Conservation That Connects: How Florida Communities Invest in Land, Water and Trails

October 14, 2026

Greenways and trails are where Florida’s conservation work meets everyday life. Trails give people a place to walk, ride and recreate, and an alternative route for commuting. The greenway corridors many of them follow are one piece of a larger effort to keep conserved land connected, tracing the rivers, canals and old rail lines that tie parks and preserves to each other and to the towns beside them. Many of those corridors overlap the Florida Wildlife Corridor, where working farms and ranches still make up much of the land that has yet to be protected, and where development pressure is heaviest.

State agencies, university researchers and local planners have spent decades identifying where these corridors belong. How much of the network actually gets built comes down to funding, and it rarely comes from a single source: state land acquisition programs, transportation dollars, and local measures approved by voters.

Lee Constantine, a former state legislator and current Seminole County Commissioner, traced the land conservation programs Florida built, what they were meant to reach, and what they need now. Kim DeLaney, Ph.D., of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and co-author of FDOT’s greenways and trails economic study, presented what the evidence shows about the value these investments return to the communities around them. Pegeen Hanrahan, P.E., Associate Director of Conservation Finance at the Trust for Public Land, discussed the funding tools available to local governments and the land and water conservation measures on the November 2026 ballot, including where trails and public access fit into them.

Additional resources mentioned during the program:

FDEP Trail Town Program: https://floridadep.gov/parks/ogt/content/trail-town-program

FDOT SUN Trail Program: https://www.fdot.gov/planning/systems/systems-management/SUNTrail

FDOT SUN Trail Map: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/b8792a5c159b4ab09eeb51daadb312c1

Florida Wildlife Corridor Map: https://www.fnai.org/webmaps/FL_Wildlife_Corridor_Map/?page=Page

FDOT Economic Analysis of Greenways & Trails (focused on SUN Trail): https://www.tcrpc.org/programs___services/transportation_planning/portfolio_of_transportation_work/fdot_greenways_and_trails_economics_study.php

National Trail Town Exchange: https://just-trails.my.canva.site/2026-trail-town-summit

This event was approved for the following professional certification credits for those who attended the live webinar:

American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP CM 1.5, #9336481)
The Florida Bar (1.5 General CLE, #2611022N)
Florida Landscape Architects, DBPR (1.5 credits, Course #0016076)
Certified Floodplain Managers (1 CEC)