State of Florida approves FT as Forever Florida project
On Tuesday, February 27th, the Florida Trail was finally accepted by the state of Florida as an eligible project for state conservation and recreation lands funding. The project approval includes the entire length of the Trail and identified one 80 acre specific acquistion project area at Bell Springs along the Suwannee River. The challenge now will be to identify specific other project areas, where land for the Trail is needed, and to bring them in for review and approval by the State Acquisition and Restoration Council and negotiation by the Divsion of State Lands (Florida Department of Environmental Protection).
The Florida Trail Association began seeking this approval by the state in 1989. The application was denied by the State based on the language in Florida Statutes. In 2005, FTA advisor David Gluckman was successful in obtaining legislative approval of a statuatory change that made the recent approval possible. The application was filed in June 2006 and approved by the Governor and Cabinet on February 27, 2007. Watch for a more in-depth article about this designation in the next edition of the Florida Trail Footprint.
FTA Staff @ March 1, 2007