Frequently Asked Questions

• Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative
• Florida’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy

Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative

Why was Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative created?
 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s new program is the agency’s long-term commitment to conserve all native wildlife and the places they live. The Initiative has three objectives: (1) implement Florida’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy, (2) build partnerships for wildlife conservation across the state, and (3) use Florida’s State Wildlife Grants Program funds to support partnership building and implementation of the Strategy.
 

What is the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Role?
 

The FWC is the designated state agency that receives and manages federal State Wildlife Grants funding in Florida, and is charged with leading the Strategy implementation process.

Why is Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative important for Florida?

· Keep Common Species Common – The Initiative has a pro-active objective to implement actions to prevent wildlife and habitat from further decline.
 

· Cost-Effective Prevention of Wildlife Declines – The Initiative will save millions of tax dollars by preventing wildlife declines before they become more rare and costly to protect. Through partnership and cooperation, resources can be pooled to address the challenges facing wildlife today.

· Economic Benefits – Helping to form the foundation of Florida’s economy, the combined revenue from preserving Florida’s wildlife and habitat diversity exceeds $25 billion in value annually through hunting, fishing, wildlife viewing, boating and commercial enterprises.

·  Florida’s Wildlife Heritage - At its heart, the Initiative is a promise to future generations of Floridians that they, too, will have a chance to enjoy Florida’s rich and diverse wildlife heritage and family traditions.

How is Florida’s Wildlife Legacy Initiative different from past conservation efforts?

Money and Scale – The Initiative is a far-sighted approach that links conservation actions and partnerships to a clear program of financial support. Florida’s State Wildlife Grants Program supports this effort with millions of dollars of federal funding matched with state and private dollars. For the first time in history, we have created a nationwide approach to wildlife conservation. Every U.S. state and territory produced a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy to address the complete diversity of wildlife and habitats.

Florida’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy 

Why develop a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (Strategy)?
 The federal State Wildlife Grants program provides funding to every state and territory to support cost-effective conservation aimed at preventing wildlife from becoming imperiled and keeping common species common. Congress created the program in 2001 as part of the Conservation Trust Fund. Developing a strategy was a requirement for funding eligibility.

What is the purpose of the Strategy?

·   Provide a blueprint for management and conservation all of Florida’s wildlife.

·    Define a common vision for protecting wildlife.

·    Design a non-regulatory effort creating partnerships to implement the Strategy through local actions.

·    Target resources to prevent native wildlife from declining to the point of imperilment.

·    Make Florida eligible for millions of dollars of federal conservation funding.

·    Create a plan to effectively use federal, State, and matching funds.

What makes the Strategy different from past conservation plans Florida has developed?

Florida has a single synthesized strategic vision for conserving all of Florida’s wildlife. Florida’s wildlife needs have been identified in numerous efforts and publications during the last 30 years. Florida’s Strategy does not duplicating these efforts. The Strategy reaffirms, coordinates, and solidifies the needs and the actions that are necessary to conserve the wildlife and habitats that have not received the attention and funding they deserve. Funding will be used for specific priority conservation threats and actions, strengthening existing bonds and forging new partnerships to implement conservation actions.

What were the federal requirements for developing the Strategy?

·    Completed in September 2005, the Strategy was required to be comprehensive and take into consideration a wide range of views and perspectives on conservation. Federal requirements were defined in a document titled “Eight Requirement Elements” provided by the USFWS.  

What does the term “species of greatest conservation need” mean in the Strategy?

Congress required the Strategy to include “species of greatest conservation need.” In Florida, this includes animals whose populations are of concern and are at risk or declining. It can include federal-listed, state-listed, and game species as well as many others.

How do we interpret “the full array of wildlife” used in the Strategy?

Florida considered wildlife in the broadest sense, including fish and invertebrates, and identified 974 animals and 45 habitats where they live.

What’s completed?

Visit our Web site http://www.MyFWC.com/wildlifelegacy to download the Strategy, development documents, magazine articles and press releases.

 

Presentation - "Florida's Wildlife Legacy Inititive", by Cathy Handrick, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Wildlife Legacy Biology, Norht Central Florida Region. September 7, 2006.
 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's page on the Florida Wildlife Legacy Initiative.