VCA LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE SEMINAR
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH
This seminar is a presentation by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation.
It will be held at the River House on Tuesday February 10th at 12:00 noon with a light lunch.
Reservations will be handled through the Club’s system.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor Act “After decades of work from conservationists, scientists, politicians, and many others, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act was signed into law following unanimous bipartisan support by the Florida legislature on June 29, 2021.
The Florida Wildlife Corridor comprises nearly 18 million acres of contiguous wilderness and working lands crucial to the survival of many of Florida’s 131 imperiled animals. In addition to protecting wildlife, conserving these wild spaces is critical to our overall well-being—offering recreation opportunities, strengthening resilience against intensifying storms, and protecting water quality.
We are delighted to announce that the Board of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation presentation will be given by P.J. Marinelli, Chairman.
From the Everglades to the Panhandle, Florida’s landscape tells a story of resilience, connection, and hope. PJ Marinelli, Chairman of the Board of the Corridor Foundation, will take the audience on a journey through the 18 million-acre Florida Wildlife Corridor – a living network where wild and working lands meet, and where collaboration is the key to protecting water, wildlife, and ways of life. PJ will share how important a connected wildlife corridor is to Florida and how the Corridor Foundation brings partners together to accelerate the pace of conservation.
CORRIDOR OPPORTUNITY AREAS
The Corridor is composed of hundreds of parcels of protected land, from Flagler County’s 30-acre Bull Creek Campground, to the 1.5 million acre Everglades National Park. The roughly 10 million acres of Existing Conservation Area illustrated in dark green in the map below includes working lands protected with conservation easements. The light green area highlights the approximate 8 million acres of unprotected lands that remain. These Corridor Opportunity Areas are high priority lands that connect and support the wild legacy of our parks, preserves, refuges.
Benefits to People The Corridor also protects ranching and fishing, supporting large sectors of Florida’s economy. The Everglades headwaters and other crucial areas which feed springs and reservoirs can be found in the Corridor, which is responsible for protecting much of Florida’s drinking water.
Benefits to Wildlife The Florida Wildlife Corridor comprises nearly 18 million acres of contiguous wilderness and working lands crucial to the survival of many of Florida’s 131 imperiled animals, including the Florida Panther, Gopher Tortoise, Manatee, Burrowing Owl, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Swallow-tailed Kite, and Black Bear.
Benefits to Ecosystems In addition to protecting wildlife, conserving these wild spaces is critical to our overall well-being—offering recreation opportunities, strengthening resilience against intensifying storms, and protecting water quality.
Please join us to learn more about this important endeavor to preserve our land and wildlife.
