Archaeology - Office of Cultural & Historical Programs

CARL Archaeology Program @ Florida OCHP

CARL Program History

The Conservation and Recreational Lands (CARL) program was established by the Florida legislature in 1979 to acquire lands of environmental and cultural significance before they were lost to the pressures of increasing population and development. According to Florida Statute [259.032(3),F.S.], CARL projects must meet at least one of the following six public purposes:

To conserve and protect environmentally unique and irreplaceable lands that contain native, relatively unaltered flora and fauna representing a natural area unique to, or scarce within, a region of Florida or a larger geographical area;

To conserve and protect lands within designated areas of critical state concern, if the proposed acquisition relates to the natural resource protection purposes of the designation;

To conserve and protect native species habitat or endangered or threatened species;

To conserve, protect, manage, or restore important ecosystems, landscapes, and forests, if the protection and conservation of such lands are necessary to enhance or protect significant surface water, ground water, coastal, recreational, timber, or fish or wildlife resources which cannot otherwise be accomplished through local and state regulatory programs;

To provide area, including recreational trails, for natural resource-based recreation;

To preserve significant archaeological or historic sites.

This statute expanded the 1972 Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) program. In 1990 the legislature enacted the Preservation 2000 Act, which was designed to raise nearly $3 billion over a 10-year period for land acquisition. This program was replaced in 2000 with the Florida Forever Program and receives approximately $105 million annually until 2010 from the sale of bonds for the purchase of state lands. The Conservation and Recreational Lands (CARL) program was one of the major recipients of all these funds.

Through the purchase of these lands, typically managed as state preserves, state parks, historic sites, or wildlife management areas, the state of Florida has acquired many properties of considerable archaeological significance. These included the Mission San Luis and DeSoto sites, Fort George Island, an addition to Crystal River mounds, and numerous sites associated with the Charlotte Harbor State Reserve. Often, however, cultural resources on CARL lands were managed by natural resource staff unfamiliar with archaeological and historical sites. Additionally, many more sites existed on CARL lands, but they were not well known due to a general lack of systematic, professional archaeological surveying. Consequently, beginning in 1989, CARL Archaeological funds were allocated annually to the Florida Division of Historical Resources to provide land managers with the necessary information to effectively manage archaeological and historical resources on land purchased or proposed for purchase through the CARL and other conservation lands program.

R.A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
Phone: (850) 245-6444
Fax: (850) 245-6436
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