U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service January 2011 Greater Everglades Partnership Initiative, Florida Introduction The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and its partners are advancing a collaborative approach to address landscape-scale land protection efforts in south-central Florida. This new approach is described as the Greater Everglades Partnership Initiative (Initiative), which will help conserve the land, water, and wildlife resources of the Greater Everglades landscape (Figure 1). In order to facilitate analysis across this vast landscape, this large geographic area was divided into three Study Areas and the current proposal focuses on Study Area one: (1) the Everglades Headwaters area, (2) the Fisheating Creek area, and (3) the area around the Florida Panther NWR and Caloosahatchee River. The Greater Everglades landscape is a George Willson vast approximately 4.5 million-acre region wildlife in the southeast U.S. and a large Specifically, this Initiative has a vision for: of wilderness and working ranch lands portion of the unprotected natural habitat that extends from the outskirts of the remaining in peninsular Florida. n Working cooperatively with ranchers Orlando metropolitan area south through and other landowners to protect the Kissimmee River valley to Lake This partnership initiative would wildlife, habitat, and a rural working Okeechobee and southwest to Florida help conserve a rural working ranch agricultural landscape; Panther NWR and Big Cypress Preserve. landscape; protect and restore habitat; This area is one of the great grassland protect, improve, and restore water n and savanna landscapes of eastern North Planning for a proposed new quality and wetlands benefiting residents America. Still largely rural, this area is 150,000-acre refuge, the Everglades and visitors in South Florida; and a mosaic of seasonally wet grasslands, Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge connect a matrix of existing conservation longleaf pine savannas, and cattle ranches and Conservation Area, including lands and important wildlife corridors, that sustains one of the most important landowner and local communities in the supporting Everglades restoration assemblages of imperiled vertebrate planning process; efforts. n Applying multiple ecosystem service This Initiative embodies the Service’s instruments, such as conservation landscape-scale, partnership-driven easements, leases, and landowner approach to land conservation and assistance grants and agreements, management, and provides a framework as well as fee title acquisition and for the Service to engage multiple federal wetland, conservation, and mitigation agencies, State agencies, counties and banks; other local governments, non-government organizations and land trusts, private n Connecting to existing conservation landowners, and citizens in the process. lands and lands set aside through The conservation proposal would allow Habitat Conservation Plans; the partners to be able to put the best wildlife adaptation strategies into action n Simplifying the regulatory permitting on the ground, forming the linkages, processes for lands identified within corridors, and habitat core necessary the proposed study areas; to assist species to adapt to changing climate conditions. USFWS/Garry Tucker U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Non-Governmental Organizations Key Elements of the n The Nature Conservancy Greater Everglades Partnership Initiative The Initiative would converge, build, n National Wildlife Refuge Association and compliment multiple public and private conservation activities within Potential Partners this landscape to protect habitat for Federal Government imperiled species; restore water quality n U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and filtration functions, groundwater recharge, and hydrological systems Tribal Governments that will materially benefit residents of n Seminole Tribe of Florida south Florida; provide a new model for working with large family ranches and n Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida landowners to help sustain the rural and State and Local Government ranching way of life in Florida; increase n Southwest Florida Water Management opportunities for wildlife conservation District education and youth engagement by establishing a new national wildlife n St. Johns River Water Management refuge near major population centers; District and promote Florida tourism and travel industries. n Florida Department of Community Affairs Service Efforts within the NPS/Rob Bennetts Greater Everglades Landscape n Florida Division of Historic Resources The Service manages several national n Supporting the principals of the wildlife refuges within the Greater President’s America’s Great Outdoors n Southwest Florida and East Central Initiative; Everglades Initiative landscape, including Florida Regional Planning Councils Lake Wales Ridge, Caloosahatchee, and Florida Panther NWRs. Further, n Implementing Conservation Service n Additional State Agencies and there are multiple ecosystem services Centers, a one-stop-shop for members Local Governments instruments such as Conservation Banks, of the public to engage with multiple Wetland Mitigation Banks, and Habitat agency and organizations for all their Non-Governmental Organizations/ Conservation Plans that contribute to conservation needs; and Individuals n Florida Farm Bureau overall conservation efforts in the area. The current proposal seeks to establish a Partners within the n Florida Cattleman’s Association new refuge, the Everglades Headwaters Greater Everglades Landscape NWR. n Ranchers Current Partners Federal Government n Key Community Leaders n U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service n U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service n U.S. Air Force, Avon Park Air Force Range State Government n Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission n Florida Department of Environmental Protection n South Florida Water Management District n Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services n Florida Division of State Lands USFWS/Larry Richardson U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Partner Efforts within the Greater Everglades Landscape Beyond the Service’s interest in existing and proposed conservation lands within this landscape, other Tribal, federal, State, and local conservation agencies and non-governmental organizations manage existing conservation lands within this landscape and have identified goals, objectives, and projects similar to those identified in this Initiative for conservation in this area. While numerous partner activities are occurring in this landscape, key partner efforts are listed for Natural Resources Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the South Florida Water Management District, National Wildlife Refuge Association, and the U.S. Air Force. USFWS/Larry Richardson The Nature Conservancy (TNC) n In FY 2010 NRCS funded the National Wildlife Refuge Association n Goal to protect and connect 850,000 Fisheating Creek Special Project (NWRA) acres of high quality habitats on which brought about 26,080 acres in n Support Service efforts to conduct private lands through fee acquisition the Initiative area into the Wetlands the planning and analysis to propose of key parcels and conservation Reserve Program. new national wildlife refuge(s) and easements on ranches. to propose expansion(s) of existing n In FY 2011 approximately 45 national wildlife refuge(s) throughout n Goal to restore 150,000 acre-feet new Wetland Reserve Program the three study areas. natural wetland hydrology to and Grassland Reserve Program contribute to the restoration of the applications total approximately 37,000 n Support and conduct education and Everglades ecosystem. acres in the proposed new refuge area. outreach activities to build awareness and understanding of conservation n Improve the sustainability of the n In FY 2011 NRCS signed a activities within this landscape. ranching industry using conservation Memorandum of Understanding with easements, payments for ecosystem the South Florida Water Management n Bring together various interests and services, and other tools. District to work together to implement tools to support conservation activities Farm Bill programs. within this landscape. n Work with Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm Bill Avon Park Air Force Range, U.S. Air n Further the NWRA’s Beyond the programs to restore the Everglades Force Boundaries Initiative within this ecosystem n Manage 106,000 acres within this landscape. landscape, including wildlife and n Increase wetland restoration targets habitat management activities and n Promote the Greater Everglades in the Comprehensive Everglades outdoor public recreation. Partnership Initiative as an example of Restoration Plan, Lake Okeechobee effective cooperation amongst a variety Watershed Project. n Evaluate partnership opportunities of public and private interests. under the Readiness and n Develop an ecosystem services Environmental Protection Initiative. program that will provide incentives for dispersed water storage, carbon storage, and wildlife habitat restoration and increase the sustainability of ranching in the Northern Everglades. Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) n The Northern Everglades is a priority area for USDA’s Florida NRCS program. USFWS/Garry Tucker Jim Godwin U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Florida Fish and Wildlife Project Description: Conservation Commission