In the August issue of Governing.com, an article by Dennis Farney provides examples of the creativity and collaboration that developers and environmentalists are designing to protect this nation’s natural assets and habitats.  His article, Green Pieces, details “how states and localities are working with conservation groups to link existing preserves and the privately owned land between them.”  He references several examples in Florida that have also been highlighted in recent issues of Every Monday, particularly the sale of Babcock Ranch in southwest Florida.

His article states “Florida conservationists feared the worst when a real estate development firm entered into a contract to buy the 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch. They saw urban development spreading like a blob over an unspoiled area of cypress swamps and pinewoods, home to the endangered Florida panther and a host of other plant and animal species. But then the developer, Kitson and Partners, LLC, offered a deal. If Florida had the money, the developer would sell nearly 74,000 acres.  The signing ceremony this June marked one of the largest land preservation purchases in state history. Governor Jeb Bush hailed the “massive endeavor” as a huge step toward establishing a southwest Florida conservation corridor stretching from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico.”

An Every Monday article in May referred to a new Regional Alphabet Soup (NIMBY, BANANA, COZY) that define new terminology in the development arena, and Farney adds a few more ingredients.  “State and local activism is coinciding with a fundamental shift in conservation thinking.  An emerging school of thought, often referred to as “ecoregionalism,” is increasingly influencing preservation projects across the nation. Ecoregionalism has conservationists thinking big.”

Farney cites a particularly impressive example of ecoregionalism, Y2Y, which stands for “Yellowstone to Yukon.” Y2Y envisions nothing less than a “wildlife corridor” nearly 2,000 miles long.  It would start in west-central Wyoming and end just below the Arctic Circle, preserving a whole ecosystem, still largely intact, across the backbone of North America. Audubon magazine has called the idea “North America’s environmental equivalent of the Great Wall of China.”

“Y2Y illustrates the central principle of ecoregionalism: Simply establishing isolated parks and refuges, even huge ones such as Yellowstone National Park, won’t preserve biological diversity in the long run. Somehow, conservationists must find a way to stitch together existing parks and preserves with the privately owned connective tissue between them.”

“This means relying less on the traditional and sometimes controversial tool of outright acquisition. Conservationists can’t possibly afford to buy all that connective tissue and political realities wouldn’t allow it in any event. Thus, ecoregionalism relies more on such tools as easements and voluntary agreements with landowners. Identifying key tracts and protecting them, in turn, means working with state and local governments on an expanded scale.”

With the realization that regions and states across the nation are grappling with the same challenges that Florida faces, particularly given its projected growth in the next fifty years, it is good to know that our leaders seem to be on the right track. 

To access the Governing.com article, Green Pieces by Dennis Farney in its entirety, visit http://governing.com/articles/8land.htm

In Central Florida, “How Shall We Grow? – Creating a Shared Vision for Central Florida” is a fifteen-month process that brings together local, regional and state agencies in a partnership to design our collective future.  The Florida Department of Community Affairs, Florida Department of Transportation, the Central Florida MPO Alliance, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, and myregion.org have combined their professional talents and resources to take this message to the people of our region. 

Those who are interested can stay up-to-date by accessing the project website, www.myregion.org, or by joining in the conversation online at www.howshallwegrow.org.

myregion.org - A Regional Development Program - is designed to bring together the business, government and civic leadership representing the seven-county Central Florida region to develop a regional agenda for thought and action to ensure Central Florida's success in the 21st century global marketplace.