Preface

In 1991 The Conservation Fund and 1000 Friends of Florida and the Conservation Fund teamed together to establish the Florida Greenways Program to aid in the conservation of greenways throughout Florida. The Florida Greenways Program is involved with greenway planning initiatives on the state and local levels. In 1993 1000 Friends of Florida was influential in establishing the 38 member governor appointed Greenways Commission. The mission of the Florida Greenways Commission is to establish a statewide system of linked open space (greenways), parks and refuges and recognize 150 greenways on Florida's sesquicentennial (150) birthday in 1995.

On the local level, the Florida Greenways Program has initiated four regional prototype greenway planning projects. These greenway planning projects include: the Suncoast River Based Greenways Project in the Tampa area, the Loxahatchee Slough Greenways Project in Martin and Palm Beach counties, Broward County Urban River Greenways, the proposed South Walton Greenways effort in southern Walton County, and the Apalachee Greenways Project in Florida's Big Bend area.

Each of these projects focuses on the particular planning needs for each local area. The Suncoast greenways project focuses on the remaining green spaces along the Hillsborough, Alafia, Peace and Manatee Rivers. Hillsborough County has joined in the effort in establishing these rivers as greenways. The Loxahatchee Greenways effort is the first local project undertaken by the Florida Greenways Program and it focuses on the remaining greenway connections in a network connecting the natural areas of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, the Pal-Mar lands, the Dupuis Reserve, and the Corbett Wildlife Management Area. The Broward County Urban River Greenway effort focuses on designing and implementing a water-based greenways network in Broward County. This network will utilize the New River, the Intercoastal Waterway and the South Florida Water Management District's canal system to enhance community by providing open space and recreation. The decommissioned Cross Florida Barge Canal is being converted into the Cross Florida Greenway. 1000 Friends of Florida worked closely with the Canal Lands Advisory Committee, the governors office and the legislature on the preparation of the greenway management plan.

In January 1993, the Florida Greenways Program, The Red Hills Conservation Association and the Apalachee Land Conservancy began working on a recreational, natural, cultural, and historic resource assessment of the Apalachee Region. Since that time, the Northwest Florida Water Management District and the region's local governments have joined in the assessment effort. The Apalachee Greenways Project focuses on lands within a six county region of north Florida and south Georgia stretching from the Aucilla River on the east to the Ochlockonee River on the west. The Apalachee Greenways Project area consists of Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla counties in Florida and Thomas and Grady counties in Georgia. The Apalachee Greenways Project highlights the significance of the region's historical canopy roads and plantations and the rivers providing their natural and cultural ties of the Red Hills to the river ports on the Gulf of Mexico. The Greenways Project is being conducted in a series of three phases over a period of three years. Phase 1 - Regional Assessment and Visioning; Phase 2 -Network Planning and Demonstration Project; and Phase 3 - Resource Protection Implementation. The St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers Greenway Project is Phase 2 of the larger Apalachee Greenways Project.

The St. Marks Greenway Project focuses greenway planning in the St. Marks Watershed which includes the Wakulla River. The St. Marks Project focuses on the cultural, historical, recreational and natural features spanning the region. Like the larger Apalachee Project, the St. Marks Greenway Project's theme is centered on the rivers. The St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers link the communities of Jefferson, Leon and Wakulla counties. They have been used for thousands of years by various peoples settling in the Apalachee Region. They provide Apalachee Bay with nutrient rich water sustaining a healthy population of finfish and shellfish. The project emphasizes the need for greenway planning at the local, regional and state levels to maintain the existing water quality of the rivers.