"Opinion: Vote to protect Florida’s land and water" in @miamiherald #everglades #eco

BY ERIC DRAPER

Florida lawmakers have cut conservation spending more deeply than any other part of government. That’s a fact.

Conservation is a value all Floridians deeply cherish across party lines. The Water and Land Legacy amendment simply seeks to hold the environment harmless.

Since 2009, the Florida Legislature has provided only $23 million for the landmark Florida Forever program, a 97.5 percent reduction from previous funding levels. State appropriations for land management and ecological restoration, including the Everglades, have suffered similar declines.

The news that conservationists have launched a grassroots campaign to amend the Florida Constitution to lock in 1 percent of the state’s budget for water and land conservation has produced some interesting responses from people who want to protect the status quo and oppose letting voters make this important decision.

We want to let the people decide if clean water and natural land are a legacy they want to leave for their children and grandchildren.

And that’s what this amendment is all about: conserving land and providing recreational opportunities for Florida’s residents and visitors for generations to come.

First, let’s be clear about what this proposed amendment would do.

For 20 years, beginning in 2015, the amendment would dedicate one-third of the net revenues from the existing excise tax on documents to restore the Everglades, protect drinking water sources and revive the state’s historic commitment to protecting natural lands and wildlife habitat through the Florida Forever Program.

The amendment would provide about $10 billion for water and land conservation in Florida over its 20-year life, without any tax increase. This dedicates less than 1 percent of our state’s annual budget to protect the drinking water sources important for human life, and the coastlines and natural lands that bring economically vital tourists to Florida.

Look at the numbers and you’ll find this is a common-sense proposal.

This year, the documentary stamp tax will generate about $1.3 billion. Of that, $622 million is already pledged to pay for existing environmental bonds and other programs linked to managing land and preserving water resources.

So almost half of “doc stamp” revenue is theoretically available for environmental spending, including paying off bonds. However, the Legislature doesn’t actually spend it all on land and water conservation programs. For the past several years, budget writers have raided environmental trust funds for other spending. The proposed amendment would commit just one-third of doc stamps to environmental purposes, and that hardly seems greedy.

Certainly, in lean times everything had to endure cuts. But environmental programs were cut disproportionately, despite the fact that respected leaders of both parties have long recognized that Floridians want to protect the water and land we rely on for our quality of life. If the Legislature follows through with current projections on the use of doc stamps, only $381 million – just 27 percent of doc stamps – will be available for land and water conservation.

If the Water and Land Legacy amendment is approved, then in the year it takes effect (2015) about $525 million will be available for parks, water resource protection, beach access and Everglades restoration. That is about 20 percent less money than will be spent on preservation bonds, land conservation, Everglades and management this year.

This all raises a common-sense question: What programs get cut, who gets hurt, if the Legislature is constitutionally restricted from diverting dollars that historically have been spent on the environment? The answer: No one gets hurt, no taxes go up and no programs get cut.

Last week the Florida Park Service celebrated a major increase in visitors to the state’s award-winning parks. Those parks did not buy themselves. They exist because 10 and 20 and 30 years ago voters and legislators had the wisdom to invest a small percentage of doc stamp taxes for that purpose.

Now, it’s just up to the voters.

Eric Draper is executive director of Audubon Florida.

FloridaWaterLandLegacy.org

"Environmental Groups Want Guaranteed $10 Billion Expenditure in State Constitution" in Sunshine State News

By: Michael Peltier News Service of Florida
Posted: August 8, 2012 3:55 AM
Eric Draper
Eric Draper
Future funding for Everglades restoration and other environmental programs would be enshrined in the state Constitution under a ballot initative proposal to guarantee the spending of $10 billion on such programs over the next 20 years.

Frustrated over withering funds for the state's marquee land-buying program, Florida Forever, and sporadic funding for a host of other environmental concerns from drinking water and springs to beaches and historic sites, a coalition of environmental groups on Tuesday launched a volunteer effort to begin gathering signatures to put the issue on the ballot in 2014.

Dubbed the Florida Water and Land Legacy Campaign, the petition drive is being pushed by a coalition of groups that include the Trust for Public Land, the Sierra Club, the Nature Conservancy, 1000 Friends of Florida, and Defenders of Wildlife.

"We've been left with no options," said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida.

For years, lawmakers set aside about $300 million a year for land-buying, but have rejected that type of spending in the economic downturn of the most recent few years. Since 2009, the state has set aside a total of $23 million for Florida Forever. In 2012, lawmakers earmarked only $8.5 million and prohibited state officials from buying new land.

“When it comes to dedicating funding to protect Florida’s environment, the Great Recession has led to a complete depression," said Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation, in a statement. "State funding to protect our most precious natural resources has slowed to a trickle.”

The amendment would require that 33 percent of all document tax revenue be earmarked for Everglades restoration and other environmental programs for the next 20 years. The proposal would go into effect July 1, 2015. Collections would be deposited into the state's Land Acquisition Trust Fund, not general revenue.

Before any vote, the group must gather at least 676,811 signatures to put the issue on the ballot. The Florida Supreme Court would also have to approve the ballot title and summary and determine that it satisfies the state's single subject rule, which prohibits citizen petitions from encompassing multiple issues.

The court, however, won't review the ballot language until the coalition has turned in more than 67,811 signatures, a milestone Draper said the group hopes to complete by the end of the year. Once on the ballot, it would have to be approved by at least 60 percent of voters.

Since its inception, Florida Forever and its predecessor, Preservation 2000, have funded the purchase of more than 2.5 million acres of environmentally sensitive lands, according to the Department of Environmental Protection. Since July 2001, Florida Forever has acquired more than 682,000 acres of land at a cost of $2.9 billion.

"DEP issues guidelines to water districts for buying, getting rid of state lands" in The Florida Current

DEP issues guidelines to water districts for buying, getting rid of state lands
Bruce Ritchie, 06/26/2012 - 01:10 PM

Water management districts must receive Florida Department of Environmental Protection approval for major land purchases under guidelines published by DEP this month.

The DEP memo, posted on a department website last week, has received a mixed reaction from environmentalists. Some of them last year accused DEP and Gov. Rick Scott of launching a takeover of the districts, which were established by the Legislature in 1972.

Florida has purchased 2.5 million acres since 1990 under Florida Forever and a predecessor land-buying program. State law provides for 30 percent funding to be divided among the five water management districts, although funding has been sharply cut by the Legislature since 2009.

Three months after taking office in 2011, Scott directed DEP to supervise activities of the districts including review and oversight of land acquisition and disposition. Scott said the districts must focus on their core missions of water supply, flood control and resource protection.

The June 8 guidance memo says districts should focus on acquiring conservation easements, which involve paying landowners to conserve land rather than having the state outright buy the property. DEP also says districts should buy land at 90 percent of the appraised value and should find partner agencies to split the cost.

Related Research: Access the directive from Governor Scott and DEP's land acquisition guidelines.

The guidance document requires any purchase of more than $500,000 to be approved by the department. Any purchase below that amount must be approved by the department unless it is for 90 percent or less of the appraised value.

The document calls on districts to sell land that is no longer needed for conservation purposes. However, DEP cautions the districts against eliminating significant landscape linkages, conservation corridors, natural or cultural resources or public recreational opportunities including hunting.

Clay Henderson, a lawyer and member of the Florida Conservation Coalition, said the memo clearly will have a "chilling effect" on new land purchases by districts. He said the districts also are being pressured to sell their lands.

"I'm just tired of being on the defensive," Henderson said. "We are so well-known for our successes with these programs. They have protected some outstanding examples of conservation land across the state and commanded wide support from the public." 

Charles Lee, director of advocacy for Audubon Florida, said he remains concerned about how the districts are identifying land to get rid of. But he said the guidelines have some good language, such as requiring a determination that lands are no longer needed for conservation and avoiding the elimination of conservation corridors and landscape linkages.

"The land acquisition provisions seem to give reasonable latitude for the districts to move forward with purchases, including the $500,000 purchases which don’t even have to be approved by DEP," Lee wrote in an email.

DEP spokesman Patrick Gillespie said department officials met with district representatives in February and they have been following informally following the guidance document since then.

"The purpose of the document is to provide guidance to the water management districts on purchasing land to support their core missions of water supply, water quality, flood control and natural resource protection while being judicious of Florida taxpayer dollars," Gillespie said in an email.

via thefloridacurrent.com