Designing a Payment for Environmental Services Program for the Northern Everglades

The Florida Ranchlands Environmental Services Project designed and field-tested elements of a program that would pay ranchers to improve water quality, phase, and timing by using existing water management infrastructure on ranchlands. The authors, from World Wildlife Fund and Resources for the Future, discuss the collaborative process used during the six-year pilot phase and how it built the foundation for the Northern Everglades Payment for Environment Services Program launched in 2011.