POLITICS

Legislature cuts all funds for Florida Forever land conservation program

Isadora Rangel
isadora.rangel@tcpalm.com

TALLAHASSEE — Lawmakers Friday tentatively agreed to defund the state's main land conservation program to free up money for a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee to curb discharges, and other legislative priorities.

State lawmakers Friday tentatively agreed to defund Florida Forever, the state's main land conservation program, to free up money for a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee to curb discharges, as well as other legislative priorities.

On the chopping block is Florida Forever, which acquires land for trails, natural spaces and conservation areas. That's not final until the Legislature passes a state budget by the May 5 end of session, and things still could change, state Sen. Rob Bradley said.

The decision by House and Senate committees in charge of negotiating environmental spending comes less than three years after more than 75 percent of voters passed constitutional Amendment 1 in 2014 to set aside money for land and water preservation.

Florida Forever is taking a back seat to Senate President Joe Negron's push to borrow up to $1.2 billion to build the reservoir to reduce harmful discharges into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, key lawmakers said.

Also taking priority are proposals to inject more money into restoring beaches, Lake Apopka and the St. Johns River, said Bradley, the chairman of the Senate natural resources budget committee. He's pushing to allocate $20 million annually for the St. Johns. Beaches are a priority of Senate budget chief Jack Latvala.

"Tough choices had to be made," Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said of defunding Florida Forever.

MORE:  Environmentalists underwhelmed by Florida Forever plan

Follow voters' will

Environmental groups aren't having it. They have long argued lawmakers could pay for all environmental programs if they didn't use Amendment 1 proceeds to pay for routine operating expenses such as salaries and vehicle purchases.

The House and Senate earlier this session proposed cutting a program that pays ranchers not to develop their lands. They tentatively agreed to allocate $14.5 million to buy land for parks.

"When 75 percent of voters said 'yes' to the Water and Land Conservation Amendment in 2014, they expected more funding for parks, waterways and protected wildlife habitat — not less, and certainly not zero," said Aliki Moncrief, executive director of Florida Conservation Voters, a nonpartisan nonprofit whose mission is environmental protection.

PREVIOUSLY: Legislature wants to cut land conservation despite Amendment 1

Negotiations not over 

Paul Warner (left), a principal scientist at South Florida Water Management District, and state Rep. Matt Caldwell toured SFWMD water projects via helicopter Friday, March 24, 2017, in central and south Florida.

State Rep. Matt Caldwell said he's pushing for more Florida Forever funding. Yet he cautioned that's a "very difficult negotiation" as Negron's reservoir is the focus of the environmental budget this year. The House has agreed to build the project, Negron has said, but still must pass a bill to make it official.

"It's a very difficult negotiation considering how much attention (the reservoir) has taken this year," Caldwell, R-Fort Myers, said.

Caldwell sponsored a bill that would carve out a special fund for Florida Forever through 2035, but that wouldn't start until the next fiscal year.

The program used to get $300 million in most years after then-Gov. Jeb Bush signed it into law in 1999, but funding plunged after the Great Recession and hasn't recovered. Last year, the Legislature allocated $15.1 million.

"I think people up here have been trying to defund Florida Forever since about two years after I started Florida Forever," said Latvala, who sponsored the bill to create the program.

MORE:  2017 Florida legislative session