 |
 Partners in Conserving America's Resources |
Hendry County Extension Service Auditorium
LaBelle, Florida
Sponsored by:
USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service
South Florida Water Management District
Eighteen private landowners from four southwest Florida counties attended a January 20, 1999 meeting at the Hendry County Extension Service to hear a progress report on the Private Lands: Partners in Conserving America’s Resources project and comment on an outline of the Resource Conservation Agreement.
A copy of changes made as a result of comments made by landowners at this meeting can be obtained by clicking here.
Dallas Townsend, director of the Hendry County Extension Service for the past 33 years and a member of the project’s original Landowners’ Working Group, opened the meeting. He gave an overview of the project:
1993: Request for proposal issued by Florida Advisory Council on Environmental Education (FACEE) to find ways to develop better cooperation with private landowners on environmental issues, particularly habitat issues involving the Florida panther.
Concept for project developed by Craig Evans who, at the time, was a consultant for American Farmland Trust (AFT).
Joint project between AFT and Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission (GFC) proposed to FACEE. Project funded.
Landowner Working Group formed, made up of seven private landowners, plus a GFC biologist and Craig Evans; Review Committee formed, made up of 44 representatives of government agencies, environmental organizations and farm groups.
1994: Florida Panther Habitat Preservation Plan released by Florida Panther Interagency Committee, made up of GFC, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service and Department of Environmental Protection.
Preservation plan elicits strong response from angry landowners, providing impetus for project to find an approach that will work for landowners, the public and the panther.
Landowner Working Group meets on monthly basis. Concepts developed by Working Group mailed to Review Committee. Comments from Review Committee provided to Landowner Working Group for consideration.
Landowners’ Conceptual Plan developed. Conceptual plan receives support of Review Committee.
1995: Report written on Landowners’ Conceptual Plan, with economic analysis by Dallas Townsend showing the plan compares very favorably with other conservation options from a cost standpoint. Report published by GFC.
1996: Project not funded, not carried forward by American Farmland Trust or GFC. No progress made.
Florida Stewardship Foundation formed by members of Landowners’ Working Group and Review Committee to attract funding and carry project forward.
Dallas introduced Craig Evans, President of Florida Stewardship Foundation, to complete the project overview:
1997: Report on Landowners’ Conceptual Plan presented to landowners in meeting at Hendry County Extension Service. Report receives landowner support; members of Landowner Working Group receive plaudits from audience for working on their behalf.
Two workshops held to bring private landowners together with representatives of government agencies and environmental interests to (1) address concerns raised by Review Committee regarding the Landowners’ Conceptual Plan and (2) determine how the Landowners’ Conceptual Plan should be implemented. Workshops attract 60-70 people each, evenly divided among interest groups.
A comprehensive economic analysis is conducted in cooperation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and University of Florida to expand on and verify results of Dallas’ economic analysis.
Project broadened to cover all types of listed species on private lands.
Lease program proposed to implement Landowners’ Conceptual Plan.
1998: Model project started in DeSoto County to test lease/conservation agreement concept.
Two workshops held. Lease concept revised; changed into a service contract. Project broadened to cover all types of natural resources on private lands. Last of remaining concerns raised by Review Committee and workshop participants addressed and incorporated into proposed outline for Resource Conservation Agreement. Consensus is reached.
Craig explained that the purpose of the landowners’ meeting was to review the proposed outline for the Resource Conservation Agreement -- before taking steps to begin implementing the program -- to ensure the agreement would be acceptable to and would work well for landowners.
A 13-minute video, developed by Florida Stewardship Foundation as a public education tool to explain the project, was shown, eliciting compliments from several meeting participants.
Meeting participants were asked to read the text of the proposed outline of the Resource Conservation Agreement, which had been reproduced on poster-size paper and taped to the auditorium walls, and to indicate their reactions to each section of outline as follows:
1. Green flag (or no flag):
This is good; I agree2. Yellow flag:
I may not agree 100%, but I can live with it3. Orange flag:
I cannot agree; this needs major work
3x5 post-its were available for participants who posted yellow and orange flags to explain why they disagreed with a specific section of the outline and how they would change the outline to make it more acceptable.
After a lunch of barbecue chicken and ribs, Craig Evans led a discussion to explore the reasons behind each yellow and orange flag, to go over comments from meeting participants, entertain possible solutions and, where necessary, make changes in the proposed outline of the Resource Conservation Agreement. At the end of the discussion, consensus had been reached on all points, with all yellow flags changed to green, and all but two orange flags changed to green, with the two remaining flags changed to yellow. The results of this discussion appear on the following pages.
Craig then explained the next steps of the project — to distribute the video and Resource Conservation Agreement Briefing Book to as many people as possible to acquaint them with the project and provide a means for them to offer input; cooperate with USDA/NRCS to institute the program as part of, or as an offshoot to, of the existing Conservation Reserve Program; and ensure conservation programs in Florida can utilize the Resource Conservation Agreement as a tool to create conservation partnerships with private landowners, particularly in those cases where public land acquisition and/or a permanent conservation easements are not an option.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:10 p.m.
A copy of changes made as a result of comments made by landowners at this meeting can be obtained by clicking here.
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Designed & Maintained by Florida Stewardship Foundation || Photos &
drawings by David Maehr
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