SANFORD, Fla. — Leaders in Seminole County unveiled the Seminole Forever Land Acquisition program to protect the county's natural beauty and ensure a lasting legacy of environmental conservation.

What You Need To Know

  • Seminole County unveiled the Seminole Forever Land Acquisition program to protect the county's natural beauty and ensure a lasting legacy of environmental conservation

  • The program, which was initially established by the Board of County Commissioners last August - will allow the county to purchase lands to protect natural communities, including wetlands and forestlands, and providing green space in both rural and urban areas

  • It comes as a response to the community's growing demand for safeguarding vulnerable lands for future generations

  • The initiative will not require an additional tax on residents because is funded by the county’s General Fund and may include partnerships with local cities and nonprofits or other alternative funding sources

It comes as a response to the community’s growing demand for safeguarding vulnerable lands for future generations.

The program, which was initially established by the Board of County Commissioners last August, will allow the county to purchase lands to protect natural communities, including wetlands and forestlands, and providing green space in both rural and urban areas.

“When there’s new development, you take away from a lot of animals homes and they have nowhere to go,” resident Diana Pabon said, who has been living in Seminole County for about five years. “That’s how the bears end up on your property because we’re taking away from them, and they were here. These are their homes we take away from them initially.”

One of Pabon’s hobbies is walking along the trails in the area, including the Black Bear Wilderness Area.

“Monthly I come out here. I do a run-walk,” she said. “I’ve actually seen the otters grow out here, the local otters and every time I come out here, I feel renewed.”

The 1,600-acre park in northwest Seminole County features a variety of wetland habitats within the floodplain of the St. Johns River.

“I feel safe enough to come out here on my own. And every time I come out here, it’s a new experience,” she said.

Parks and Recreation Director for Seminole County Rick Durr says the county’s land acquisition effort will expand and create more areas like this for residents.

“This is a program to help bring additional land into Seminole County for protection,” he said. “Whether it has some sort of ecological value, some special value to it, or whether it’s just a green space that folks have been looking at for a long time and would like to have that preserved within the urban areas of the county.”

These lands may offer passive recreation amenities, such as pavilions, restrooms, and playgrounds.

The initiative will not require an additional tax on residents because it is funded by the county’s General Fund and may include partnerships with local cities and nonprofits or other alternative funding sources.

“Not only are we putting those dollars back in into play for green space protection and natural lands protection, but that we’re actually perpetuating that through just our general fund,” Durr said.

The application process is now open to residents on the Seminole County’s website.

The county will be receiving the applications online and a counsel appointed by the Board of County Commissioners will review them. 

Then they’ll be able to present those recommendations next year during budget discussions.