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Florida Panhandle Initiative Partnering Program
Fact Sheet

1) Background

1000 Friends of Florida's Panhandle Initiative is directed at promoting improved land use planning by developing better information and materials that citizens and elected and appointed officials can use to affect positive, smart growth improvements. This we believe will lead to better protection of natural systems within the target areas and an improved quality of life within our communities.

The panhandle region is rapidly changing. Three of the fastest growing counties in the panhandle, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton, face coastal development, accelerated erosion, and sprawl which threaten the natural sandhill community and longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystems. This rapid growth is also beginning to threaten the operational integrity of Eglin Air Force Base, one of largest military installations east of the Mississippi River. In addition, within the Apalachicola eco-region of the panhandle, the Apalachicola Bay supports 90% of Florida's commercial oyster fishery and one third of the shrimp harvest. This area continues to be threatened by increased water demands from the Atlanta metro area, from impacts related to upland farming areas in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, and from coastal development pressures in Gulf and Franklin Counties. Finally, the Red Hills/St. Marks River eco-region made up primarily of Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla Counties is threatened by continuing population growth in the Tallahassee-Thomasville urban areas and from coastal development. Urban growth is projected to increase significantly in this portion of the panhandle and has begun to impact multiple counties.

2) Looking for Partners

To assist in planning and addressing problems associated with land use and development and to foster actions that help preserve the area's biodiversity, 1000 Friends of Florida went looking for partners. The partners we sought were local governments, nonprofits or a combination of the two. The working objectives of our partnering efforts were to address particular land planning, conservation or land use issues that have particular relevance to outcomes that support the principles of smart growth and affect the protection, maintenance or restoration of natural systems and the biodiversity these systems support.

Partners Selected - February 2002

In Feburary we selected three partners from a number of applicants. The three partners are:

1. South Walton Community Council (SWCC) - Partnering Activities

SWCC Web Site

2. Apalachicola Bay & River Kepper (ABARK)

3. Apalachee Ecological Conservancy (APECO)

APECO Website

3) What are the objectives of the Florida Panhandle Initiative?

1000 Friends of Florida's Panhandle Initiative has a number of over-arching objectives.

  • Project Objective 1. - Prevent inappropriate growth and development from impacting sensitive natural areas in the Red Hills/St. Marks River Eco-Region, the Apalachicola Eco-Region and the Gulf Coastal Plain Eco-Region. Improved local land use planning includes smart growth principles (attached) in coordination with other land and resource protection techniques (e.g., land acquisition and easement programs, development and dissemination of Best Management Practices (BMPs), use of innovative development density and intensity clustering or transferring programs, etc.).
  • Project Objective 2. - Improve the capacity of public interest groups, citizen organizations and local and state officials to develop and implement land use/land management decisions that further the overall goal of preserving the region's biodiversity.
  • Project Objective 3. - Encourage the formation of business and environmental coalitions that coordinate appropriate economic development with natural resource protection.

To meet these objectives our work focuses on the following actions:

A. Region-wide Actions
(1) Capacity building by strengthening the ability of local governments/NGOs/concerned citizens to develop and implement effective local planning initiatives.
(2) Planning reform by developing specific strategies to improve the local and regional planning process to better protect significant natural resources and systems.
(3) Providing leadership training for selected organizations within the region to ensure better land use planning and management for both public and private land.

B. Specific Partnership Development Actions
 By mid 2002, 1000 Friends of Florida plans to partner with at least three specific entities in the Florida Panhandle. Partnering entities may be nonprofit organizations, local government(s) or a combination of the two. Our purpose is to work closely with our partners to help them address a specific issue(s) related to one or more of the project objectives (e.g., development of local ordinances to address wetlands protection, local area-wide planning to protect identified environmental resources). Our partnering effort will be directed at providing technical assistance support to help develop solutions to the identified issue(s).

4) What types of specific benefits may a partner expect from 1000 Friends of Florida under the Florida Panhandle Initiative?

Technical Assistance and Networking - Partners will benefit from assistance provided by staff experienced in land planning, environmental protection, strategic planning and visioning, and a host of other issues. If desired, we will walk an organization/community through development of a specific visioning plan or project prioritizing session, thus helping the group to focus on implementing the measures that are required for ultimate success. In addition, 1000 Friends will attempt to locate and bring in available outside expertise that may be useful in helping to recommend fruitful solutions to particular problems.

Training - Partnering organizations and their local manager(s) will work with our staff to identify particular informational and training needs. 1000 Friends will work to help address these local needs through local leadership training workshops, researching and tracking down information or providing particular expertise. Partnering organizational/community members and business people as well as professional staff from the community will be encouraged to attend.

Jumpstart Funding - 1000 Friends of Florida will help your organization/community begin to identify and implement projects to develop local land planning strategies, land development regulations or organizational tools to help conserve and protect local natural resources. Financial assistance is available up to $10,000.

A "Lookout Services" for other Grants and Resources - 1000 Friends will assist the partner through provision of a "lookout services" to help locate other grants and resources that may be sought by the applicant to help further the identified planning and project needs.

5) What do Partnering Organizations/Communities need to contribute?

* A commitment to long-term, incremental progress toward measures that will help to protect the area's natural landscape resources and the corresponding biodiversity.
* A local point of contact/manager whose responsibility is to staff the effort at the local organizational level (i.e., an active designated local point of contact).
* A commitment to create an advisory group if deemed useful to the partnership projects and overall objectives.
* A commitment to the development of an action plan (or project plan), consistent with the overriding goal of working with citizens, local governments and other organizations to accommodate growth in a manner that is sensitive to significant natural areas while providing for a sound economy and successful communities.
* A commitment to meaningful public involvement to help develop local knowledge and capacity to develop and implement land use/land management decisions that further the overall goal of preserving the region's natural landscapes and corresponding biodiversity.
* An understanding that local financial assistance, local in-kind match and help in leveraging necessary support is likely to be required to underwrite specialized technical assistance or to achieve particular organizational/community goals.

6) Partners

  • Potential partners must be a local government or a nonprofit 501(C)(3) organization.
  • Potential partners must have the ability to support a local manager or point of contact.
  • Where appropriate to the issue(s) or project, potential partners must also commit to form a working committee upon partnering. A locally-based group, with a designated local manager may do much of the actual work.

7) Partnership Considerations

The following considerations were used to evaluate the submitted applications. Because every
organization/community is unique, a proposal will be viewed in total and thus weaknesses under
certain considerations may be easily outweighed by the strengths of others.

* Involvement, commitment and/or support of community and/or relevant stakeholders.
* Willingness to improve local land planning and management tools and activities to support protection of natural and working landscapes and corresponding biodiversity.
* Applicability or transferability of the partnering efforts to other areas/eco-regions.
* Natural/landscape resources at risk in the affected area and the applicant's objective aims to protect these resources.
* Partner's ability to show a potential for leveraging other resources that may enhance the efforts feasibility.
* Commitment to providing a local manager or point of contact over the life of the partnership and ability to commit adequate level of support to project.