The Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida last Friday honored First Lady Casey DeSantis at their annual Night for Nature fundraiser for her lifetime conservation efforts to raise awareness for the protection of Florida’s natural resources as well as her accomplishments in supporting Floridians across the state through her initiatives such as Hope Florida – A Pathway to Prosperity, Florida Cancer Connect, Resiliency Florida, and the Florida Disaster Fund.
“I am humbled to accept this distinction on behalf of our entire family and express our gratitude to the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida for their commitment to the conservation in Florida,” said First Lady Casey DeSantis. “Over the last four years, the Governor and I have had the privilege to experience our state’s natural beauty firsthand which has only served to increase our dedication to the protection of Florida’s natural resources. We are committed to providing historic funding and pursuing a bold agenda that ensures a new era of stewardship and leaves Florida better to God than we found it.”
“We were thrilled to honor First Lady of Florida Casey DeSantis for her commitment to Florida’s people and wildlife at A Night for Nature,” said Andrew Walker President and CEO of The Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida. “Her outstanding efforts to highlight Florida’s irreplaceable landscape and wildlife have brought public attention to important conservation efforts across our state. We are grateful for her work to benefit our environment and her wide-ranging initiatives that provide support and relief for Floridians.”
A Night for Nature benefits the many conservation and outdoor programs of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida.
The Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida is a nonprofit organization that partners with public and private entities to protect Florida’s outstanding animals and plants and the lands and waters. Since 1994, The Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida has raised and donated more than $60 million to restore Florida’s coral reefs and natural habitats, while protecting panthers, black bears, and other iconic species. They remain Florida’s largest private funder of outdoor education for more than 284,000 youth annually and help enhance public access to birding, boating, fishing, hunting, archery, and other traditional outdoor pursuits.
The DeSantis administration with the support of the Florida Legislature has pursued a bold agenda to ensure stewardship of Florida’s natural resources. On his second day in office, Governor Ron DeSantis’ signed Executive Order 19-12 which laid out his bold agenda to protect Florida’s natural resources, including calling for $2.5 billion to be invested over his first four years for Everglades restoration and the protection of water resources. During his first term, Governor DeSantis was able to surpass this already ambitious goal by securing $3.3 billion in state funding for these projects, which more than doubled the investment of the previous four years. More information on the DeSantis administration’s accomplishments from the first four years can be found here.
Governor DeSantis also signed legislation establishing the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a statewide network of nearly 18 million acres of connected lands and waters supporting wildlife and people. In his first four years, the DeSantis administration committed more than $600 million for land conservation through the Florida Forever Program and acquired more than 170,000 acres for conservation.
On the four-year anniversary of his historic executive order, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 23-06 to continue historic investments in the Everglades, water quality and water supply, protecting and restoring the Indian River Lagoon, fortifying our communities against flooding, and preserving and restoring conservation lands for future generations. To read more about the executive order click here.
