House Bill 9477

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HR 9477

        By Representative Livingston






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution supporting the concepts and

  3         objectives of "The Florida Panther & Private

  4         Lands" and "Private Habitats:  Haven for

  5         Threatened and Endangered Species" projects.

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  7         WHEREAS, Florida has more endangered species than any

  8  state in the Union except Hawaii and California and has been

  9  rated as a state in which threatened and endangered species

10  are at risk as a result of continued habitat destruction, and

11         WHEREAS, Florida has launched the nation's most

12  aggressive public land acquisition program and has provided

13  more annual funding over the past decade than any other state

14  or the Federal Government to pay for public land purchases and

15  enter into less-than-fee protection options with private

16  landowners, including the enactment of conservation easements

17  on private lands to protect wildlife habitat, wetlands, water

18  resources, and farmland, and

19         WHEREAS, the state cannot afford to buy or manage every

20  tract of land that contributes to its environmental welfare,

21  nor can it hope to outlaw all destructive uses of these lands

22  without further limiting the lawful uses of private property

23  and placing unfair burdens on private property owners, and

24         WHEREAS, the "Florida Panther & Private Lands" and

25  "Private Habitats:  Havens for Threatened and Endangered

26  Species" projects being conducted by the not-for-profit

27  organization Florida Stewardship Foundation, in cooperation

28  with University of Florida--IFAS, private landowners,

29  environmental groups, and all levels of government throughout

30  the state, offer a practical, workable means to add to,

31  supplement, and extend many of the major conservation efforts

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HR 9477

    549-157A-98






  1  and expenditures of the state on behalf of environmental

  2  protection, and

  3         WHEREAS, these projects are based on the premise that

  4  provision of a reduction in operating costs and a reliable

  5  revenue stream for maintaining and enhancing natural or

  6  constructed habitats will offset the economic incentives a

  7  landowner might have for converting these habitats to other

  8  uses, and

  9         WHEREAS, the concepts behind these incentive-driven

10  projects will emphasize the important contributions private

11  landowners can make to habitat enhancement and protection and

12  reward private landowners for acting as responsible stewards

13  of wildlife habitats and other natural resources on their

14  properties, and

15         WHEREAS, these concepts will encourage private

16  landowners not only to maintain and protect habitats that are

17  essential for the continued survival of threatened and

18  endangered species and species of special state concern, but

19  to take additional steps wherever possible to restore and

20  improve these habitats so they will support additional

21  indigenous and keystone species, and

22         WHEREAS, a key objective of these projects is to create

23  new cost-effective and affordable conservation options that

24  will appeal to large numbers of private landowners, as well as

25  to environmental interests and government agencies, and that

26  will work effectively in providing habitat for threatened and

27  endangered species, and

28         WHEREAS, these conservation options will be based upon

29  sound scientific evidence and designed to encourage large

30  numbers of landowners to commit to long-term management plans

31  to ensure that essential habitats are not destroyed as a

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HR 9477

    549-157A-98






  1  result of ever-encroaching urban development or the need to

  2  intensify and expand agricultural and forestry operations so

  3  they can remain competitive and profitable, and

  4         WHEREAS, these options will ensure that essential

  5  habitats are well-managed so they can maintain their

  6  ecological functions in a manner equal to or better than they

  7  are today, and

  8         WHEREAS, many thousands of acres of habitat that exist

  9  today on private lands may never be protected through any

10  other means nor prevented through any law, rule, regulation,

11  or limitation on private property rights from being converted

12  to uses which could destroy most or all of their habitat

13  value, NOW, THEREFORE,

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15  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

16  Florida:

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18         That the House of Representatives supports the

19  premises, concepts, and objectives embodied in the "Florida

20  Panther & Private Lands" and "Private Habitats:  Havens for

21  Threatened and Endangered Species" projects, and urges all

22  appropriate state agencies, water management districts, and

23  other divisions of government in the state to cooperate to the

24  fullest extent possible in implementing these premises,

25  concepts, and objectives and to offer technical,

26  administrative, and other support to the degree that is

27  possible and appropriate.

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