The Florida Wildlife Corridor is a statewide network of nearly 18 million acres of connected ecosystems containing state parks, national forests, and wildlife management areas that support wildlife and human occupation.[1] The corridor seeks to connect wildlife habitats, reducing their fragmentation and the subsequent declines in plant and animal populations caused by human activities[2] The Florida Wildlife Corridor was conceived by Tom Hoctor, director of the University of Florida's Center for Landscape and Conservation Planning, and Carlton Ward Jr., with further inspiration partly from Lawton Chiles.
The corridor is home to 60 species at risk of extinction such as the Crested Caracara, Snail Kite, Florida Grasshopper Sparrow, Florida Scrub-Jay, Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Whooping Crane, Wood Stork, Florida Panther, West Indian Manatee, Gulf Sturgeon, Okaloosa Darter, Sand Skink, and Eastern Indigo Snake. [1]