What if Florida's farms, wetlands, and forests could earn compensation simply for the ecological work they already do — filtering water, buffering floods, and sheltering wildlife? That's the central question behind a free webinar scheduled for Wednesday, September 2, from noon to 2:00 p.m. EDT, hosted by a coalition of Florida conservation organizations.
The session, titled Payment for Ecosystem Services: A Conservation Tool for Florida's Future, is the first installment in the third year of the Planning to Protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor webinar series. Four speakers will cover the topic from different angles: Dr. Laila Racevskis of The Balmoral Group will give an overview of existing Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs in Florida; fourth-generation rancher Parker Hall of Hall's Tiger Bay Ranch will offer a working landowner's perspective; Chad Ellis of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust will address national grassland carbon sequestration programs and upcoming work at Archbold's Buck Island Ranch; and Dr. Thomas Eason of the Property and Environmental Research Center will draw on lessons from voluntary, market-based conservation efforts around the country.
Topics on the agenda include water quality credits, flood mitigation funding, and Florida's panther PES initiative — all framed around how creative financing can connect landowners, government agencies, and private investors in ways that keep productive lands productive and natural lands intact.
The webinar is free, but registration through Zoom is required. Live attendees are eligible for continuing education credits recognized by the American Institute of Certified Planners (2 AICP CM), the Florida Bar (2.5 General CLE), Florida DBPR Landscape Architects (2.0 credits), Certified Floodplain Managers (1 CEC), and Florida Certified Environmental Health Professionals (2 contact hours).
The series is a partnership among the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation, Live Wildly Foundation, Florida Conservation Group, Solutions from the Land, Florida Smart Agriculture, and 1000 Friends of Florida, which provided this information.
