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2022

Environmental Protection / Case Study

The Florida Wildlife Corridor

The Florida Wildlife Corridor (FLWC) encompasses nearly 17.7 million acres (Figure 1), spanning from the Everglades in South Florida up to the northwestern-most part of the Panhandle. Over half (54%, 9.6 million acres) of the FLWC consists of existing conservation lands, whereas the remaining “opportunity areas” (46%, 8.1 million acres) do not yet have conservation status but would be prioritized for future conservation.

In June 2021, the Florida legislature passed the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act (2021), which encourages protection of the FLWC and mentions the following water-related benefits:

• Protecting the headwaters of major watersheds, including the Everglades and the St. Johns River.

• Providing ecological connectivity of the lands needed for flood and sea-level rise resiliency and large-scale ecosystem functions, such as water management and prescribed burns essential for land management and restoration.

• Preserving and protecting land and waters that are not only vital to wildlife but are critical to this state’s groundwater recharge and that serve as watersheds that provide drinking water to most Floridians and help maintain the health of downstream coastal estuaries.”

• Protection of groundwater and surface water quality and quantity for humans, ecosystems, and species.

• Protection of aquatic ecosystem services including aquatic habitat, recreation and cultural values, and flood and sea level rise protection provided by springs, lakes, wetlands, rivers, and estuaries (as appropriate).

• Protection of imperiled species.

Open the Report (PDF)

File:Florida Wildlife Corridor FLWC Report.pdf

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