Florida is largely characterized by its coastline. The coastal zone provides both habitat and recreational resources to a majority of the state's population. Because of these pressures, undeveloped, open coastline has become a scarce resource in many ar eas of the state. Loss of coastal open space, which provides natural habitat for wildlife as well as aesthetic pleasure for humans, is a critical problem in Florida.
Over the last number of years, Florida has attempted to protect many of its most endangered portions of coastline. The Conservation and Recreation Lands Program (CARL), Save Our Rivers, Save Our Coasts, Land Acquisition Trust Funds, and more recently the Preservation 2000 program represent an extraordinary commitment to the acquisition of coastal land on the part of the state and other public agencies. The coastal zone is also host to many of the state's plant and wildlife species. With Florida's rapid growth, many species continue to be displaced into smaller, and often fragmented, parcels of habitat. The amount of coastal open space will provide an indication of the availability of recreational land for human use, as well as natural habitat for wild life.
Data Characteristics
SOURCE
Data on the state's open land can be obtained by contacting Tim Bradle at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), Division of Recreation and Parks, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd., Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, or at (904) 488-2300.
ACQUISITION
The data are available in hard copy format at no cost.
COLLECTION
The data are obtained through a statewide survey of all public agencies and then combined into one database. The data are updated in three-year intervals.
Data Limitations
There are two major limitations of the data. First, the possibility of double counting of sites exists, because the data are obtained through a survey of all public agencies and more than one agency may have jurisdiction over a certain parcel of land. S
econd, the data are not readily disaggregable to the county level; at the present time, the data simply represent a statewide inventory of open space.
Recommendations
Since there are available data for this indicator, it may be possible to adapt the database to extract information for only the coastal counties. A system should be developed to minimize the possibility of double counting of facilities. An annual survey
of coastal open space conducted by DEP’s Division of State Lands may provide a measure of the rate of degradation as well as the pressures of a rapidly growing population.