Florida Forest Legacy Grant Program

The Florida Forest Legacy Grant Program aims to conserve critical forest areas threatened by development. It encourages landowners to maintain forested lands through economic incentives, ensuring sustainable management practices. Participation can involve selling property or retaining ownership with conservation easements. Funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the program receives support from the Great American Outdoors Act, which secures ongoing financial resources for land conservation efforts benefiting all Americans.

NOTE: The Department shall accept applications on an ongoing basis. For an acquisition project application to be considered for final review, during a particular cycle, a complete application must be received by the Department on or before August 1st.
Conserving Forests through Partnership
The purpose of the Forest Legacy Program is to identify and conserve environmentally important forest areas that are threatened by conversion to non-forest uses. Providing economic incentives to landowners to keep their forest as forests encourages sustainable forest management and supports strong markets for forest products.
Landowners may participate in the Forest Legacy Program by either selling their property outright or by retaining ownership and selling only a portion of the property’s development rights; both are held by state agencies or another unit of government. The use of a conservation easement, a legal agreement between a landowner and a non-profit land trust or governmental agency, allows the land to remain in private ownership while ensuring that its environmental values are retained.
The program is funded by the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which invests a small percentage of federal offshore drilling fees toward the conservation of important land, water, and recreation areas for all Americans. The passage of the Great American Outdoors Act provides permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.