WHEREAS, Florida has more endangered species than any state in the Union except Hawaii and California and has been rated as a state in which threatened and endangered species are at risk as a result of continued habitat destruction, and

WHEREAS, Florida has launched the nation's most aggressive public land acquisition program and has provided more annual funding over the past decade than any other state or the Federal Government to pay for public land purchases and enter into less-than-fee protection options with private landowners, including the enactment of conservation easements on private lands to protect wildlife habitat, wetlands, water resources, and farmland, and

WHEREAS, the state cannot afford to buy or manage every tract of land that contributes to its environmental welfare, nor can it hope to outlaw all destructive uses of these lands without further limiting the lawful uses of private property and placing unfair burdens on private property owners, and

WHEREAS, the "Florida Panther & Private Lands" and "Private Habitats: Havens for Threatened and Endangered Species" projects being conducted by the not-for-profit organization Florida Stewardship Foundation, in cooperation with University of Florida--IFAS, private landowners, environmental groups, and all levels of government throughout the state, offer a practical, workable means to add to, supplement and extend many of the major conservation efforts and expenditures of the state on behalf of environmental protection, and

WHEREAS, the concepts behind these incentive-driven projects will emphasize the important contributions private landowners can make to habitat enhancement and protection and reward private landowners for acting as responsible stewards of wildlife habitats and other natural resources on their properties, and

WHEREAS, these concepts will encourage private landowners to not only maintain and protect habitats that are essential for the continued survival of threatened and endangered species and species of special state concern, but to take additional steps wherever possible to restore and improve these habitats so they will support additional indigenous and keystone species, and

WHEREAS, a key objective of these projects is to create new cost-effective and affordable conservation options that will appeal to large numbers of private landowners, as well as to environmental interests and government agencies, and that will work effectively in providing habitat for threatened and endangered species, and

WHEREAS, these conservation options will be based upon sound scientific evidence and designed to encourage large numbers of landowners to commit to long-term management plans to ensure that essential habitats are not destroyed as a result of ever-encroaching urban development or the need to intensify and expand agricultural and forestry operations so they can remain competitive and profitable, and

WHEREAS, these options will ensure that essential habitats are well-managed so they can maintain their ecological functions in a manner equal to or better than they are today, and

WHEREAS, many thousands of acres of habitat that exist today on private lands may never be protected through any other means nor prevented through any law, rule, regulation or limitation on private property rights from being converted to uses which could destroy most or all their habitat value, NOW, THEREFORE,

Bill Actions:
4/14/98 - Filed
4/14/98 - Introduced - HJ 00594
4/20/98 - Placed on Calendar
4/20/98 - Read second time
4/20/98 - Adopted