A very Powerful Letter From Sonny Vergara, Past Director of SWFWMD on the Withlacoochee State Forest Land Grab.

Withlacoochee State Forest Land Grab
Opposition to proposed swap of 324-acres of Conservation Lands 

Withlacoochee State Forest parcel earmarked for land swap

On the heels of an ill-advised effort by the Florida Governor to develop golf courses and resorts on public conservation lands that has been dropped due to widespread public opposition, there’s more.  This past June, without any public input, nor any discussion on the part of its members, the Florida Governor and Cabinet voted to approve transfer of 324 acres of land within the Withlacoochee State Forest in Hernando County to Cabot Citrus OpCo LLC, a Canadian corporation.  

Cabot wants the land to expand its adjoining luxury golf course/resort development in exchange for 861 acres of pine plantation in Levy County. It obtained approval earlier from the Hernando County Commission to build 1770 residential units and a large area of commercial development on the land it already owns.  Prior to their purchase of the property, the prior owner had donated a portion of it to the state as part of the Annutteliga Hammock Florida Forever project. 
 
The land swap is contingent upon review and approval by both the Florida Forest Service (FFS) and the Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC). This parcel was purchased by the Florida Department of Transportation, and then transferred to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP)  as mitigation for impacts from expansion of the Suncoast Parkway.  FDEP leased the land to FFS to be managed as part of the Withlacoochee State Forest.  And so it should remain.

Eugene Kelly-- President of the Florida Native Plant Society and Adventure Coast Vice Chair (right)-- and Tom St. Clair President, Hernando Audubon and Adventure Coast Conservation Chair (left)-- have studied the land parcel and identified gopher tortoise burrows and other plants and animal species that confirm its value for conservation.  

The Sierra Club Adventure Coast Group, Sierra Club Florida Chapter, and many other conservation organizations have communicated our strong opposition to the Governor, Cabinet and members of ARC and even our local county commissioners, who recently approved Phase Two of the current development.  

Our objections are based on three key issues: 

• The proposed land swap establishes a dangerous precedent for other public lands desired by developers. It circumvents established protocols by enabling state conservation lands to be transferred by the Governor to private developers. F.S. 253.0341(1) mandates that state conservation lands can only be declared surplus and transferred when state experts have determined that it no longer provides conservation value. That has not been done.

• The Withlacoochee State Forest Parcel has considerable conservation value due to its contiguity with other public conservation lands and its role as a link in the Florida Wildlife Corridor. The corridor connection here is important for preserving connectivity for wildlife between the State Forest and the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. The Withlacoochee State Forest Management Plan, page 18, states "All of the property within WSF is suitable for and necessary for the management of WSF. None should be declared surplus."
  • See page 18 of Ten-Year Resource Managment Plan For The Withlacoochee State Forest, Additional Acquisitions and Land Use Considerations, Surplus Land Assessment.

• Value as a Groundwater Recharge Area: The parcel is known to have high recharge value and is located within the Chassahowitzka Springshed, a declared Outstanding Florida Spring. The major water quality challenge in this area is reducing nutrient pollution that has led to water quality decline in the Chassahowitzka spring system. FDEP is currently revising the Basin Action Management Plan for Chassahowizka to further reduce nutrient-loading.  Development of the parcel will only lead to additional water quality degradation. 

This land swap is contrary to good public policy and Government in the Sunshine. It is contrary to the goal of Florida Forever—protecting lands with significant natural resource values in perpetuity for all Floridians. It undermines a long record of successful conservation of Florida’s valuable lands that  protect our environment, support our tourist-based economy, and provide clean water to support both nature and people. Although the swap has not yet been approved by the Florida Forest Service, nor scheduled for review by ARC, we hope that input from the conservation community will encourage state officials to end this ill-advised gift to private development interests. 

Stay tuned! When we learn more from the state regarding their intentions to either suspend further action on the land swap or move forward with the proposal, we’ll let you know. If they do not stop it, we’ll issue an action alert for you to take action.  

News Clippings

• Florida Phoenix - "Kelly told me he and everyone else interested in land preservation were clueless about this secret land swap until the Times broke the story last month. He went to see the state forest property himself, hiking a portion of it from south to north. He counted more than a dozen gopher tortoise burrows."
• Tampa Bay Times - “Our big concern is the precedent it would establish,” said Tom St. Clair, president and conservation chairperson of the Hernando Audubon Society. “My immediate reaction was, ‘Oh my god’ — that this could be done at the Cabinet level just at the request of the developer.”

Audio Interviews

• Radio St. Pete - FNPS President Eugene Kelly on Proposed Land Swap 9-18-24
• Florida Spectacular - Episode 170: Woodpeckers, Withlacoochee, and Why the Land Swap?