Isadora Rangel

isadora.rangel@tcpalm.com

TALLAHASSEE — Paying ranchers not to develop their property is the only environmental land preservation the Legislature agreed to fund in a state budget deal reached Wednesday.

Of the two influential lawmakers who are running for agriculture commissioner, one took credit for pushing for funding. If elected, state Sen. Denise Grimsley would run the agency that oversees the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program, which has been praised by environmentalists and agricultural industry leaders alike.

Not a single penny would go to the Florida Forever land preservation program or to grants for local parks. Environmentalists called the lack of funding a mishandling of the 2014 voter-approved constitutional Amendment 1, which set aside money to buy, restore, manage and improve land and water resources. Lawmakers negotiated how to spend natural resource funds in meetings not open to the public or media.

Lawmakers didn't fund septic tank conversions to sewer systems either, despite the House proposing $25 million earlier this session. Scientists and environmentalists say such conversions are a must if the state wants to reduce water pollution and prevent algae blooms that last year killed fish in the Banana River and rendered the St. Lucie River, Indian River Lagoon and Atlantic beaches toxic.

That money was a priority of Gov. Rick Scott, whose other funding request didn't get budgeted either: $200 million to help the federal government expedite repairs to the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee.

The Legislature likely will vote on the budget Monday.

House snubs Gov. Rick Scott request for Lake Okeechobee dike repair funds

A compromise

The lack of land preservation funding was a compromise, said Senate budget chairman Jack Latvala.

The Senate had to concede to the House to secure more than $1 billion for its top environmental goals: renourishing beaches; restoring the Everglades, St. Johns River and Keystone Heights Lake region; and borrowing $800 million to build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee to curb discharges into coastal estuaries. In return, the House wanted to save more money, Latvala said.

The Clearwater Republican in 1999 sponsored the bill that created Florida Forever to protect water bodies and acquire greenways and other conservation lands. He said he's disappointed there isn't any money for it.

"If buying ... land (under Florida Forever) suffers for a year, so be it," Latvala said. "Next year, I’ll try to fix it."

Gov. Rick Scott will approve reservoir to reduce Lake Okeechobee discharges

Money for ranchers

The Legislature agreed to budget $10 million for Rural and Family Lands, after initially proposing to defund it. Adams Ranch in St. Lucie County and Blue Cypress Lake Ranch in Indian River County are on the state's protection wishlist. Landowners receive money as an incentive not to develop their land, while they maintain agricultural operations.

Latvala said politics might be behind the decision to fund the program instead of Florida Forever or the Florida Communities Trust park grants.

"The agricultural community, the Agriculture Commissioner (Adam Putnam) has been working that issue really hard, and various people running for agriculture commissioner are working really hard," Latvala said, "and that’s what we have to deal with."

Pushing for funds

After the budget deal was announced, Grimsley issued a statement titled "Senator Grimsley restores $10 million in funds for Rural and Family Lands."

"Agriculture is the foundation of Florida’s economy, and without the Rural and Family Lands Program, our agricultural base would be eroded," she said in the statement. "I had deep concerns about the loss of funding for this program in the original House and Senate budgets, and I am thankful we were able to provide funding during the budget conference process.”

State Rep. Matt Caldwell, who's also running for agriculture commissioner, sponsored a bill that would change how money within Florida Forever is distributed to prioritize Rural and Family Lands. The program under the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services receives 3.5 percent of Florida Forever funds, and Caldwell wants to increase it to 40 percent. Florida Forever's preservation land waiting list would receive 35 percent and Florida Communities Trust 25 percent.

House passes bill to fund Florida Forever, starting in 2018

The House passed Caldwell's bill Tuesday, and it also would secure Florida Forever funding starting in the next fiscal year, 2018-19, through 2035. Senate leaders haven't said whether they will schedule a hearing for the bill.

Caldwell's and Grimsley's political aspirations carried no weight in the Legislature's decision to fund Rural and Family Lands, said state Sen. Rob Bradley, who oversees the environmental budget.

Caldwell said he's pushed for funding for all three land preservation programs, not just Rural and Family Lands, and sees value in all of them. While properties on the Florida Forever waiting list are good for providing buffers for springs, for example, conservation easements are a better choice when public access isn't necessary, such as for wildlife corridors.

"My advocacy from the beginning has been to fund all three programs," said Caldwell, R-Fort Myers. "All I can say is I pushed as hard as I could."

2017 Florida Legislative Session