President’s Message: Lake-to-Lake Regional Trail, New Board Members
Ned Baier, AICP
FGTF President
By Ned Baier, AICP
President, Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation
After hosting a successful Florida Greenways & Trails Summit in February, many of my colleagues in the trail and environmental community are asking, what’s next? Following is an update on how the Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation (FGTF) aims to carry out its mission to help develop a statewide system of greenways and trails in 2025 — and a teaser for our next summit.
Supporting the Lake-to-Lake Regional Trail
FGTF is taking the lead on the planning research for a new trail. The Lake-to-Lake Regional Trail would run from Lake Monroe in Sanford to Lake Okeechobee in the City of Okeechobee. One year ago, FGTF provided seed money that was matched by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation to fund the research. The initial findings were so encouraging that an additional phase of research has been funded with a generous grant from the Felburn Foundation. In addition, the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council recently passed a resolution in support of the concept, offering collaboration and resources to help bring the project to fruition. FGTF is aiming to complete the study by the end of this year. More information about this exciting project can be found here.
Expanding the FGTF Board
This is a top priority of mine. Expanding the makeup of the FGTF Board will help provide new perspectives on trail and greenway issues. On that note, FGTF is excited to welcome Alex Freeze, Brandyn Littleton, and Kelly Morphy to our FGTF Board. Alex is the corridor connect director for the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation. Brandyn is a vice president and operations manager at the infrastructure consulting firm Halff Associates. Kelly is the executive director of the Florida Bicycle Association. As board president, I am also aiming to add to our visibility and volunteer base in south Florida and Jacksonville. Read more about our board here.
Becoming a Greater Resource for the Greenways and Trails Community. Marketing and communications are essential to any business looking to connect with its customers. At FGTF, our connection with the trail community and local and state agencies that plan, fund, and build trails is key to our success and the success of greenways and trails across the state of Florida. To that end, we have invested in a marketing and communications expert to help us enhance the FGTF website and our social media platforms. Our goal is to become a greater resource for news and information to help support the important work being done by our colleagues.
Strengthening Our Alliance with the Florida Greenways and Trails Council. FGTF has begun to schedule its in-person board meetings to coincide with the Florida Greenways and Trails Council meetings. A combined reception will provide an opportunity to network and exchange ideas for trail projects across the state. This year these meetings will be taking place in Sanford (July) and Jupiter (October). The meeting in Jupiter is a first for us on the Treasure Coast and will coincide with a ribbon cutting on a new segment of the East Coast Greenway.
Increasing Our Visibility in the Community. Another one of my goals as president is to increase our visibility in the communities where trail projects are happening, and to support the local advocacy groups that are working tirelessly to make these trails possible. Most recently, I presented at the Florida Greenways and Trails Council meeting and at the annual meeting of Friends of BERT, which is working on the Bonita Estero Rail Trail near the Village of Estero and the City of Bonita Springs. FGTF has also participated in the joint meetings hosted by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and in the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council meeting. In addition, FGTF will soon be attending the MetroPlan Orlando meeting. FGTF Board Vice President Kim DeLaney will be presenting at the Corridor Connect Summit in June, hosted by the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation. I hope to see you out there somewhere!
Circling back to where I started, the Florida Greenways & Trails Summit that took place earlier this year was such a success that we definitely want to do it again! Stay tuned as we aim to schedule this for later next year (2026). This will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation. You can check out photos and read more about this year’s summit here.
As always, it’s an honor leading the Florida Greenways & Trails Foundation as president. Happy trails!
