Strange Doings At State Land Panel’s Wednesday Meeting Amid Legitimate Requests

Just as we heard the news that a controversial proposal to swap prime conservation land in the Withlacoochee State Forest in Hernando County for a beat-up pine plantation in Levy County was dead and that Gov Ron DeSantis had signed a bill to stop plans to develop hotels and other intense projects with Florida’s state parks, we have learned the mischief regarding state conservation lands is not over.
On Wednesday the state’s Acquisition and Restoration Council will consider proposal to swap 600 acres at Guana River Wildlife Management Area for a mishmash of private lands in Lafayette, Osceola, St. Johns and Volusia counties totaling 3.065 acres.
People who use Guana River oppose the swap because it would remove a popular section of trails within the 9.815-acre site.
But there is a much larger issue involving the permanence of public conservation lands and what kind of precedence this sets.
Another issue is transparency.
Surely someone in state government knows who requested the swap, which has the odor of a surplus without calling it that, and who put together the package of lands involved in the proposal, but that information is not being shared in the agenda packet.
On the surface this might look like a good deal if viewed only from the perspective of acreage given up and acreage gained.
However a closer look at the maps shows land that at best can be described as sorta kinda near other conservation lands with no clear access in some cases and no listing of current ownerships to give the public an idea of whether this is an arm’s length transaction of something else.
Sierra Club’s position is to deny the request.
It is also in stark contrast with three more straightforward requests for less-than-fee acquisitions in our area that are also on Wednesday’s agenda.
They involve the 347-acre Joshua Land Ranch northeast of Polk City, the 2,470-acre Rogers Ranch northwest of Groveland and the 660-acre Ludwig Ranch in southern Hardee County.
The first two are in the Green Swamp and the third is in the Horse Creek Basin. Horse Creek is a major tributary to the Peace River.
We are supporting those requests.
If you would like to add your voice to the items on the ARC agenda–especially the bad one–it would be welcome.