Parks and Open Space Florida Forever Grant Program

Management Plans, Entrance Signs, Logo, and Annual Stewardship Reports

Management Plan

Once the appraisals are reviewed and approved, either the applicant or the Trust will begin negotiations with the property owners. The applicant will be responsible for developing a Project Plan and a Management Plan. A management plan, which is typically between 15 and 30 pages depending upon the natural resources and the extent of development on the project site, is required for all project sites acquired under the Florida Communities Trust Program. The management plan lays out the short and long range management objectives, site development plans, resource protection activities and long term monitoring of the project site. The management plan must set forth the following:

• How the site will be managed to further the purpose of the project;
• Description of planned improvements to the Project Site;
• Costs and funding sources; and,
• The management entity and its funding source.

A Management Plan Checklist is available that covers all the necessary topics that need to be included in the management plan.  Please include a copy of the checklist when submitting the management plan. Management plans must be submitted and approved by staff before funds are delivered for a project site.

The Trust will also forward your management plan to the Division of Historical Resources for review. If you are looking for the assistance of an archaeologist to develop a resource protection plan or to survey a site, the Register of Professional Archaeologists website includes a listing of the organization's members in Florida.

Acknowledgment Signs

After a property is purchased with Florida Communities Trust funds, the local government must install and maintain a permanent recognition sign at the entrance to the site that meets the following requirements:

• Measure at least 3' x 4'
• Acknowledge that the project site was purchased with funds from Florida Communities Trust and any local government or organization that provided matching funds
• Identify the year the project was acquired

While there is no set requirement for the sign's appearance, Florida Communities Trust suggests that the logo be colored white, teal or black.

Preferred language for projects where Florida Communities Trust provided 100% of the funding:

Funding for the acquisition of this site was provided by Florida Communities Trust using Florida Forever funds (or Preservation 2000 funds Acquired in 2009

For projects in which the recipient provided a match:

Funding for the acquisition of this site was provided by Florida Communities Trust using Florida Forever funds (or Preservation 2000 funds) and the City of Venice Acquired in 2009

Florida Communities Trust Logo

Please contact The FCT evaluator for your County for the Florida Communities Trust or Florida Department of Environmental Protection logos.

Annual Stewardship Reports

The stewardship report provides a monitoring mechanism for both Florida Communities Trust and the grant recipient to provide a gauge of how the implementation of the management plan is progressing. The Stewardship Report should be approximately three to five pages in length, with appropriate attachments. For your assistance we have included a Stewardship Report Outline in Word. The report outline may contain issues not applicable to your site while other issues may need to be addressed in the stewardship report but are not listed on the report form.

Additional Information

• Evaluation Section