More than 2,000 acres of additional land in the Central Florida region are now on the state’s shortlist of properties to protect from development.
Members of the state’s Acquisition and Restoration Council, ARC, voted unanimously Friday to approve the additions to the state’s public land acquisition program, Florida Forever. Council members evaluate properties proposed by landowners and local governments for state conservation, and narrow down the list based on a range of criteria.
Properties that wind up on ARC’s list are eligible for acquisition by the state. But before that happens, ARC’s list must also be approved by the Florida Cabinet, which includes the governor.
Some examples of Florida Forever criteria include the number of floodplain acres on a given property, or whether protecting the property would help link two valuable landscapes together within an existing, still-incomplete conservation corridor. Several of the newest additions to ARC’s shortlist could provide such a “landscape linkage” role, including Hi-Oaks Ranch in southeast Seminole County.
The nearly 670-acre, privately-owned property lies just north of the Orange County line. It’s made up of mostly pasture, along with stands of planted pine, scattered wetlands and intact bottomland forest. Hi-Oaks Ranch abuts the Econlockhatchee River and sits adjacent to Seminole’s Econ River Wilderness Area.
“This would fill in a major piece along this part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor within Seminole County, adjacent to Orange County,” Seminole County Parks Director Richard Durr told ARC members during a public hearing Thursday afternoon.
In addition to Hi-Oaks Ranch, ARC members also approved extending the boundaries of several other, existing Florida Forever projects to include additional acres of Central Florida land.
A total 1,117 acres in Flagler and Putnam County were approved for expanding the Matanzas to Ocala Conservation Corridor, along with 293 acres for the Volusia Conservation Corridor. ARC members also shortlisted 30 acres of land within the Upper Peace River watershed in Polk County, an area heavily affected by phosphate mining.
The budget for the current fiscal year only includes $18 million for the state to acquire land through Florida Forever, much less than the $100 million in recurring funds promised by state law. For the 2026-27 fiscal year, Governor Ron DeSantis has requested $115 million for Florida Forever.
RELATED: Funding is slashed for the Florida Forever land preservation program
Also on Friday, ARC members voted to rank all Florida Forever projects according to conservation priority level. Those rankings are included in the final priority list submitted to the Florida Cabinet, which should happen no later than May.
