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The Rural Lands Stewardship Program (RLSP) - Craig Evans
Published: 1/9/2005

2004 Southeast Watershed Roundtable Presentaion Click here for full agenda

This presentation by CH2M Hill, Inc. will describe the Rural Lands Stewardship Program (RLSP), which was been established in state law by the Florida Legislature as a specifically “encouraged” land use designation (chapter 163.3177(11) (d), Florida Statutes). The RLSP grew out of a collaborative effort beginning in 1993 between government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private landowners to provide market-based incentives for landowners to maintain and protect natural resources, with specific emphasis on protecting habitat for the endangered Florida panther. At one point, an environmental organization filed suit against Collier County, Florida, because it was not doing enough under its comprehensive plan to protect natural resources in the face of the nation’s highest rate of growth (#1 in U.S. 1980-1990 and #2 in U.S. 1990-2000 after Las Vegas). Private landowners responded by offering to place a voluntary moratorium on all development in a 300-square-mile area of the county and to pay for a planning effort to come up with an alternative approach that would work for all interests. The Collier County Board of County Commissioners accepted the landowners’ offer and appointed a 15-member Citizen’s Committee to work with the landowners and all affected stakeholders. Nine federal, state and regional agencies offered technical support. The Committee reached unanimous agreement on their recommendations to the County Commission after 33 public meetings over the course of 2-1/2 years. The result is the Rural Lands Stewardship Program, which one state planner calls “by far the best concept we’ve ever seen to address rural growth issues.”