Title:
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Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Resolution of the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners supporting the Lake-to-Lake Regional Multi-Use Trail. Countywide. (Rick Durr, Parks and Recreation Director)
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Division:
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Parks and Recreation - Greenways and Natural Lands
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Authorized By:
Rick Durr, Parks and Recreation Director
Contact/Phone Number:
Rick Durr/407-665-2001
Background:
The Shared Use Non-motorized (SUN)Trails Program was established by FDOT in 2015 by the Florida Legislature to promote and fund the connection of local trails into regional long-distance trails to enhance the transportation and safety aspects of existing local trails. In 2023, Senate Bill (SB) 106 - passed - doubled the annual funding for SUN Trails and added Florida’s vast array of conservation lands and public parks as linkages to encourage eco-tourism pathways in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
In 2024, the Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation (FGTF) in collaboration with the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation (FWCF) undertook a research effort to identify a linked eco-tourism trail through the eastern reaches of the Florida Wildlife Corridor between Lake Okeechobee and Lake Monroe. This research identified two abandoned railroad corridors that could serve as the alignment for such a connection.
The proposed alignment of the Lake to Lake Regional Trail would establish an eco-tourism trail connection to these historic communities and promote “slow travel” tourism to rural areas in four east central Florida counties: Seminole, Orange, Osceola and Okeechobee, exposing Florida residents and visitors to the history of early 19th and 20th century settlement and the use of the land for farming, logging, cattle ranching and wildlife conservation.
Requested Action:
Staff requests the Board approve and authorize the Chairman to execute a Resolution of the Seminole County Board of County Commissioners supporting the Lake-to-Lake Regional Multi-Use Trail.