Building off decades-long conservation efforts, the Florida Wildlife Corridor campaign was formed in 2010 to promote the creation of a statewide network of connected land and water. The goal is to prevent ecological fragmentation brought on by Florida’s rapidly growing population. The benefits are substantial and range from agricultural production to habitat preservation and water quality.

FIGHTING FRAGMENTATION. Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation CEO Mallory Dimmitt strives to connect wild lands and working lands in the face of Florida’s explosive population growth.

Passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act

The idea proved to be so popular that in 2021, the program became an ­official state statute with the passage of the ­Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, which details a specific geographical outline of the Corridor. Stretching from the Panhandle to the Everglades, the Corridor is comprised of 18 million acres – almost one-third the acreage of the entire state – of which approximately 10 million acres are already protected, conserved lands.

“The vision is this mosaic of land that connects our existing conservation ­properties, with agricultural lands in between acting as the links,” says ­Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation CEO Mallory Dimmitt, a seventh-generation Floridian. “More than 70 percent of those missing links are working landscapes, primarily forestry and cattle.”

Through the use of conservation easements and initiatives such as the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, Florida officials are seeking to fill in gaps along the Corridor. Proponents say this is crucial for a state that has seen a surge in population from 16 million at the turn of this century to nearly 24 million today — an average of more than 300,000 new residents each year.

“People were watching Florida change so quickly. They could feel it, and they were saying we have to do something,” Dimmitt says. “The scale of what we’re doing here is a Western-size ­conservation opportunity taking place on the East Coast.”

$800 MILLION. The amount of Florida’s investment to protect the state’s vast network of public and private lands.

A Commitment to Conservation

Conservation efforts in Florida are certainly nothing new. Eighth-­generation Floridian Dean Saunders, founder of Lakeland-based Saunders Real Estate, championed such programs in the late 1980s as the agricultural liaison for ­Senator Lawton Chiles and subsequently during Saunders’s years as a member of the ­Florida House of Representatives.

Saunders says the difference now is that an increasing number of once-skeptical landowners have shifted their opinions about the value of ­conservation easements and initiatives such as the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

“The attitude of landowners in ­Florida has radically changed since we first started doing this stuff. That didn’t ­happen overnight. It was slow progress. Baby steps. But building off those early successes opened up more opportunities,” he says.

LAND-BASED SOLUTIONS. An eighth-generation Floridian, Dean Saunders (with grandson Cooper Saunders and son, Trent) insists that policies that protect private-property rights go hand in hand with programs that preserve public lands.

“The use of conservation easements is key to all this because you can accomplish a lot of your goals without trying to buy the land. You get opportunities to protect land that you might not otherwise have gotten through purchase programs. It’s a phenomenal tool that can be used in so many ways. But acceptance has been a progression. We didn’t just turn a switch,” Saunders says.

Dimmitt agrees. She says that while the idea for the Corridor has been around for decades – inspired in part by the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative established in 1993 – broad support for the concept from many ­Florida landowners was limited until recently. Even after the Florida Wildlife Corridor campaign was formed in 2010, it took two years before the first conservation expeditions took place.

“This Corridor and the way it’s been received now could not have happened 20 years ago,” Dimmitt says. “Even in 2012, we had to go slow and work on trust. But by 2021, it was very different. This has become well received and really seen as a tool for the landowners.

“It took a little while to get going, but now it’s off and running. We have great support from the landowner community. There is a ton of interest for these ­programs and new applications every cycle. Now we need the funding to keep up with that landowner interest.”

$800 MILLION. The amount of Florida’s investment to protect the state’s vast network of public and private lands.

Strong State Support

Funding has increased now that the Corridor has the backing of the Florida legislature. Simpson notes that the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program – which enables the state to purchase property development rights without actually taking ownership of a property – received a total of $100 ­million in appropriations in the two decades ­following its establishment in 2001. Over the past three years, those appropriations have increased to $700 million.

“If our grandchildren’s grandchildren are going to have a similar quality of life in Florida to what we’ve had, then we have to conserve these areas of the state. And the most economical way to do that is through conservation easements,” Simpson says. “That way, these lands and farms remain in private ownership and still contribute food and fiber and stay on the local tax rolls.

“Agriculture is a leading driver to the economy of Florida. More than 2.5 ­million people work in it. And much of the Wildlife Corridor is where we grow our food. So economically, it’s very ­important. But it’s also where animals traverse and where our aquifers recharge. So this is bigger than just the economy. It’s also about our quality of life,” he says.

In addition, Dimmitt notes that recent ­hurricanes and torrential downpours have contributed to a newfound ­appreciation for keeping large areas of Florida in their natural state.

“We’ve had repeated storms over the past decade, and we’ve had more inland flooding from these storms than we’ve had in the past,” Dimmitt says.

“There still needs to be more appreciation of nature-based solutions, but the recognition of how important the ­environment is to that resiliency is increasing. And the Corridor covers a lot of the floodplains in the state,” she says.

Reaching the goal of conserving all 18 million acres of the Corridor is still a long way off. Dimmitt points out that 87 properties totaling nearly 400,000 acres have been approved for conservation since the passage of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act.

“That’s tremendous, but the key is committing to the funding consistently,” Dimmitt says. “This is more than just a single investment.”

BLACKBEARD’S RANCH. This working cattle ranch protects wildlife and water in Southwest Florida.

Corridor Connect Conference

With the recent legislative victory, Dimmitt says not only is momentum for the initiative increasing within Florida, but other states are expressing i­nterest in recreating similar programs. In June, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation held a three-day Corridor Connect ­conference that drew more than 700 attendees and 80-plus organizations from multiple states.

“It’s a big gathering with high energy where we bring people together to unite around this vision and to problem-solve,” she says.

“We had more folks from Georgia ­participate this year, and we’re starting to deal with other ­Appalachian states. There is an opportunity for Georgia, ­Alabama, and beyond to be thinking about how similar efforts can build off this Florida model,” Dimmitt says.

Saunders agrees. He believes one of the keys is to push pause on preconceived notions about conservation easements and consider taking those all-important first steps.

“I believe strongly in conservation. I’m passionate about it. But I’m first and ­foremost a property-rights guy,” Saunders says. “You cannot come from a background in agriculture and real estate and not have that private-rights mentality. You just can’t. I’m not antidevelopment. I’m just pro-conservation.

“Conservation easements are a ­phenomenal tool that can be used in so many ways. Make some investments and be consistent with it, take the small victories and build on them, and you can protect more land than you ever thought you could.”

BIPARTISAN SUPPORT. The Florida Wildlife Corridor Act passed unanimously in 2021.

Published in The Land Report Summer 2025.