Nokomis, FL – The Florida Conservation Group (FCG) has received a $2.4 million grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to support sustainable longleaf pine conservation efforts on private lands in North Florida’s Big Bend and Springs regions.FCG, in partnership with Common Ground Ecology (CGE), will use the funding to provide technical assistance to private landowners across the springs protection and panhandle regions of Central and North Florida to conserve working forest lands.
“We are grateful to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for their significant investment in the future of Florida’s longleaf pine forests,” said Julie Morris, Executive Director of the Florida Conservation Group. “This funding will enable us to advance our restoration efforts and enhance habitat conservation across the region, supporting both biodiversity and the livelihoods of local communities.”
Forest management planning will implement longleaf pine restoration on more than 10,000 acres by initiating Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) cost-share practices that reinforce prescribed burning and longleaf plantings, as well as other activities that promote forest and species habitat conservation. This grant will help protect threatened and endangered species including gopher tortoises, eastern indigo snakes, northern bobwhite quail and red-cockaded woodpeckers.
This project’s focal regions were selected based on ecologically significant areas affected by devastating hurricanes and the closing of regional sawmills important for sustaining a forest products economy. This project aims to turn these catastrophic events into opportunities to expand longleaf pine conservation practices supported by the NRCS’s Longleaf Pine Initiative, USDA’s Working Lands for Wildlife, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program.
This work builds on the important longleaf pine work carried out by partners including Tall Timbers, North Florida Land Trust, The Nature Conservancy, Alachua Conservation Trust and many other organizations.
NFWF announced a record $33.5 million in conservation grants through the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund (LLSF) to eight southern states that exist across the longleaf pine’s historical range. The grants will leverage an additional $21.2 million in matching contributions to generate a total conservation impact of $54.7 million.
“These projects would not be possible without the incredible network of funding partners and on-the-ground conservationists working collaboratively to reach the America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative’s goal of restoring 8 million acres,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF.
This level of funding is the largest in the program’s history due to the cooperative investment of 10 funders including Altria Group, Bezos Earth Fund, Energy Transfer, International Paper, Orton Foundation, Southern Company, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and USDA NRCS. FCG and Common Ground Ecology look forward to working with our many conservation partners, landowners, and local communities to improve forest management and sustain the regional forest economy.
About FCG
Nokomis-based FCG is committed to conserving Florida’s natural landscape, wildlife, food and water, while maintaining working agricultural lands that are essential to the state’s economy and national security. Comprised of scientists, ranchers and conservation and policy experts, FCG advocates for full funding for state land protection programs, including the Rural and Family Lands Program and the Florida Forever Program. The organization assists landowners with conservation easements and other conservation incentive programs. Since its inception in 2015, FCG has represented private landowners in the conservation of over 85,000 acres of land and facilitated the protection of thousands of additional acres on behalf of governmental entities.
About Common Ground Ecology
Common Ground Ecology helps government agencies and landowners to develop workable, science-based plans that balance the needs of wildlife and natural lands with land use issues. We develop fair, honest and comprehensive assessments and strategies that protect Florida lands, native wildlife and the people those systems impact.
About the Longleaf Landscape Stewardship Fund
The fund supports projects that advance the longleaf pine ecosystem through collaborative and results-oriented actions that contribute to the restoration goals of the America’s Longleaf Restoration Initiative. Building on the success of the Longleaf Legacy Program, a partnership between Southern Company and NFWF since 2004, the fund has invested over $108 million into projects that work to restore more than 300,000 acres of longleaf pine forest.
About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Chartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate, foundation and individual partners, NFWF has funded more than 22,100 organizations and generated a total conservation impact of $10 billion. NFWF is an equal opportunity provider. Learn more at nfwf.org.
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