
From the southern tip of the Everglades to the Florida Panhandle, a landscape that represents a trip back in time winds serenely through scrub, rivers, lakes, forest, hardwood swamps, and every type of habitat. Like jewels connected by a thin chain of gold, these undeveloped areas reveal our state at its wildest. The Florida Wildlife Corridor follows the paths that animals traveled unhindered beside native people centuries ago, but greenspace links between conserved areas are tightening.
The push for conservation in Florida is taking a macro view. It is not enough to set aside large portions of land and hope that animals will congregate there. After largely unchecked development in the 1970s and ’80s, the Florida panther was nearing extinction, and what was once a statewide black bear population became isolated in a few spots. Efforts to protect their fragmented habitat ramped up, but the urgent need for statewide connectivity of conserved lands remained. In 2010, this need was illuminated by none other than an unassuming young black bear with big ambitions.

Joe Guthrie is the director of the Predator-Prey Program at Archbold Biological Station in Venus, Florida. Guthrie took part in a research study of the Highlands/Glades bear population, spanning 2004 to 2010.
He describes the day in 2009 that the team collared the sub-adult bear: “M34 was the smallest of the three that we caught on one of the hottest October days I can remember in Florida,” he recalls. “We prefer to collar full-grown, robust bears that have the best chance at survival for the next year, after which the tracking collar will reach data capacity and is designed to fall off. At M34’s estimated age, he had been independent of his mother for just months, and those young bears generally stay relatively close to their home range. So, we didn’t expect much in the way of interesting data on his movements, but boy, did he surprise us.”

In May 2010, at the beginning of breeding season, the bear began a 500-mile journey, far exceeding the travels of any of the 60 Highlands/Glades bears collared during the study. M34 crossed the Kissimmee River, moving toward Lake Marion and the Adams Ranch. He lingered there for a week before heading southwest, where he passed through the town of Frostproof. He crossed State Road 60 and made his way north.
“M34’s data showed us example after example of his audacity,” notes Guthrie. “We saw him thinking his way through different obstacles, learning as he went.”

The bear continued north, skirting lakes, housing developments, and conservation areas until he landed just outside Disney in the town of Celebration. He crossed the four-lane State Road 417, and on June 1 he came up against an insurmountable obstacle: Interstate 4 roared above him. He hid in a tiny stand of trees behind Celebration Hospital and waited until dark.
“Bears that live in areas where people frequent are much more nocturnal than bears in remote forested areas,” Guthrie explains. “They learn to avoid people by moving at night.” What M34 sought was beyond that massive interstate, so he recrossed 417 and moved south, approaching I-4 several times as if to cross, until he began to travel toward his home range again, resting on private ranches in the company of female bears along the way.

The young bear’s collar, filled with data, fell off as programmed, but not until he showed researchers more of his adventurous side. “Twice, he swam out into Lake Okeechobee as if to cross, and then thought better of it,” says Guthrie. “He also traveled along a bicycle trail in broad daylight, slipping down into some wetlands when he needed to stay out of sight.” While his efforts to “disperse,” or establish his own territory, farther north that year were ultimately thwarted, the collar’s data was a powerful aid in identifying and protecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor, leading to one of the most successful conservation campaigns in Florida’s history.
The state of Florida comprises 38,392,000 acres. Land within the Florida Wildlife Corridor is measured at 17,700,000 acres, of which 10 million acres are conserved. This includes 1,700 miles of trails with hunting, fishing, and horseback riding access.

“The corridor narrows at certain points that are critical to maintain statewide connectivity,” says Josh Daskin, director of conservation at Archbold Biological Station. “These bottlenecks between larger, biodiverse hubs like Big Cypress to the south and Ocala National Forest to the north are usually around areas that have been developed or are about to be, so this makes the land more expensive to acquire for conservation. About 40 percent of the land yet to be conserved is on ranches, where conservation easements protect key areas and allow for wildlife dispersal. Private landowners and ranchers are often very good land stewards, and most have embraced the corridor.”

While some 250,000 new Florida residents were expected last year, Daskin believes we can keep our commitment to wild places and still welcome development. “If we coordinate at a county and regional level and identify areas to develop that are lower priority for the ecosystems, this grouping together avoids sprawl,” says Daskin. “Currently, the appetite for conservation is robust; our state government has supported the corridor, and funding is coming from both state and federal sources at historic levels. We have never lived in a moment like this.”
Accessing conserved lands is like taking a walk back in time, when birds and animals were plentiful and natural wetlands and meandering rivers were unaltered. Bird species at risk of extinction, such as the crested caracara, snail kite, Florida grasshopper sparrow, Florida scrub jay, red-cockaded woodpecker, whooping crane, and wood stork all find refuge along the corridor’s varied habitats. The Florida panther, the Florida black bear, and the gopher tortoise are recovering from dangerously low populations.

Mallory Dimmitt, CEO of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation, has traversed nearly the entire length of the corridor. “Among my favorite destinations is the Green Swamp,” she says. “It’s a place where you can easily envision the ancestors of Tocobaga, Seminole, and Miccosukee native people who once inhabited these lands. I think about their way of life in these environments and what we can learn from that today. For instance, they pioneered controlled burning techniques to restore the landscape, promoting new growth, improving hunting opportunities, and mitigating the risk of wildfires. This ancient practice is instrumental today to maintain biodiversity.”
Indian River County is adding to the conservation push with a successful 2022 voter referendum for a $50 million bond to acquire environmentally sensitive lands. “Eighty percent of voters approved that referendum,” notes County Commissioner Joe Earman. “Conservation lands are a great benefit to the community.”

The Florida Wildlife Corridor is present in western Indian River County. The Fort Drum marsh and Blue Cypress Lake, both havens for year-round and migrating birds, are within the corridor, along with conservation easement acreage at the Padgett Branch property.
Anyone can nominate a property under the new referendum. Properties must have certain criteria, such as natural vegetation and rare or imperiled species of plants, animals, or birds. Once a property is acquired, a long-term budget and management plan is set in motion. “This may include hydrologic enhancements such as removing ditches or other man-made alterations, prescribed burns, and removal of invasive vegetation,” says Earman. “This management serves to enhance the areas where trails and boardwalks are established for the public to enjoy hiking, wildlife viewing, and other types of passive recreation.”

For such a populous state, Florida stands out for its conservation efforts. Nevada, Idaho, and Alaska top the list of U.S. states with the highest percentage of conserved lands, but Florida, at No. 14 on the list, protects more than 25 percent of its total acreage and has quadruple the population of the top three states combined. Dimmitt hopes the Sunshine State can act as a model going forward.
“We are still celebrating the signing of the Florida Wildlife Corridor act in 2021. Looking ahead, my vision for the Florida Wildlife Corridor is one of healthy ecosystems, connected landscapes, and widespread appreciation for its importance,” she says.

Protection for the corridor has been a group effort going back decades. “Five years from now,” Dimmitt adds, “I envision all of the conservation organizations cooperating to protect the most urgent lands facing development so that no irreplaceable connections have been lost.”
When Dimmitt is trekking the Florida Wildlife Corridor, she comes across places that seem ancient and sacred. “There is a profound sense of connection to the present and to the past, an understanding that we are merely temporary custodians of this ancient landscape,” she says. “That’s why it’s so important we protect what’s left.”
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