Acquisition & Management Planning

The Office of Environmental Services (OES) performs several functions central to land acquisition and management programs in the state. It is the primary information resource for the Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC), the five-member interagency group and four appointees of the Governor that selects and ranks Florida Forever acquisition projects and reviews plans for the management of state-owned lands. OES supports the ARC by receiving and distributing acquisition proposals and management plans; organizing field inspections of proposals and state-owned land; producing project evaluation land acquisition reports; producing the Florida Forever Five-Year Plan and the annual Land Management Review Team Report; coordinating with other land-acquisition and management programs; and scheduling and facilitating ARC public hearings.  OES works with the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI) to assess the biological significance of Florida Forever proposals and to maintain a database of conservation lands, lands of potential conservation interest, and occurrences of rare and endangered species in Florida.

OES also assists the Bureau of Land Acquisition in the development and continual revision of the Florida Forever land acquisition workplan and distributes funds from the Water Management Lands Trust Fund and Florida Forever Trust Fund that enable the five Water Management Districts to purchase and manage land under the Save Our Rivers program.

OES also provides staff support to the Secretary as a member of the Florida Communities Trust (FCT), a grant program that helps local governments acquire parks and open space.  OES is also responsible for reviewing the management plans required by law to be prepared for all state-owned land. OES also coordinates and conducts land management audits of state parks, forests, preserves, and other state-owned lands to ensure that such lands are being managed for the purposes which they were acquired and in conformance with their approved management plans. Finally, OES comments on proposed land-use activities or projects that may affect the natural resources of state-owned lands or lands proposed for state acquisitions.