After 45 days of overtime, Florida legislators concluded their 2025 session with a state budget that included more setbacks than successes for land conservation.

Florida Forever

The final budget approved by the Senate and House for the year that begins July 1 includes just $18 million for Florida Forever, the state’s premier land conservation program. While legislators allocated $51.4 million to purchase three properties they chose to protect, the Florida Forever selection process, which is a science-based assessment of priorities for protection, is far preferable.

Two years ago, legislators pledged to spend at least $100 million a year on Florida Forever, an essential investment to maintain momentum in the program, keep up with the demand to protect high-priority natural land threatened by development, and honor the constitutional obligation to invest in land conservation utilizing Florida’s well-funded Land Acquisition Trust Fund.

Legislative leaders who slashed funding for Florida Forever next year said there were unspent funds from prior years, but much if not most of those dollars are already committed to land purchases that take years to complete. Meanwhile, the cost of protecting valuable natural land will continue to increase. 

Other Land Acquisition Programs

Legislators allocated no funding at all for two other land conservation programs, Florida Communities Trust and the Florida Recreational Development Assistance Program, that expand parks and outdoor recreation. These decisions were even more disappointing in the wake of the outpouring from the public to protect Florida State Parks, and to reject proposals to trade away conservation lands. 

Seminole Gaming Compact

And legislators rescinded a commitment they made just last year to dedicate at least $400 million in annual revenues from the Seminole Gaming Compact to land conservation and management, water protection and community resilience grants. Maintaining this commitment would have preserved a growing, long-term funding stream for these critical investments in Florida’s environment and quality of life. 

Rural and Family Lands Protection Program

Offsetting these setbacks in part, legislators allocated $250 million to the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, which buys development rights on agricultural properties to keep them in production and protect them from development. The RFLPP is a great program, but it’s a complement, not a substitute, for Florida Forever. Unlike the RFLPP, Florida Forever expands public access to environmental land. Land conserved through RFLPP is not added to the state’s public inventory of parks or wildlife management areas. 

What’s Next

The Legislature’s budget will now be presented for action to the Governor, who has the authority to approve or veto its line items. We’re hopeful that he will not compound the damage done to land conservation with vetoes. Whatever he decides, it’s not too soon for Floridians who care about losing valuable natural land to development to reach out to their legislators, and urge them to restore full funding to Florida Forever in the next state budget.