Florida Trend Highlights UF’s Role in Protecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor
The University of Florida’s Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, housed within the Department of Landscape Architecture, was featured in the Florida Trend article “Connecting the Corridor.” The story highlights the center’s contributions to the Florida Wildlife Corridor and the impact of the Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN), a statewide database created by the center that identifies and prioritizes a functionally connected network of public and private conservation lands.
Images from the Florida Trend article “Connecting the Corridor”
Center Director Tom Hoctor spoke about the importance of the Florida Ecological Greenways Network and its effect on conservation and land management statewide.
“Here’s this thing called the FEGN that almost nobody knows about. It’s being used to make decisions about conservation land protection, so it’s important, but the average Floridian has no clue that it exists,” Hoctor said. “Meanwhile, we’re losing more rural land every day. Maybe we need to get a public education outreach campaign to get this message across.”
That campaign became the Florida Wildlife Corridor, which encompasses 18 million acres of forests, rivers, ranches and farms connecting the Everglades to the Georgia and Alabama borders. The corridor gives wildlife room to roam and keeps critical ecosystem services intact. With the help of the FEGN, officials can make land acquisition decisions that protect key areas from rapid development.
Learn more about the FEGN and the science behind the Corridor.
