranch Easement BOT acquisitions (red), together with WMD acquisitions (blue), have nearly completed a critical linkage (dark green) between Triple N Ranch and Three Lakes Wildlife Management Areas (upper left). Additional purchases within existing Florida Forever BOT projects (green hatching) could complete the linkage. WMD purchases have already completed a critical linkage between Three Forks Water Management Area and conservation easements to the west (lower right). Florida Natural Areas Inventory 19

20 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Watersheds Progress: VERY GOOD Progress in acquiring lands to protect surface waters and floodplain varies across resource priorities, but is generally in line with Florida Forever benchmarks (Exhibit 20). Exhibit 20. Florida Forever has made very good progress overall in protecting high quality watersheds. 160, , ,000 Remaining needed to achieve Benchmark BOT acquisitions in excess of Benchmark BOT acquisitions up to Benchmark 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Priority 6 Priority 7 High Quality Watersheds Recent additions to Cary State Forest will help protect water quality on Thomas Creek, a tributary of the Nassau River in northeast Florida. This area of the creek is identified as Priority 2 for protection of high quality watersheds. Florida Natural Areas Inventory 20

21 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Wetland Communities Progress: VERY GOOD Wetland acquisitions across all priority levels have exceeded Florida Forever benchmarks (Exhibit 21). In fact, acquisitions of priority 4 wetlands amount to more than five times the benchmark level. Exhibit 21. Florida Forever has made very good progress in wetlands protection. 70,000 60,000 50,000 Remaining needed to achieve Benchmark BOT acquisitions in excess of Benchmark BOT acquisitions up to Benchmark 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Wetland Communities The Corbin/Tucker tract BOT purchase in Calhoun County protects significant wetlands abutting the Apalachicola River, providing both wetlands and surface water protection. Florida Natural Areas Inventory 21

22 acres Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Forestry Progress: VERY GOOD Acquisition of lands suitable for sustainable forestry has far exceeded Florida Forever benchmarks (Exhibit 22). The Florida Forever program has benefited from several willing sellers with large timber holdings, contributing to the program's success in exceeding forestry benchmarks. Exhibit 22. Florida Forever has far exceeded benchmarks for forestry resources. 80,000 70,000 60,000 Remaining needed to achieve Benchmark BOT acquisitions in excess of Benchmark BOT acquisitions up to Benchmark 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Priority 4 Priority 5 Forestry Appendix Florida Natural Areas Inventory 22

23 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 How Were the Benchmarks Developed? The F-TRAC analysis identifies a set of lands around the state that, if acquired, would provide the most resource protection possible for the amount of land acquired to date by the Board of Trustees portion of the Florida Forever program (344,601 acres). This analysis serves as a set of benchmarks by which to compare actual acquisitions and measure progress of Florida Forever. Because there are far more acres of resource priorities than the state can purchase through the Florida Forever program, F-TRAC identifies lands that support multiple resources in order to achieve the greatest resource protection in the least area. F-TRAC results in an optimal scenario that balances the need to protect a variety of different resource priorities. More acres could be acquired for any one resource than the F-TRAC scenario identifies, but this excess would come at the expense of other resources, and the result would likely be less overall resource protection than the amounts identified by F-TRAC. Full documentation for the Florida Forever Conservation Needs Assessment and F-TRAC can be found at these links: Understanding the Graphs For each of the resource categories included in F-TRAC, the first graph provides an overview of protection status: Remaining: The amount of each resource that would be remaining (not on conservation lands) throughout the state if Benchmark amounts were acquired by the Florida Forever program. Florida Forever Benchmark: The amount of each resource that could be acquired by the Florida Forever program under the optimal F-TRAC scenario. Baseline Protected 2001: The amount of each resource that occurred on conservation lands at the start of the Florida Forever program in the spring of Florida Natural Areas Inventory 23

24 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 The second graph provides a zoomed-in view of the Florida Forever Benchmarks for each resource, and compares them against actual acres acquired to date: How is Progress Measured? For each resource priority class, BOT acquisitions are compared against the benchmarks to obtain a percent of benchmark acquired. This percentage is averaged across the top three priority classed to achieve a single statistic for the resource category. The priority classes are weighted so that the percentage for priority 1 receives more weight in the average than the percentage for priority 2 and so on. The final statistic for each resource category is therefore a weighted percent of benchmark, as this example for the Species category shows: SPECIES Priority 1 Priority 2 Priority 3 Spring 2007 Benchmark 109,816 58,428 51,417 BOT acquisitions to date 17,491 56,508 68,176 Percent of Benchmark 16% 97% 133% Weight Weighted Percent Weighted Average Percent of Benchmark: 63% This statistic is used to score progress as follows: Weighted % of Criteria Benchmark VERY GOOD >= 95% GOOD 80-94% FAIR 60-79% MARGINAL 40-59% POOR < 40% Florida Natural Areas Inventory 24

25 Note: many parcels of land have been acquired by the Florida Forever Board of Trustees that may be too small to see at this scale. Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Florida Natural Areas Inventory 25

26 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Florida Natural Areas Inventory 26

27 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Florida Natural Areas Inventory 27

28 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Florida Natural Areas Inventory 28

29 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Florida Natural Areas Inventory 29

30 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Note: many parcels of land have been acquired by the Florida Forever Board of Trustees that may be too small to see at this scale. Overall, more than 1,400 acres have been acquired throughout the Florida Keys and Miami- Dade County. Florida Natural Areas Inventory 30

31 Florida Forever Benchmarks Fall 2008 Florida Natural Areas Inventory 31

32 Florida Forever Natural Resource Acquisition Progress Report November 2008 Prepared by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Division of State Lands

33 Florida Forever Conservation Needs Assessment Progress Report May 2008 This is the fourteenth Progress Report for the Florida Forever environmental land acquisition program. The reports are produced at the request of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Division of State Lands, as part of the Florida Natural Areas Inventory s contract to provide scientific expertise and analysis to inform the Florida Forever program. These reports document the progress of Florida Forever Board of Trustees (FFBOT), water management district (FFWMD), and other Florida Forever program (excluding Florida Communities Trust) acquisitions toward meeting the goals and measures of the Florida Forever program. Progress is measured using the natural resource data layers developed or compiled by the Florida Natural Areas Inventory and presented in the Conservation Needs Assessment Summary and Technical Reports. These reports are available from the Inventory or online ( For this report, Florida Forever acquisitions include only those properties for which transactions have closed from the inception of the program in July 2001 through September Total acquisitions through September 2008 are 359,060 acres through the Board of Trustees and 246,222 acres through the Water Management Districts. These acreages are calculated in GIS for parcels with digital boundaries and do not include all small parcels. Parcels that FFBOT or FFWMD acquired in combination with non-florida Forever funds (e.g., a separate agency funding source or another funding partner) are counted entirely as Florida Forever purchases in the GIS acreage calculations. Parcels purchased through Office of Greenways and Trails and agency inholdings and additions programs are as follows: DEP/Office of Greenways and Trails: 2,178 acres; Division of Forestry: 13,496 acres; Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: 8,736 acres; DEP/Division of Recreation and Parks: 3,531 acres. Table 1 shows the Baseline of natural resources protected on conservation lands at the onset of the Florida Forever program. The baseline represents the starting point from which Florida Forever s progress will be measured. The table also reports additional acreage of each resource acquired by the Florida Forever program as of September The Florida Natural Areas Inventory updates our managed areas database at least twice per year with the latest information available from land managing agencies. We also maintain a separate parcel database of Florida Forever acquisitions. The September 2008 updates to the managed areas and Florida Forever acquired parcel databases were used to calculate acquisitions since the onset of the Florida Forever program for this report. In addition to Florida Forever acquisitions, many parcels were added to managed areas boundaries as part of the continual building and maintenance of the database. These additions may represent federal, local, or private acquisitions, other state acquisition programs, or revisions to existing managed areas boundaries. These additions are noted as Protection from other lands in the table. In that category, a total of 514,788 acres have been added to the FNAI database since the October 2001 baseline. Documentation on all FNAI Florida Forever analyses is available at Florida Natural Areas Inventory

34 Florida Forever Summary of Resource Acres Protected on Conservation Lands Florida Forever Programs MEASURES Total Acres Baseline Acres Protected July 2001 B1: Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas 2007 a Protection by BOT as of Sep 2008 Protection by WMDs as of Sep 2008 Protection by OGT and A&I as of Sep 2008 Protection by OTHER lands added to FNAI Database since July 2001 Remaining Acres Percent of Total Protected at Baseline Percent of Total Protected as of Sep 2008 Priority 1 1,922,200 1,243,080 17,130 2,920 1,840 34, ,660 65% 68% Priority 2 8,802,060 6,406, , ,230 15, ,990 1,887,420 73% 79% Priority 3 1,496, ,450 21,880 11,820 1,090 37, ,500 54% 59% Priority 4 141,370 55,030 3,620 2, ,390 74,700 39% 47% Priority 5 1,943,490 74,030 7,040 12,200 1,420 17,660 1,831,140 4% 6% Total 14,306,040 8,588, , ,650 19, ,790 5,031,420 60% 65% B1: Strategic Habitat Conservation Areas 1994 a Total 4,037, , ,810 75,060 7, ,970 3,320,570 8% 18% B2: FNAI Habitat Conservation Priorities Priority 1 430, ,050 5, , ,180 37% 40% Priority 2 876, ,120 16,940 3, , ,270 51% 55% Priority 3 4,638,090 2,084,960 53,170 24,870 3,020 92,780 2,379,290 45% 49% Priorities ,003,050 4,074, , ,180 13, ,370 6,428,140 37% 42% Total 16,948,600 6,768, , ,130 17, ,580 9,459,880 40% 44% B3: Ecological Greenways Priority 1 4,129, , ,830 48,400 7,770 67,480 3,064,470 19% 26% Priority 2 4,947,000 1,808,510 64, ,900 6, ,090 2,827,750 37% 43% Priority 3 1,307, ,430 8,350 29, , ,280 24% 28% Priorities ,181,180 5,717, ,790 31,160 12, ,250 5,105,430 51% 54% Total 21,565,150 8,624, , ,450 26, ,980 11,932,930 40% 45% B4: Under-represented Natural Communities Upland Glade % 16% Pine Rockland 10,230 8, ,380 84% 87% Scrub 392, ,520 3, ,150 88,680 75% 77% Tropical Hardwood Hammock 11,330 7, ,020 68% 73% Dry Prairie 187,550 94,050 3,970 2, ,440 86,080 50% 54% Seepage Slope/Bog 12,140 7, ,970 63% 67% Sandhill 545, ,540 6,520 1, , ,270 59% 61% Sandhill Lake 110,400 13, ,180 13% 14% Upland Hardwood 441,890 39, , , ,830 9% 10% Pine Flatwoods 1,038, ,890 26,420 6,010 1,610 18, ,920 51% 56% Total 2,750,500 1,316,060 41,190 11,500 3,500 32,660 1,345,590 48% 51% C4: Natural Floodplain Function Priority 1 1,380, ,970 25,560 23,580 1,060 15, ,550 46% 51% Priority 2 449, ,860 2,930 5,420 1,250 9, ,200 23% 28% Priority 3 687, ,130 5,580 9,430 1,040 13, ,820 35% 40% Total 2,517, ,960 34,070 38,430 3,350 39,260 1,422,570 39% 43% C5: Surface Water Protection Priority 1 1,202, ,440 4,110 5, , ,630 57% 61% Priority 2 7,333,560 3,921, ,490 59,090 7, ,190 3,064,820 53% 58% Priority 3 2,345, ,790 46,850 21, ,780 1,901,650 15% 19% Priorities ,816,500 3,816, , ,450 19, ,420 16,408,880 18% 21% Total 31,697,660 8,764, , ,130 27, ,690 21,841,980 28% 31% C7: Fragile Coastal Resources Wetlands 730, ,920 1,860 2, , ,410 80% 84% Uplands 133,150 88,670 1, ,710 40,480 67% 70% Total 863, ,590 3,070 2, , ,890 78% 82% C8: Functional Wetlands Priority 1 6,310,200 4,419,310 63,470 47,760 5,430 87,680 1,686,550 70% 73% Priority 2 1,230, ,640 8,650 23,260 1,600 35, ,840 17% 23% Priority 3 1,961, ,830 24,620 22,230 1,420 96,580 1,405,400 21% 28% Priority 4 1,108, ,630 51,480 14, , ,200 16% 24% Total 10,610,350 5,218, , ,560 9, ,040 4,886,990 49% 54% D3: Aquifer Recharge Priority 1 790,800 92,650 3,460 2, , ,410 12% 13% Priority 2 3,519, ,950 31,210 26,110 4,820 25,780 2,962,880 13% 16% Priority 3 1,672, ,020 5,740 13,300 1,490 12,200 1,302,530 20% 22% Priorities ,871,350 5,568, , ,340 19, ,140 16,447,350 24% 28% Total 28,854,180 6,467, , ,940 26, ,380 21,398,170 22% 26% E2: Recreational Trails Priority 1 6,341,610 1,587,880 41,840 35,590 7,440 84,890 4,583,970 25% 28% Priority 2 2,512, ,070 43,470 41,430 2,280 50,840 1,839,700 21% 27% Priority 3 3,737, ,430 9,300 16,380 3,600 37,250 2,895,020 21% 23% Total 12,592,380 2,899,380 94,610 93,400 13, ,980 9,318,690 23% 26% F2: Archaeological Sites reported as number of sites c 29,463 12, ,197 15,661 41% 47% G1: Sustainable Forestry Priority 1 2,923,830 1,063,950 74,980 16,580 2,650 20,570 1,745,100 36% 40% Priority 2 2,012, ,480 47,420 18,300 4,600 19,750 1,456,790 23% 28% Priority 3 3,081, ,590 35,680 28,360 2,000 40,870 2,366,060 20% 23% Priorities 4-5 3,562, ,640 46,710 16,800 2,810 55,860 3,192,820 7% 10% Total 11,580,370 2,385, ,790 80,040 12, ,050 8,760,770 21% 24% a The FWC completed a major revision to the SHCAs in However, the original 1994 SHCAs have been used to inform Florida Forever acquisition decisions from ; therefore, we report acquisition progress for both the original and revised strate c A single cultural site may occur on more than one managed area.