House Proposes No Money for Florida Forever

Florida's legislators are considering bills that are key to the future of Florida Forever.

TALLAHASSEE — April 7, 2008 — The House budget does not contain funding for Florida Forever next year.

This represents a serious misstep by the legislature – Florida Forever needs a small amount of general revenue in order to borrow up to $300 million for land buys. It has the potential to cripple Florida’s highly successful land acquisition efforts — on July 1 of this year!

To its credit, the Senate has under consideration a draft budget that contains $300 million in borrowing for Florida Forever.

Both Senate and House are considering draft bills to reauthorize Florida Forever for 10 years at $300 million a year. While this reauthorization is less than The Nature Conservancy and its partners in the Florida Forever Coalition have sought, and while both continue to assert the overwhelming needs for land acquisition funding, they favor enactment of this Florida Forever successor program.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. With funding from the voter approved Florida Forever program and our generous donors the Conservancy has helped protect more than 1.2 million acres in Florida since 1961. Visit us on the Web at nature.org/florida.

The Florida Forever Coalition is an organization of more than 100 groups that cross all stakeholders. More than half of Florida’s 67 counties and 19 cities have passed resolutions in support of Florida Forever and the need for a successor program. For more information visit www.supportfloridaforever.org.