Growing the Corridor

This science-based approach came in handy during the influx of conservation funding in the early 2000s. Through an agreement with the state of Florida, TNC bought land on the state’s behalf, identifying quality conservation tracts, facilitating landowner relationships and purchasing properties for public ownership. Many of these buys make up some of Florida’s beloved state parks—like Torreya State Park in north Florida and Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park in central Florida—and national properties too, like Everglades National Park and south Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp National Wildlife Refuge.

As the state’s agent, every transaction informed and improved the land-buying process. This relationship helped form lasting acquisition standards that the state uses today.

Over the years, Wendy watched the maps change. Concentrated hubs of conservation lands expanded across the Panhandle, central Florida’s Lake Wales Ridge and a new focus area: the 30,000-acre Panther Dispersal Zone in southwest Florida. True to her passion for wildlife, Wendy was enraptured by the big cat that now graced her neck.

Conservation at the pace of development

Development in Florida was intensifying. The boom that started along our east and west coasts was marching toward the center of the state.

To move at the speed of development, with their big dollars and fast closing processes, we too had to pivot. TNC’s strategy shifted to not only quality lands, but quantity too. And so we waded into more uncharted waters: conservation easements with agricultural partners.

Our first cattle ranch easement closed in 2004. Others followed, and we secured our first conservation easement with a citrus grove in 2015. These places added key pieces to the patchwork quilt we were weaving.

The FNAI Florida Ecological Greenway Network data set and conservation easement models were working. By the 2010s, Florida had become a national model for conservation, touting multiple state park medals, successful funding models like P2000 and Florida Forever and continued growth and collaboration among non-profit partners and land trusts.

But, there was something missing: storytelling. That’s where the Florida Wildlife Corridor came in.

On the national stage, a main character arose. The Florida panther became a symbol for wildlife movement and what we stood to lose if we didn’t urgently protect Florida’s remaining habitats. The main audience, the lawmakers who controlled annual conservation funding, were moved to action. In 2021, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act was signed into law following unanimous bipartisan support, encouraging and promoting investments in Florida Forever (FDEP) and Rural and Family Protection Program (FDACS). Since the act was signed, nearly 500,000 acres have been approved for conservation.

Land management funding has always been at the top of TNC’s legislative advocacy list, says Lindsay, whether we’re restoring lands on our properties or those of our partners. Returning these ecosystems to their near-original state has included reintroducing fire in longleaf pine forests, growing native grasses and trees in our preserves’ nurseries or combatting stubborn non-native invasive plant species that harm the fragile balance of Florida ecosystems. TNC also facilitates long-term, collaborative planning committees for landscape-scale restoration, such as longleaf cooperatives and Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program working groups.

But, what about non-conservation lands, like those that have already been lost to residential and commercial development? Lindsay says there’s room for us to restore balance there too.

Development hasn’t slowed, and it may never let up, with its insatiable appetite for raw land serving the estimated 1,000 people who move to Florida every day. So, we bridge the divide and work conservation into developers’ bottom line. TNC is helping change the game, influencing developers and other decision-makers to build smarter, with our water and wildlife in mind. 

Lindsay and her team debuted their Corridor Compatible Community Design Guidelines at the Florida Wildlife Corridor Connect summit in 2025. At that 700-person partner event, Lindsay also shared another vision: taking the Corridor beyond the state line. She moderated a panel, Scaling Corridor Protection: A Bioregional Approach that joined Okefenokee Swamp Park’s Kim Bednarek and Deputy Director of TNC in Georgia Jason Lee.

Jason speaks with a timbre that reflects his Georgia roots and connection to place. Hailing from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, he’s not only versed in the processes and protocols of conservation here in the southeastern tip of his state, but he’s also been personally invested in this area all his life. This is home. St. Simons, Savannah, Athens, Augusta—he’s Georgia through and through. But he isn’t mutually exclusive in his land protection work.

“If the Florida-Georgia corridor is realized, we'll go from South Carolina all the way to South Florida,” he says. Between the St. Marys and Savannah rivers that frame the Georgia coast, Jason has been connecting hubs along other treasured rivers, the Altamaha and Satilla, and the Okefenokee Swamp, which connects directly to Florida’s Osceola National Forest.

The swamp’s black waters flow oceanward through the St. Marys and Suwannee rivers. Eastward, water travels through Georgia’s extensive tidal system, draining through green-gold marshes and into the Cumberland Sound. It’s water that connects our conserved lands here in the state’s southeast corner, and with collaboration between Florida and Georgia partners, the Florida Wildlife Corridor can find space to grow here beyond its borders.

Aligned on a clear vision for wildlife movement

In Florida’s citrus groves, biologists have documented wild turkey, racoon, alligator and bobcats, which is a similar observation in Georgia. Another surprising animal we share on our working lands: Florida panther.

“Historically they would have been here,” says Jason, and when asked a similar question, Wendy agrees. While the validity of sightings is up for debate, Jason is hopeful.

“If the population recovers—if the Florida Wildlife Corridor works—they will definitely be here,” he says. “It's only a matter of time.”

I ask Wendy what she thinks. “That's the goal of the Corridor,” she says. “We want to see panthers up to the state line. We want to see them crossing the [St. Marys] river.”

I press further and ask, “If they got to the southern Appalachians in 200 years, that would be us winning, right?”

Her dark brown eyes look at me and then glance downward as she touches one hand to her crossed elbows.

“Carson, that gave me goosebumps.”

A legacy of land conservation

In 30 years, Wendy has seen a lot of change. Through experience and experimentation, she’s helped build the foundations of land acquisition in Florida. Humble, she knows she’s only one individual in an ever-flowing movement of conservationists, but she takes pride in her contribution to the patchwork of protected land in Florida.

“Just seeing the green on the map and knowing that I helped get that done, as a team effort, it’s amazing,” she says, noting her fellow acquisition pioneer at TNC in Florida, Angela Klug.