Gov. Charlie Crist is scheduled to present his environmental budget this afternoon during a press conference in Naples for the dedication of the Rookery Bay Bridge. Crist is expected to provide money for two priority areas for environmental groups: Everglades restoration and the Florida Forever land-buying program. Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon of Florida, said he expects Crist to recommend $100 million for each. "We will be very encouraged if we can get both of those in his recommendation," Draper said. "In this process if it (a funding item) is not in the governor's recommendation, it's much harder to get the (House and Senate) committees to consider it."
Florida Forever is the largest land-buying program in the nation, having acquired 2.4 million acres since 1990. The program is used to buy state parks and forests, hunting lands, urban parks, working waterfronts for commercial seafood and preservation of working cattle ranches. The program and its predecessor, Preservation 2000, had received $300 million a year in cash or bonding authority since 1990 -- until last year. Crist requested $300 million but the House balked at providing any money during a tough budget year.
The state recently issued $240 million in bonds approved in 2008. But a Florida Department of Environmental Protection official warned last week that the program will be out of money by the end of 2010 if it does not receive a new appropriation.
Gov. Charlie Crist heads to Naples today to begin unveiling his 2010-11 spending plan in media bite-sized chunks. Today's topic will be the environment. Crist, who is running for the U.S. Senate, is expected to recommend restarting the funding stream for "Florida Forever," the $300 million-a-year environmental land-buying program that was discontinued last year, a victim of the budget squeeze.
A spokesman said Crist will make the announcement after he attends a ribbon cutting ceremony for a pedestrian bridge at Rookery Bay. The spokesman could not say how much money Crist will recommend spending for the program. "Given that there was no money last year, anything would be an improvement," said spokesman Sterling Ivey.
In better times, the state has spent about $25 million a year to back $300 million in bonds. But given the still-tough times, environmentalists don't expect the program to get the full amount. "I think there's a good chance we'll get interim funding, but I don't think we'll get the full $300 million," said Audubon of Florida lobbyist Eric Draper. "Having the governor put this in his budget recommendation for the Legislature is crucial. Without it, it would be very difficult trying to get the Legislature to spend the money." Read on for the full story.
