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1 <br />2 <br />3 <br />4 <br />5 <br />6 <br />7 <br />8 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />CHAPTER IV <br />FUNDING/FINANCING <br />There are approximately 10.3 million acres of conservation lands in Florida, of which 54.8% are owned by <br />the state, approximately 40.3% are owned by the federal government, and approximately 4.9% are owned <br />by local governments. The "bottom line" factor in the acquisition of environmentally significant lands is <br />the availability of funds. A main component of a local land acquisition program is not only the allocation <br />of local funds for acquisition, but also an aggressive pursuit of funding via inter -agency cost share programs, <br />grants, and cooperative acquisition with private groups such as The Trust for Public Land, The Conservation <br />Fund and The Nature Conservancy. In this chapter, potential funding and financing alternatives are <br />summarized. <br />JOINT ACQUISITION/STATE PROGRAMS <br />STATE FUNDING <br />State funding programs summarized in this section are: the (overall) Florida Forever program; the State <br />Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC) program; the St. Johns River Water Management District's <br />(SJRWMD) land acquisition program; FDEP Parks and Recreation grants; and the Florida Communities <br />Trust program. The federally funded National Estuary Program (NEP) funding opportunity for land <br />acquisition has been included in this section. <br />Florida Forever. The Florida Forever program was created in 1999 in response to a voter - <br />approved constitutional amendment to acquire conservation lands. To date, the state has <br />issued approximately $2 billion of Florida Forever bonds'. The main objectives of the <br />Florida Forever Act are outlined in this definitions section of this Guide. At the end of <br />Fiscal Year 2020-21, the principal amount of bonds available was $460 million, which is <br />estimated to be expended and retired in Fiscal Years 2028-29. The bond proceeds are <br />distributed as follows: <br />9/6/2022 6:36:42 PM <br />35% Department of Environmental Protection — State Lands <br />30% Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)/ Water Management <br />Districts (WMDs) <br />21% Florida Communities Trust (FCT) <br />3.5% Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services — Rural & Family Lands <br />Protection <br />2.5% Department of Environmental Protection — Working Waterfronts <br />2.0% Department of Environmental Protection — Florida Recreation <br />Development Assistance Grants <br />1.5% Florida Department of Environmental Protection — Recreation & Parks' <br />1.5% Florida Department of Environmental Protection — Greenways & Trails <br />1.5% Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission — Land Acquisition' <br />1.5% Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services — Florida Forest Service' <br />17 <br />336 <br />