Greg Knecht: Floridians spoke up — nature is our common ground  

Image via FWC.

Priceless ecosystems. Critical wildlife habitats. Beloved recreation, fishing and hunting grounds. Our public lands are irreplaceable. And those who speak up for them are unstoppable.

The conservation community and the public recently came together to defend the Guana River Wildlife Management Area (WMA). Days before the Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC) was scheduled to vote on an ill-informed land exchange proposal, the applicant withdrew their plans to acquire an invaluable, publicly owned piece of northeast Florida.

This isn’t the first time our public lands have been fast-tracked for development. And it won’t be the last.

The Nature Conservancy polled 550 registered Florida voters to learn more about what Floridians believe about the value of public lands, their voice in the conservation process, and how they will respond to future threats.

Floridians overwhelmingly support land acquisition, with 93% saying that the State of Florida should acquire environmentally valuable land for conservation to protect our state from overdevelopment. When it comes to Floridians’ top motivations for purchasing conservation land, 95% of respondents support protecting habitat for threatened and endangered plants and animals and providing public recreation like hiking, paddling, hunting and fishing.

Every time our public lands are under attack, Floridians activate and mobilize. We saw it in the protests at our state parks in August 2024, the outcry against the 2024 proposed land exchange at Withlacoochee State Forest and in the thousands of people who planned to attend the aforementioned ARC meeting. One thing is certain: Nature is our common ground.

We are passionate about our wild places. When called to action, Floridians speak up for our beaches, forests and wetlands. They defend our hiking, paddling, hunting and fishing areas.

As we’ve seen when faced with previous threats, Floridians also deeply respect our state’s science-based conservation legacy, including the thorough processes in place to buy, sell and exchange conservation land.

Among Florida voters surveyed, 93% of respondents agreed that the State of Florida should follow the well-established process of transparent, science-based decision-making for land conservation, including rigorous review and vetting of land exchanges. Just as Floridians fight to protect conservation land, 84% of those surveyed expect their elected leaders to do the same.

Florida is losing important natural areas at an alarming rate, increasingly threatened by residential and commercial development. As TNC and our many valued partners make major progress in conserving these lands, including milestones like passing the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act in 2021, we will continue to advocate for responsible conservation strategies and transparent practices that our fellow Floridians overwhelmingly champion.

The Florida Legislature can support the public lands their constituents cherish by providing stable, robust funding for Florida Forever and land management agencies.

Together, we can help protect Florida for generations to come.

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Greg Knecht is the Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy in Florida. For more than 60 years, TNC has worked to protect, preserve and restore Florida’s world-renowned natural resources, including on land we own, our award-winning state parks and other state and federal managed lands.