Saving Special Places • Building Better Communities
Saving Special Places & Building Better Communities Since 1986
For decades, Florida has relied on growth and sprawling development to fuel its economy — depending on short-term revenue from new development to make up for inadequate revenue from shortsighted prior development approvals. The consequences have been real: lost natural lands, strained water supplies, and communities that weren’t built to last.
Since 1986, 1000 Friends of Florida has been leading the fight for a better path. We educate, advocate, negotiate and, when necessary, litigate to protect the places and communities Floridians care about most.
Citizen involvement is at the heart of everything we do. We equip Floridians with the knowledge to shape their communities — through workshops, webinars, and guides on the planning process. Through projects like Florida 2070, we’ve shown what’s at stake if current development patterns continue, and how much more land could be conserved and water protected if more sustainable patterns are followed. We also advocate on behalf of citizens in the halls of the Legislature and the courts, working to ensure that growth serves people — not the other way around.
Be Part of the Next 40 Years
Four decades of protecting Florida’s natural and working lands, water, and communities made possible by supporters like you. Your gift today helps write the next chapter. Or join our Circle of Friends monthly giving program and make your impact last all year long.
40 Years in the Making
Voices of 1000 Friends
Forty years of protecting Florida’s special places and building better communities, told by the people who did the work. Some were founders, former 1000 Friends staff, attorneys, and planners. Voices of 1000 Friends pairs oral history interviews with the moments that shaped the organization and the future of our state.
Follow along on Instagram for new stories: @1000friendsofflorida
🔊 Sound on. Meet the man who helped start it all.
When Jim Murley became 1000 Friends of Florida’s founding executive director in the 1980s, the organization was brand new. An idea, a board, and a belief that Florida’s future was worth planning for. Four decades later, that work is still going.
This is Voices of 1000 Friends, our 40th-anniversary oral history series. First up: founding director Jim Murley on where it all began.
Follow along as we share more voices all season. Check out the link in bio to help be part of our next chapter!
🔊 Audio on!
For 40 years, 1000 Friends of Florida has fought to protect the places that make this state worth loving: its springs and forests, its small towns, its wildlife corridors. This fall, we’re letting the people who were there tell our story in their own words.
Voices of 1000 Friends is our 40th-anniversary oral history series, consisting of founders, board and staff members, and our advocates on what we’ve saved, what we’ve lost, and why the work still matters. Here’s a first listen.
Follow along as we release new voices all season.
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