This program gives you a financial incentive to keep your land natural instead of selling for development. By participating, you help protect critical areas in the Florida Wildlife Corridor, maintain wildlife connectivity, and can also support clean water and aquifer recharge. It’s a voluntary way to earn income while preserving your land for the future. 

The Corridor Foundation recognizes private landowners as crucial partners in Florida conservation efforts as the first and final decision maker. Developing conservation incentives and connecting with private landowners are priorities of the Corridor Foundation’s Conservation and Connectivity Plan. This program helps to realize those objectives 

A landowner can be paid for providing one or two ecosystem services. Payment rates average about $30/acre/year: ranging from $9/acre/year to $97/acre/year.  Rates are established per enrolled acre and dependent  on ecosystem services, including habitat connectivity, aquifer recharge, water quality, location and condition. These payment rates will fluctuate from time to time. If interested, please contact us. 

Landowners enter contracts to receive annual payments on a per-acre basis for the ecosystem services  provided for a period of 5 years. They receive payment for the enrolled acreage at the time of enrollment and after each annual ecosystem services monitoring visit. 

Eligibility for the Florida Wildlife Corridor PES Pilot program is based on 4 factors:  

• Size of Property – Large landowners and small landowners can participate, but eligibility will depend on location in Wildlife Corridor Opportunity Areas and funding availability. 

• Entity Type – Private landowners with agricultural working lands or other land uses that maintain land in open space within the boundaries of the Florida Wildlife Corridor. 

• Expected Ecosystem Services – The ecosystem services of focus include habitat connectivity, water quality, and aquifer recharge.  

• Land Use and Management – Maintaining working agricultural lands as open space and not selling lands to residential or commercial development uses. 

Click on the link on the homepage: https://www.wildlifecorridorpes-fl.com/ and click the “Submit Your Expression of Interest” button. 

Enrollment is currently restricted to the areas near the Avon Park Air Force Range.  Expansion to other areas will be based on other funding sources. To stay informed about new PES Program opportunities, contact us! 

Payments will be calculated based on the quantity of ecosystem services provided on the enrollee’s land as determined by Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN) spatial data and also land cover data relevant to each ecosystem service that is provided, multiplied by the value of the ecosystem service as determined by accepted ecosystem services values derived through a benefits transfer approach. 

Participating landowners must maintain enrolled working agricultural lands as open space and not sell lands to residential or commercial development uses. Each year, landowners schedule a time to allow Corridor Foundation or other monitoring personnel on site for an ecosystem services monitoring visit. 

Yes, there are various forms of landowner assistance that can be applied to properties already enrolled in the  Florida Wildlife Corridor PES Pilot program. Landowners participating in the  program are encouraged to explore other assistance opportunities; for example, the above-mentioned cost share programs are aligned with the goals of the  Florida Wildlife Corridor PES Pilot program. Landowners who meet NRCS program requirements are encouraged to seek funding for their management practices. While cost share program payments are based on the completion of specific practices and the corresponding cost of implementation, the Florida Wildlife Corridor PES Pilot program payments are based on measures of habitat connectivity, water quality, and aquifer recharge on a property. 

Agreements have both an amendment and termination clause, allowing either party to amend or terminate the agreement without penalty. Payments are based on ecosystem conditions that exist at the time of enrollment and monitoring visits, so no penalty or repayment will be required if an agreement is terminated. Program participants are free to manage their land as desired, however, changes to ecosystem conditions in the enrolled area may affect subsequent scoring and payment rate. In certain cases, ecosystem changes may result in termination of the agreement with no liability for the Corridor Foundation to make future payments. 

Landowners enter contracts to receive annual payments on a per-acre basis for the ecosystem services provided for a period of 5 years. Renewal would be agreed upon by both parties. 

A landowner who sells property containing enrolled acreage can terminate the contract. If interested in the program, the new landowner(s) would need to apply during the next available enrollment period. 

Yes, activities such as grazing, hunting, and silviculture are generally compatible with conservation goals when done following basic conservation tenets. This program is geared toward working lands, where stewardship can yield multiple benefits while also providing ecosystem services like habitat connectivity, water quality, and aquifer recharge. 

Funding for the Florida Wildlife Corridor PES Pilot program has been received and secured from a grant through the U.S. Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI) Challenge Grant Program. The success of the pilot program will determine future funding from REPI and other sources that will be pursued including public and private entities. Funding a long-term PES program is a priority of the Corridor Foundation to ensure the protection of critical linkages within the Florida Wildlife Corridor via private lands.