A dirt nature trail winding through a lush swamp environment surrounded by trees draped in Spanish moss. — Alligator Alley Trail at Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland. Credit: PhotosByTIM/Shutterstock

Florida environmentalists are sounding the alarm that the Florida Legislature once again appears poised to dramatically reduce funding for Florida Forever, the state’s main program for buying land for conservation.

Although the Legislature allocated $18 million last year, the House’s proposed FY 2026/27 budget defunds the program outright, while the Senate allocates $35 million, with that money directed to easements on private agricultural lands only, eliminating traditional land acquisition.

Instead, GOP lawmakers would direct hundreds of millions of dollars to the Rural and Family Lands Protection program, which allows agricultural landowners to permanently preserve their land from development.

Conservation easements not the same thing, environmentalists maintain

“While these conservation easements are good for cattle, provide linkages to wildlife, and keep these properties from being converted to subdivisions and shopping malls, they do not allow for public access,” noted St. Petersburg Democratic Rep. Lindsay Cross on the floor of the House last week.

“You can’t just park on the side of the road, sneak under a barbed wire fence, and take your family for a hike on a cattle ranch. What we are losing by not funding a program like Florida Forever and programs like the Florida Community Trust is safe access to our beautiful wild Florida for families and tourists who flock to this state.”

Republicans have hailed rural lands protection easements as a way to prevent future development of land while allowing agricultural operations to continue contributing to the state’s economy, all while not imposing burdens on taxpayer by having to maintain state-owned land.

GOP Rep. John Snyder from Stuart is chair of the Agriculture & Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee. He says that over the past two years, there has been a “false” battle between Florida Forever and Rural and Family Lands programs.

“At the end of the day, Floridians expect this Legislature to use the money that we are stewards over to dedicate a portion of that to preserving beautiful real Florida forever,” he said in response to Cross. “To make sure that the lands that make this state what it is can be put into a place of trust, where for generations to come Floridians have the ability to look and reap the benefits of that.”

House Budget Appropriations Chair Lawrence McClure said last week that criticism about defunding Florida Forever without discussing the other conservation efforts that his chamber is spending money on is “cheap conservation.”

“The role of ‘Family Lands’ has a tremendous track record of conserving lands while keeping it in production, right? So, government can specifically say, ‘This is how we want to conserve it.’ But the taxpayer’s not going to own the burden of maintaining it,” he said.

McClure added that there are definitely places that the state should protect to the fullest extent possible “with feasible purchases,” such as state parks. “I think that there’s a balance that needs to be had and this year’s budget contemplates that balance.”

“I think there is a philosophical opposition among some legislative leaders to fee-simple purchases because they see it as taking land off the tax rolls and imposing a management burden on the state for the future,” said Paul Owens, president of 1000 Friends of Florida.

“But that perspective downplays the benefits that come with fee-simple purchases of public access and the possibility of expanding park plans and wildlife management areas and preserves in the future.”

Democratic House Leader Fentrice Driskell said she doesn’t have a problem with directing money towards the Rural and Family Land program but is disturbed that the House has zeroed out funding for Florida Forever.

“It’s concerning to me because it seems to be a shift in policy priorities that is out of alignment with how we’re supposed to spend those funds,” she said.

In discussing Florida Forever last week, Rep. Cross noted that the program had been funded at around $300 million regularly under previous governors, like Jeb Bush.

The popularity of Florida Forever

The Legislature created the program in 1999, a year after more than 72% of Florida voters approved a conservation constitutional amendment. As Cross stated, the program was regularly funded with Bush at the helm at $300 million annually.

Those funding levels dropped after the Great Recession, and then the program was totally defunded under then-Gov. Rick Scott. Since its inception, the has acquired more than 907,000 acres, according to the Department of Environmental Protection.

In 2014, 75% of Floridians passed another constitutional amendment requiring that the state set aside $10 billion in tax money over the subsequent 20 years to purchase environmentally sensitive land.

Those sentiments haven’t changed in 2026.

A public opinion survey conducted earlier this month by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy found that 78% of Republican voters and 83% of Democratic voters supported $100 million in state funding for Florida Forever in next year’s budget.

While House Republicans appear to have their own philosophy on how best to use state funds, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ doesn’t take the same approach. The governor proposed $115 million in his 2026-’27 FY budget unveiled last December, as well as $200 million for the Rural and Family Lands program.

Paul Owens with 1000 Friends of Florida credits the governor for “recognizing the importance of maintaining and sustaining consistent funding for Florida Forever,” but adds that even if the state were somehow to fund at that amount this year, it’d be a relative drop in the state’s economic bucket.

“Even at $115 million dollars, that’s a relatively modest commitment to Florida Forever when you consider that’s a tenth of a percent of the state’s $115 billion budget, so Florida has room in its budget to properly fund and sustain Florida Forever,” Owens said.

Failing to do so could result in some important environmental properties being “lost to development in the meantime,” he added.

The environmental community in Florida isn’t throwing in the towel just yet. The Florida Wildlife Federation is among the groups calling on their supporters to contact state legislators to restore the program to its $300 million level.

In their proposed budgets, the House has proposed $300 million for the Rural and Family Lands program; the Senate, $200 million.

The legislative session is set to end on March 13.

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