Keep Florida Wild
In partnership with: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Florida is home to some of the most diverse wildlife populations in the nation, many of which are endangered.
Developed in 2012, the Florida Wildlife Corridor is a conservation advocacy organization focused on connecting, protecting and restoring corridors of conserved lands and waters essential for the survival of the state’s various species. This group showcases the need to protect the missing links in the Corridor, preserve Florida’s waters and sustain working lands and rural economies stretching from the state’s Everglades region north into neighboring Georgia and Alabama.
This mission is a statewide vision to “keep Florida wild” by integrating the state’s leading conservation science with compelling fine art and rich storytelling to raise awareness about the Corridor and the need to connect and protect it.
The centerpiece of this campaign is a series of trips called Florida Wildlife Corridor Expeditions, which aim to generate awareness, launched in 2012 and another in 2015. Over these expeditions, the group traversed the wildlife habitats, watersheds, and participating working farms and ranches that comprise the Florida Wildlife Corridor opportunity area. Using photography, video streams, radio reports, social media and other digital networks, the team highlighted stories of ecological importance including Longleaf Pine restoration and the health of the Gulf fishery.
The Corridor encompasses 15.8 million acres, 9.5 million of which are already protected and an additional 6.3 million acres of remaining opportunity area that do not have conservation status.
Additionally, the Florida Wildlife Corridor provides habitat for 42 federally listed endangered species, 24 threatened species and 15 candidate species. At the state level, there are an additional 176 species listed as endangered.