When you think of Federal public land in Florida, most people think of Florida’s National Parks: Everglades, Dry Tortugas, and Biscayne. But if you go to the National Park Service page for Florida, you’ll notice a whole lot more places listed.

And that only scratches the surface. Florida – like many states – has many types of public land.

But what’s the difference between a park and a preserve, or a forest and a conservation area? What levels of protection does each designation offer the land? How can you experience the Florida wilderness, history, and culture each one protects? 

There are dozens of types of public land, and all of them fall under one of three umbrellas: federal, state, or local. National lands include, of course, our national parks, but also national forests, national preserves, national monuments, 

States manage their own state park systems, along with state forests, state historic sites, state trail or trails

Locally, counties and cities often have parks and campgrounds. They may also have memorials and monuments to local public figures, and public beaches or lakeshores. 

Let’s start at the top. Florida has an abundance national lands. And rivers. And seashores. 

Because we only have three national parks some people mistakenly assume we don’t have much in the way of managing public land.

Agencies Managing National Land in Florida

Six federal agencies manage public land in Florida: The Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, National Parks Service, the US Bureau of Reclamation, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the US Forest Service all manage lands under the auspices of the federal government. 

Army Corps of Engineers

The nation’s second largest civil works district in the Army Corps of Engineers is the Jacksonville District in Florida. Both civilians and enlisted people serve in the Corps, and Corps projects in Florida primarily focus on water. The Corps’ mission includes environmental restoration, flood risk reduction, navigation, regulatory permits, hurricane and storm damage reduction, and emergency response and recovery. In Florida, they are perhaps best known for their historically disastrous attempt to channelize the Kissimmee River. 

However, the Corps has done more in Florida than ruin, and then attempt to repair, the Kissimmee River. They’re also part of Everglades restoration, and they renourish beaches. They’re the agency that renourishes Egmont Key, at least until the equipment kills too many turtles and the activities have to stop.

Many people don’t realize this, but once the government renourishes a beach, that beach becomes public property. If you have a private beach and you want to Corps to pay to stop beach erosion, your private beach becomes public land, which makes sense, because public dollars pay for this. 

Okeechobee Waterway

Every year, more than six million people, both locals and tourists, camp, fish, bike, or otherwise recreate on or near the Okeechobee Waterway. The Corps management of the waterway includes two visitors centers, five boat ramps, three campgrounds, eight recreation areas, and a scenic trail. The Waterway also has 22 recreation areas managed by other agencies.

Get L.O.S.T. on the Florida National Scenic Trail

The Florida National Scenic Trail – managed by the National Park Service – travels 100 miles the dike around Lake Okeechobee as the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. The Corps also manages eight recreation areas and three campgrounds with more than 100 campsites. Some of those campsites area boat-in campsites. These areas attract boaters and anglers, although hikers, cyclists, and campers all come to the area, too. 

Bureau of Land Management

Ah, the Bureau of Land Management. Its mission is to “sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.” Can you — without searching — name any land managed by the BLM – in Florida?

Most of the times, when I ask that during a talk, people give me the “alligator in the headlights” look. So if you couldn’t, don’t worry, I’m not shocked. I’d be shocked if you could name a parcel of BLM land in Florida.

BLM East of the Mississippi: “Red-Headed Stepchild”

If you go to the BLM website, the western states have their own pages, but all the states east of the Mississippi share a page. Peter DeWitt, the program manager for the one National Conservation Land east of the Mississippi, told me that the BLM’s Eastern states are the “red-headed stepchild” of the agency. He says that’s because land surveys in western states are more straightforward – straight lines, boxes, essentially easy to tie up in tidy parcels. The eastern states? He says – and I quote – “they’re a mess when it comes to surveys.”

But what do surveys have to do with public lands?

Generally, the Bureau of Land Management ends up managing parcels of previously un-surveyed land. This land gets “discovered” – and yes, even in Florida, we still have undiscovered land – when developers order surveys and find unidentified land. Sometimes that land goes back to the federal government under the auspices of the BLM, sometimes the government grants the land to the state, and sometimes the government can sell the land. It depends on the value.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area

In one case, the sole National Conservation Land east of the Mississippi River, the 2008 Congress opted to protect the parcel in perpetuity. It designated the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and surrounding land as an Outstanding Natural Area in 2008 for the “preservation, protection and enhancement of seven key resources and values found on the site; these include the remarkable biodiversity and rich history of the site.” Unlike much of the BLM land, this land wasn’t unknown, though.

The government authorized the building of Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse in 1853, and the lighthouse remains in service, although Confederate sympathizers turned off the light through the Civil War. In 1942, the grounds housed Marine guards , and the current museum was where the married enlisted men lived. In 1951, the Air Force housed Jupiter Auxiliary Air Force Base Here. 

In the 1990s, the Coast Guard relinquished the property surrounding the lighthouse — some 120 areas in all — and that meant it went back to the federal government, which meant that the BLM would manage it. 

The property includes oak and xeric scrub, mangroves, and hardwood hammocks. BLM designated it as an ERMA, or an Extensive Recreation Management Area. 

Because of its value, BLM suggested the government retain the parcel of land, which you can visit in Palm Beach County.

Other BLM lands in Florida

In Florida, BLM manages lands several counties, including pinelands in Walton County; two islands and part of another in Bay County’s Lathrop Bayou; a small parcel of land home to endangered indigo snakes in Suwannee County; the Lake Marion Tract in Marion County, which has residential development quite close to it, but represents multiple habitats; two scrub islands in Citrus County along the Withlachoochee River; part of Egmont Key in Hillsborough – the Florida State Parks manages that parcel; land on Lee County’s Gasparilla Island once used for military operations; Jupiter Inlet in Palm Beach County; and, in Monroe County, a number of small islands, including mangroves and tidal saltwater marsh habitat on Park and parts of Sugarloaf Keys.

In every case, BLM evaluates the land and issues a report about any concerns or special conditions, and also makes recommendations as to whether or not the government should keep the land and, if so, what types of activities it would permit on the lands. The areas I mentioned in Florida all allow passive recreation. In some cases, BLM has indicated it would trade parcels for other federally managed lands, or would consider allowing the state to have the land if it committed to mitigation and preservation.

The National Park Service in Florida

In Florida, the National Park Service manages parks, preserves, seashores, monuments, and memorials. It may also operate historic battlefields, historic sites, or recreation areas. In Florida, that includes not only Florida’s three National Parks, but also:

• Big Cypress National Preserve
• Canaveral National Seashore
• Gulf Islands National Seashore,
• Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
• Fort Mantanzas National Monument
• De Soto National Memorial
• Fort Caroline National Memorial
• Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve

You can find links to all these places on the Florida page of the NPS website.

Florida’s National Parks

National parks are usually vast, with most of the resources untouched or, at least, not recently touched, by humans. In some cases, national parks also have historic significance, as is the case with Everglades National Park’s Nike Missile Site. National parks don’t allow any consumptive practices, such as hunting, mining, or logging. All three of Florida’s national parks allow camping. You can tent or boat camp at Key Biscayne. Dry Tortugas also allows boat or tent camping. Everglades National Park has backwoods, tent, RV, and chickee camping. 

Florida’s National Preserves

National preserves, much like national parks, encompass a lot of space. The chief difference between a national park and a national preserve is that Congress allows consumptive activities: hunting, trapping, and oil/gas exploration and extraction. The National Park Service makes the note that many preserves, without allowing hunting, would qualify as national parks. This is significant in Florida, because — as Craig Pittman notes in his book about the Florida panther, Cat Tale — the creation of Big Cypress National Preserve helped protect part of the Everglades natural system, and also offers much-needed wild space for the Florida panther, but Congress was only able to make the designation with the support of hunters. Without allowing hunting, he posits, the land would not have received any protections, thereby threatening the continued health of the Everglades, the panther, and other Florida wonders. 

Big Cypress boasts no shortage of orchids, although collecting is forbidden. Hiking is allowed, although because hunting is also allowed, it’s best to wear bright colors and not hike in areas labeled as “wildlife management areas.”

The preserve also has seven campgrounds, two of which have drinking water. One has electricity available. The preserve also has no shortage of backwoods and no-facilty camping.

Florida’s National Seashores

Of the 10 National Seashores in the United States, Florida has two: Canaveral, by Cape Canaveral, and Gulf Islands, along the western panhandle. Gulf Islands National Seashore spans two states – Florida and Mississippi. In between those two states lies Alabama, where what could have been a national seashore was already privately owned or, in parts, owned by a local government. The development along the islands in Alabama helped strengthen grassroots support for the creation of Gulf Islands National Seashore. Gulf Islands allows camping in both states; Canaveral does not but it does have the distinction of being an excellent place to view rocket launches. 

Florida’s National Monuments & Memorials

What’s the difference between the two? There’s really only one: A monument should be on the site of the historically or scientifically significant thing; a memorial need not be on a site connected with what it commemorates. Florida’s national monuments and memorials include Fort Mantanzas National Monument, De Soto National Memorial Fort Caroline National Memorial, and the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. 

US Fish & Wildlife Service in Florida

Of all the national agencies managing public land, the US Fish & Wildlife Service has perhaps the most to manage in Florida. It manages 31 National Wildlife Refuges.

According to its website, the US Fish and Wildlife Service “is the premier government agency dedicated to the conservation, protection, and enhancement of fish, wildlife and plants, and their habitats.We are the only agency in the federal government whose primary responsibility is the conservation and management of these important natural resources for the American public.”

UFWS started in 1871, when Congress established the US Fish Commission. The idea was that it would look at how and why our country’s food fishes were failing. Today, they’re charged with implementing environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Pittman-Robertson Dingell-Johnson wildlife and sportfish restoration laws, the Lacey Act, North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Their programs and offices work to protect threatened and endangered species, like the manatee, panther, and other beloved Florida icons. The agency also monitors migratory birds, works to restore any fisheries deemed to have national importance, enforces wildlife laws, conserves and restores wetlands and other wildlife habitats, and helps states, Native American, and foreign governments with their own conservation efforts. Sometimes that last effort is financial support.

US Fish and Wildlife Service Public Land in Florida

Their public land in Florida includes (here’s a link to all of them):

• Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge
• Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
• Caloosahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
• Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge
• Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge
• Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge
• Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge
• Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge
• Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area
• Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge
• Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge
• Island Bay National Wildlife Refuge
• J. N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge
• Key West National Wildlife Refuge
• Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
• Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge
• Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge
• Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge
• Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
• Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge
• Okeefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
• Passage Key National Wildlife Refuge
• National Key Deer Refuge.
• Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge
• Pine Island National Wildlife Refuge
• Pinellas National Wildlife Refuge
• St. John’s National Wildlife Refuge
• St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge
• St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge
• Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge
• Welaka National Fish Hatchery

US Forest Service in Florida

Florida has three national forests:

• Apalachicola National Forest
• Osceola National Forest
• Ocala National Forest

Logging and Other Consumptive Practices

They’re all — as are national forests throughout the United States — managed by the United States Department of Agriculture. While this does protect the land, it does allow for consumptive practices; specifically, logging. However, the reasoning is that, by the federal government retaining ownership, it can sustainably manage the forest. The efficacy of this strategy largely depends on the administration.

Camping on US Forest Service Land

National forests do allow camping, but don’t expect the same amenities you would find at national parks. For example, Apalachicola National Forest only has cold water showers, no dump station, no camp store, and no paid rangers on site. The features at these forests, however, make it well worth “roughing it” for many.

Florida’s National Trails

The Forest Service also oversees, along with other federal agencies, national trails. The Florida National Scenic Trail constitutes the one National Trail in the state, but it’s not without distinction. A national trail is essentially a linear park. Perhaps the most famous national trail is the Appalachian Trail – and no doubt many of you have read Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” about his attempt to through-hike the AT – but the Florida National Scenic Trail clocks in at 1000 miles, and there’s another 300 miles planned. The trail runs from Big Cypress to the Alabama/Florida state line at the western edge of the Florida panhandle. Some of the land it crosses is paved, but much is forest, swamp, or park.

Florida’s Wild & Scenic Rivers

Wild and Scenic Rivers share management between four federal agencies: the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife, and the US Forest Service.  Created by the 1968 Wild & Scenic River Act,“Wild & Scenic Rivers” flow through 40 states and Puerto Rico.

In Florida, the national government has designated two: the Wekiva River and the Loxahatchee. The State of Florida has designated others as Wild & Scenic, and some as Outstanding Florida Waters, so it’s easy to confuse them.

Florida’s National Parks and Other Public Lands

In all, the state and federal governments own more than 9 million acres of land in Florida, which means you own this land. Most of it is publicly accessible, by foot, bike, kayak, or car.