By 2025 Storytelling Intern Jessica Zanca

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As Florida’s population continues to soar, we face the challenge of accommodating housing needs through urbanization without fragmenting the essential Florida Wildlife Corridor. Habitat connectivity is crucial to the survival of native wildlife, like the endangered Florida panther and the Florida black bear, who require plenty of space to roam, mate, and feed. But with the Sunshine State’s populace climbing, burgeoning development aims to keep up. We know that a dramatic change in land use could have a negative effect on the environment; so why don’t we change what development looks like?

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The Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation’s Chief Conservation Officer, Jason Lauritsen, coined the term “Corridor Compatible Communities” (CCC), referring to sustainably designed developments that pay mind to ecosystem service lands, critical pinch points, and wildlife passageways. 

This ambitious project is a collaborative effort, as we join forces with partners like Cadence Landscape Architects, The Nature Conservancy, UF’s Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, Florida Department of Transportation, and many more, to draft a set of Community Guidelines for designing neighborhoods that maintain healthy and connected ecosystems throughout the Corridor. 

A core team has been working on the document on a detailed level for nearly two years. Additionally, advisors and experts—including planners, scientists, community leaders, and policymakers—have been involved in the program’s design and progress. 

Simply put, this is a set of guidelines that highlight environmentally-friendly design strategies that may be considered when planning new communities. Potential features include natural green spaces and recreational trails, the prioritization of native Florida vegetation, reclaimed water irrigation, et cetera.

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The design guidelines aim to address these central values:

Biodiversity—Protect, regenerate, and promote biodiversity to ensure the critical natural systems needed for life on earth can flourish. 

Resilience—Look to protect and mimic natural systems because they resist damage and recover quickly from climate hazards. 

Connection—Place priority on the connectivity and system needs of wildlife and plant species so that they may thrive. 

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What makes this project so unique is the ecologically-conscious language specified in the report. Typically, city/county guidelines will utilize more generic language, without specifying wildlife-inclusive details. Vague, ambiguous guidelines are generally not sufficient in creating policies that model truly sustainable practices. In order for these guidelines to be effective, specific and measurable actions are provided. For example, part of Quality 2.1 Roadway Impacts on Wildlife reads, “Developing plans to detail wildlife-friendly features including small critter crossings (pipe culverts), slow speed zones, curb type, signage, lighting, and buffer zones”. The inclusion of specific language suggests explicit goals, and can hopefully act as a blueprint for future endeavors. 

The project’s next step is testing the document… and you can help! Click here to download the drafted Corridor Compatible Community Guidelines. Once you’ve absorbed all the information, you have the opportunity to provide feedback by completing this questionnaire that will be used by the advisory team to make enhancements to the existing document. Please don’t hesitate to share these links with your friends and colleagues; the more responses we have, the better! After that, stay tuned for the launch of a planned pilot program, which would allow the new CCC guidelines to be applied and tested.

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Jessica Zanca | Storytelling Intern

Jessica is a graduate from The University of Tampa, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with a curriculum focused on animal behavior. She grew up in Connecticut, but visited Florida on vacation as a child, and it was here that she became captivated by the natural world. Since then, she has been passionate about wildlife conservation and hopes to inspire others to care for our planet and the animals we share it with through both her storytelling and photography. Jessica has photographed everything from Florida’s egrets to cheetahs in Zimbabwe, and is thrilled to use this opportunity as a chance to connect others to the natural Florida that stole her heart years ago.