Wildlife Corridor Compatible Communities in Florida From Concept to Practice

Wildlife Corridor Compatible Communities in Florida: From Concept to Practice

Jason Lauritsen

Lindsay Stevens

Takeaways

From Us:

1. What is the Florida Wildlife Corridor?

2. What approaches are being taken to protect and enhance the Corridor?

3. What tools are resources are available?

4. How might you engage in this effort?

From You:

1. How does the Florida Wildlife Corridor advance planning efforts in my community?

2. How does the Florida Wildlife Corridor impact your community/work/project(s)?

3. How might the Florida Wildlife Corridor engage with stakeholders?

4. What tools and resources might be useful in your community?

Corridor CompatibilityCommunity Development and Design

The How and Where We Develop (Or Don’t)

- First year of work

- Core team of representatives

- Public, private, landowners, NGOs

Rationale

Aim: Corridor Compatible Communities Guidelines should accommodate growth while promoting the retention and enhancement of wildlife corridor functions to sustain a high quality of life for Floridians and a diverse and healthy native ecosystem.

Guidelines should

● Aid stakeholder decision making re: where and how we grow.

● Be widely used, practical, and advance conservation outcomes

● landowners, regional planning councils, developers,county planners, elected officials, private consulting firms

33 million people by 2070

Connecting, protecting and restoring the Corridor

How we grow makes all the difference. Protecting the Corridor can be done even as our population grows. However, it will require careful and intentional planning around the vital ecological connections illustrated by the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Wildlife Corridors

The Florida Wildlife Corridor

The Corridor connects 75 State Parks

..and 32 State Forests

The Corridor is home to over 1,700 species

..60 of these are considered “at risk”

The Corridor supports at least 114,000 jobs

..and provides $30 billion in annual revenue

Scientific foundation

Nodes of concentrated ecological value exist in each landscape at all levels in the biological hierarchy. Integration of these high-quality nodes into a functional network is possible through the establishment of a system of interconnected multiple-use modules.*

The Reserve Network developed by Noss in 1994 preceded and informed the FEGN model. Noss & Harris 1986 *Noss, Reed & Harris, Larry. (1986). Nodes, networks, and MUMs: Preserving diversity at all scales. Environmental Management. 10. 299-309.

Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN) model was created using…

•26 Priority Ecological Area data layers

•7 connectivity models

These data were used to identify a series of hubs, or core areas, of large, landscape-scale ecological significance, and a network of corridors connecting the hubs into a statewide ecological greenways system.

The Florida Wildlife Corridor is composed of the top 3 priority layers from the FEGN model.

75 State Parks

171 Major* Springs

32 State Forests

18 million acres

Unprotected: 8 million acres

Protected: 10 million acres

Acquisition Opportunities

Project Acres

Florida Forever - 1.8 million

RFLPP - 163,000

“Right Place”

Not every acre of the Corridor looks like the next state park

* Connecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor – Economic Study 2021

Land conversion along the Lake Wales Ridge in this region has reduced connectivity between the Green Swamp and the Everglades Headwaters.

Leaving one remaining viable link between Lake Louisa State Park and Reedy Creek

G H

Considerations for Critical Pinch Points

D

Design Guidelines

for “Right Design”

Corridor Compatible Communities

Guide responsible development and management of land in a manner which sustains local wildlife populations and their habitat needs.

Guiding Principles

Jointly plan development and conservation together, respecting core conservation areas, allowing for the provision of connected wildlife corridors and decreased fragmentation.

1 2

Strengthen the middle tier of land conservation, which offers the greatest potential for better integration of human development with wildlife habitat needs.

Guiding Principles

4

Reduce environmental impacts of land development while simultaneously protecting the rights of property owners, and enable development of high quality projects.

3

QUALITIES

DESIGN WITH NATURE

Compatible Community

Qualities

DESCRIPTION

Is the site planned and designed with careful regard to ecology? Please describe.

COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION OF WILDLIFE CONNECTIVITY

HABITAT CREATION

HABITAT RESTORATION

IMPACTS ON WATER QUALITY

What efforts are made to teach the public about the wildlife corridor?

Are habitats created where previously there were none? If yes, describe the habitat created.

Are disturbed landscapes restored and revitalized? If yes, describe restoration and revitalization projects.

What methods are in place to ensure no negative impact on water quality resulting from the developments regular drainage patterns?

COLLABORATION WITH CONSERVATIONISTS

METRICS/DATA COLLECT

How and which conservationists are involved with the monitoring of the development and the adjacent wildlife corridor?

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY STANDARDS

NEARBY WILDLIFE CONSERVATION LANDS

LAND USE COMPATIBILITY

NEGATIVE EDGE EFFECTS

APPROPRIATE BUFFERS

What means and methods are utilized to collect information on wildlife impact from the development site?

What design management standards are recommended or enforced community-wide?

Are there any connections to adjacent conservation lands? If yes, please list them.

Is the development site compatible with adjacent land uses. If yes, describe how. If not, what conflicts do you experience?

What problems have been encountered at the edge of the development and wildlife corridor?

Is there an ample and effective buffer? What buffer zones have been included in the development. Please share short descriptions and dimensions of those included.

PLANT COMMUNITIES

Are there diverse habitats throughout the community? Please describe the plant communities and habitats provided within the development.

TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE

IMPACTS

Were new roads constructed to connect the community to this development? If so, what level of service was planned for these roadways?

Corridor

Other Design Considerations

Alligator Alley road named after adjacent marshes which are home to many Floridian alligators

used by small to large mammals, reptiles, bugs and more

Existing Conditions

barriers these fences prevent wildlife from going onto the road used by small to large mammals

used by small to large mammals, reptiles, bugs and more

vegetation if the vegetation becomes overgrown, access and visibility of the tunnel may be lost

dry passage

embankment allows for animals to cross during the wet season when the path is underwater

Other Design Considerations

Improving Navigability

logs by laying down logs with concrete footings along the water body, animals are able to easily get across

concrete

where logs are imperfect and have cracks between them that animals can trip through, concrete provides a stable surface to cross used by bears, panthers and other large mammals