Conservation permanence matters in Florida

Tom Kay, Christine P. Johnson, and Shane Wellendorf Recent articles claim that Florida’s conservation easements are not perpetual, but when Florida land trusts conserve land forever, we mean it! Florida’s nonprofit land trusts have conserved nearly 2 million of the 10.7 million acres protected in the Sunshine State according to the Land Trust Alliance’s 2020 National Land Trust Census. These lands are both privately and publicly owned, generating myriad benefits to residents and visitors alike. As more people continue to move into our state and more rural land and open spaces are lost to development, Florida land trusts are accelerating their work of partnering with willing landown