SANFORD, Fla. — The Seminole County government finalized a new application process for their conservation efforts with Seminole Forever Tuesday.

What You Need To Know

  • Seminole Forever takes money from the general fund to buy natural land for public use

  • During Tuesday’s meeting, Seminole County commissioners finalized the application process

  • The next step is opening applications and reviewing them

  • It’s a program many Seminole County residents enjoy having

Seminole Forever is just one of many projects focusing on conservation in the community. It takes money from the general fund to pay for natural land for public use and it’s also something many residents in Seminole County what to see more of in leadership.

Lifelong Seminole County resident, Deborah Bauer, never thought she’d be a conservation advocate.

“It’s a legacy not just the residents who live in deer run and in this part of the county, but the county as a whole,” said Bauer.

Back in 2019, Bauer successfully helped Seminole County purchase the Deer Run Golf Course. Rather than turning the land into more housing, she advocated to turn it into a park.

“Seminole County is being looked at as a model example not just throughout the State of Florida, but throughout the nation," said Bauer. "The reason why that has come to pass, whether it be on things like the creation of rural boundary, whether it’s the creation of what we’re doing here at Deer Run from turning a former golf course into what’s really going to be a crown jewel of the Seminole County parks and recreations system, is we had leadership.”

County leaders hope to further Bauer's effort by making it easier for their Seminole Forever Land Acquisition Program to acquire natural lands for protection and public use.

“Seminole Forever when it was created was a wonderful idea. It’s a way for us to work to acquire pieces of land and protect them from development so that they can become a part of conservation areas, so they can be a part of trail systems,” said Bauer.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Seminole County Commissioners finalized the application process.

The next step is opening applications and reviewing them.

“Seminole County is in a unique position in the Orlando MSA we still have a lot of open green spaces, and we want to maintain that for future generations and that’s what this program will do,” Commissioner Jay Zembower, District 2, Seminole County.

As for Bauer, the conservation push in Seminole County is far from over. But she says having leaders willing to work with constituents is critical to a community’s success.