Florida state parks, trails and historic sites across the state are set to receive battery-powered maintenance equipment through a renewed partnership between the Florida State Parks Foundation and STIHL Inc.
The Foundation announced the initiative Oct. 7 at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park in Tallahassee. The equipment, purchased with a $250,000 allocation from the Foundation’s Greener Initiative, includes chainsaws, blowers and zero-turn mowers for selected locations from the Panhandle to the Keys.
According to the Foundation, the battery-powered equipment will replace or reduce use of traditional gas-powered tools. The change is intended to cut emissions and noise while helping rangers maintain gardens, landscaped areas, boardwalks and other park settings.
The tools may also support post-storm work, when rangers can be assigned to clear roads, remove fallen trees and prepare parks to reopen after severe weather.
The STIHL partnership began in 2025, and Florida State Parks Director Chuck Hatcher said rangers had provided positive feedback on the first round of equipment. The Greener Initiative, launched in 2023 and funded in part by sales of the Foundation’s “Explore Our State Parks” specialty license plate, has also supported water-bottle refilling stations, ranger e-bikes, LED lighting upgrades and the hybrid-electric Great Blue Heron river tour boat at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park.
