Board of trustees may exchange lands.

This section applies to all lands owned by, vested in, or titled in the name of the board of trustees whether the lands were acquired by the state as a purchase, or through gift, donation, or any other conveyance for which no consideration was paid.

(1) The board of trustees may exchange any lands owned by, vested in, or titled in its name for other lands in the state owned by counties, local governments, individuals, or private or public corporations, and may fix the terms and conditions of any such exchange. For conservation lands acquired by the state through gift, donation, or any other conveyance for which no consideration was paid, the state may request land of equal conservation value from the county or local government but no other consideration.

(2) In exchanging state-owned lands not acquired by the state through gift, donation, or any other conveyance for which no consideration was paid, with counties or local governments, the board of trustees shall require an exchange of equal value. Equal value is defined as the conservation benefit of the lands being offered for exchange by a county or local government being equal or greater in conservation benefit than the state-owned lands. Such exchanges may include cash transactions if based on an appropriate measure of value of the state-owned land, but must also include the determination of a net-positive conservation benefit by the Acquisition and Restoration Council, irrespective of appraised value.

(3) The board of trustees shall select and agree upon the state lands to be exchanged and the lands to be conveyed to the state and shall pay or receive any sum of money the board of trustees deems necessary for the purpose of equalizing the value of the exchanged property. The board of trustees is authorized to make and enter into contracts or agreements for such purpose or purposes.

(4)(a) A person who owns land contiguous to state-owned land titled to the board of trustees may submit a request to the Division of State Lands to exchange all or a portion of the privately owned land for all or a portion of the state-owned land, whereby the state retains a permanent conservation easement over all or a portion of the exchanged state-owned land and a permanent conservation easement over all or a portion of the exchanged privately owned land. State-owned land exchanged pursuant to this subsection must be contiguous to the privately owned land upon which the state retains a permanent conservation easement. Each parcel proposed for exchange pursuant to this subsection must have at least one appraisal that follows the appraisal criteria, techniques, and methods adopted by the board of trustees pursuant to s. 253.025(8)(e). This subsection does not apply to state-owned sovereign submerged land.

(b) At least 30 days before any meeting of the Acquisition and Restoration Council or the board of trustees to review the proposed land exchange of conservation lands, the Division of State Lands shall publish the following information on its website:

1. The parcels of state-owned lands proposed for exchange;

2. The privately owned parcels of land proposed for exchange;

3. The portions of the lands identified in subparagraphs 1. and 2. which will be preserved in a permanent conservation easement;

4. A statement from the division explaining how the exchange will result in a conservation benefit to the state; and

5. Any recommendations from the division and the council related to the request.

(c) If the Division of State Lands elects to proceed with a request, the division must submit the request to the council for review, and the council must provide recommendations to the division. If the division elects to forward a request to the board of trustees, the division must provide its recommendations and the recommendations of the council to the board.

(d) After receiving a request and the division’s recommendations, the board of trustees shall consider such request and recommendations and may approve the request if:

1. At least 30 percent of the perimeter of the privately owned land is bordered by state-owned land and the exchange does not create an inholding.

2. The approval does not result in a violation of the terms of a preexisting lease or agreement by the board of trustees, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

3. For state-owned land purchased for conservation purposes, the board of trustees makes a determination that the exchange of land under this subsection will result in a net positive conservation benefit.

4. The approval does not conflict with any existing flowage easement.

5. The request is approved by three or more members of the board of trustees.

(e) Special consideration shall be given to a request that maintains public access for any recreational purpose allowed on the state-owned land at the time the request is submitted to the board of trustees. A person who maintains public access pursuant to this paragraph is entitled to the limitation on liability provided in s. 375.251.

(f) Land subject to a permanent conservation easement granted pursuant to this subsection is subject to inspection by the Department of Environmental Protection to ensure compliance with the terms of the permanent conservation easement.