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GOAL THREE: Design and manage
a statewide system of greenways that provides essential ecological
linkages in order to: (1) conserve critical elements of Florida's
green infrastructure of native ecosystems and landscapes; and (2)
facilltate the ability of these ecosystems and landscapes to function
as dynamic systems and to maintain the evolutionary potential that
will allow them to adapt to future environmental changes.
Florida has a rich biological heritage that includes more than
600 terrestrial and freshwater vertebrate species and approximately
3,500 species of vascular plants. This variety and variability within
and among living populations, species of organisms and ecosystems
give our state its widely renowned biodiversity.
Creation of a statewide, integrated conservation system is one of
the best hopes for protecting and restoring natural patterns of
plant and animal life and the ecosystems that support them. This
integrated system would build upon the conservation of threatened
or endangered ecosystem types, "hotspots" of endangered
species, and underutilized habitats, and connect them through a
system of greenways that transcends landscapes.
In theory, comprehensive landscape planning optimizes connectivity
by linking certain preserves, parks and buffers comprised of appropriate
land uses into an integrated conservation system. The goal is
to protect and manage an overall landscape that effectively protects
biological diversity while supporting other compatible and productive
land uses in a sustainable manner. Although native ecological communities
are the standard for protecting biological diversity, altered ecosystems
can also contribute in special ways. For example, lands devoted
to less intensive forms of agriculture and silviculture or rangelands
provide habitat for wildlife that constitutes prey for species such
as the Florida panther. Indeed, because such land uses often occur
in large tracts and can be effectively managed, they can contribute
habitat values that may not be achieved in any other manner. Similarly,
agricultural land uses can buffer ecological preserves and other
public conservation areas from the effects of more intensive urban
land uses. Ideally, connected reserve lands would be surrounded
by compatible agricultural activities such as silviculture and ranching,
which would then grade into more intensive agricultural land uses.
Native ecosystems and landscapes also contain non-living components
that are important for greenways. Archaeological sites, which are
often best preserved in native ecosystems, are the only record of
millennia of human history. These remains are now thoroughly integrated
in native ecosystems where they provide special environmental conditions
of elevation, drainage, and soil that contribute to the variety
and distribution of plant and animal communities. Such sites do
not diminish the concept of pristine native ecosystem; rather, the
protection of the pristine ecosystems also carries with it the ethical
obligation to preserve these sites that are inextricably part of
ecosystems.
The goal for integrated conservation systems is to protect, restore
and manage landscapes to conserve natural ecological processes and
evolutionary forces. Preserves, parks, working landscapes and the
ecological corridors that connect them represent critical components
in any viable integrated conservation plan. A statewide system of
greenways, linking preserves, parks and working landscapes, will
help conserve the state's biodiversity by assisting in the creation
of an effective statewide integrated conservation system.
Summary of Recommended Strategies
Identify and conserve an integrated, statewide
system of greenways that encompasses the full range of Florida's
native ecosystems and landscapes.
In the past there has been a tendency treat ecological
systems as discrete units in which land was subdivided and on which
property lines were drawn. Management plans often were developed
based only on the intrinsic characteristics of the site and sometimes
on the narrow objectives of the manager. This approach has led to
increasingly fragmented and degraded landscapes unable to support
native biological diversity or the needs of people. Advances in
ecological sciences and a growing environmental awareness have led
to important changes in how we perceive our natural heritage and
conserve natural resources.
A comprehensive regional approach is key to creating an effective
statewide system of greenways and to ensuring that connectivity
(the opposite of fragmentation) is enhanced. Conservation corridors
and landscape linkages are critical components of integrated conservation
systems. The ecological value of greenways will only be realized
when they serve as effective connectors within a larger system composed
of biological reserves, multiple-use conservation areas, working
landscapes, and buffers. These integrated conservation systems will
become increasingly necessary for the effective conservation of
native biological diversity as Florida's human population and built
environment continue to grow. This green infrastructure can help
conserve our natural heritage while providing recreational opportunities
and sustainable economic activities.
Utilize Florida's rivers, springs, lakes,
and other inland and coastal aquatic features as strategic building
blocks in the statewide greenways system.
The state's coastal and inland aquatic
features encompass a wide variety of native ecosystems including
lakes, estuaries, rivers, and associated wetlands. Florida's rivers,
streams, and other surface water bodies serve as natural landscape
features that help guide the movement of animals, plants and water
and provide connectivity across the landscape. Florida's aquatic
features provide natural buffers from adjacent land uses, benefiting
the state's natural and human communities.
These aquatic features represent
key building blocks in Florida's integrated conservation system.
Together, they provide important native ecosystems and natural linkages
that will help tie Florida's green ways system together and enable
it to function.
Link regional landscapes through Florida's
system of greenways, including lands ranging from native ecosystems
that are publicly owned to highly managed forestry and agricultural
properties that are privately owned.
Many wide-ranging wildlife species such as the Florida
panther and black bear cannot be conserved and managed within isolated
preserves or conservation areas. Similarly, important ecological
processes such as fire, flood and wind are most beneficial to management
when they can move effectively across the landscape. Spatial integration
of conservation lands into a regional conservation system is therefore
important. The statewide system of greenways must be planned and
designed to maximize land use compatibility in order to conserve
biodiversity and maintain ecosystem integrity while minimizing negative
impacts to private lands.
 Utilize the best information available about the requirements
of Florida's native ecosystems and landscapes to plan and manage
the statewide system of greenways.
Knowledge about Florida's native systems is advancing
at a rapid rate, and agencysponsored research is increasingly recognized
as a critical element in responsible stewardship of the state's
natural resources. Florida's system of greenways can be sustained
only if the requirements and critical thresholds of its native ecosystems
and landscapes are understood and if the system, and its ecological
components, are planned and managed accordingly.
Address native ecosystem conservation/human
use compatibility issues by developing minimum greenway design and
management guidelines.
High-speed power boating and manatee conservation, free-ranging
bison and cattle ranching, unprotected beehives and bear conservation
are examples of incompatible uses of the same land or water. By
contrast, wilderness hiking and endangered species preservation,
canoeing and maintenance of fish migration routes, and hunting and
industrial forest management are examples of highly compatible uses
of the same land.
Compatibility of uses is one of the single most pressing issues
facing the development of a statewide greenways system that meets
native ecosystem and landscape conservation goals while providing
direct human-use benefits to Florida's residents and visitors. The
major tool for addressing compatibility issues is the development
of minimum greenways design and management guidelines.
Undertake and/or support the research and
monitoring efforts necessary to effectively plan and manage the
native ecosystems and landscapes within Florida's system of greenways.
As human pressures increasingly fragment Florida's native
ecosystems and landscapes, the erosion of biological integrity and
diversity will increase. Conversely, there is not enough information
on the critical elements necessary to effectively plan and manage
the ecological components of the statewide system of greenways.
Research is urgently needed to fine-tune design criteria, management
guidelines, and critical thresholds for the native ecosystems and
landscapes.
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