The Sierra Club, through national, state, and local committees reviews environmental issues, and when appropriate, issues statements, surveys, and calls for action. These are aimed to inform Sierra Club members and our communities on what issues are, and encourage participation toward solutions that will benefit the environment and provide equity to community members.
The Sierra Club aims to speak with one voice. Issues are reviewed at the national, state and local levels.
Florida Legislative Advocacy - Explains how the Sierra Club Florida Chapter works to educate Florida legislators on the importance of caring for our fragile Florida environment.
Local Advocacy - Provides education and opportunites for members to speak out on local environmental issues. For more information, contact Nancy Stevans or Gary Gibbons.
FDEP PLAYS A FAST ONE, BUT THE JIG IS UP
We won’t let golf courses, hotels, pickleball courts into our state parks
Two of the Parks are Local to Us!
Hillsborough River and Honeymoon Island
Published August 23, 2024
WHAT: Mobilizations across the state to protest against the proposed addition of golf courses, hotels, pickleball courts and other developments to nine Florida state parks by Ron DeSantis’ Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
WHO: A wide variety of organizations, elected officials, candidates, and impacted community members from across the political spectrum.
WHEN: Tuesday, August 27, 2024
WHERE: Keep FL State Parks Wild-Defend Hillsborough River State Park at Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, Community Room D, 2902 W. Bearss Ave., Tampa, FL 33618
- Contact: Rocky Millburn, 813-966-9785
WHERE: Keep FL State Parks Wild-Defend Honeymoon Island State Park: The protest will start at 2 PM and the crowd will descend upon the “public meeting” at 3 PM at The District, 11141 US Highway 19 N, Clearwater, FL 33764
- Contact: Kira Barrera, 727-686-9631, barrerakira@gmail.com
WHERE: Keep FL State Parks Wild- Defend Jonathan Dickinson State Park: The protest will start at 2 PM at the largest pavilion at Flagler Park (in the middle of the park) , a press conference will begin at 2:30 PM under the pavilion, and the crowd will descend upon the “public meeting” at The Flagler of Stuart, 201 SW Flagler Ave. Stuart, FL 34994 at 3 PM.
- Contacts: Michael McGrath, 386-341-4708, michael.mcgrath@sierraclub.org Casey Darling Kniffin, 561-371-3903, casey@fwfonline.org
WHERE: Keep FL State Parks Wild-Defend Anastasia State Park: The rally will start at 2 PM and the crowd will descend upon the “public meeting” at 3 PM at First Coast Technical College, The Character Counts Conference Center, Building C, 2980 Collins Ave., St. Augustine, FL 32084 NOTE: FDEP may change this location.
- Contacts: Sarah Gledhill, 904-347-6490, sgledhill@fwfonline.org and Jen Lomberk, 407-579-0761, Jen@matanzasriverkeeper.org
WHERE: Keep FL State Parks Wild-Defend Oleta River State Park at FIU Biscayne Bay Campus Kovens Conference Center, 3000 NE 151st St., North Miami, FL 33181
- Contact: rmaguire@cleoinstitute.org
WHERE: Keep FL State Parks Wild-Defend Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park at Downtown Event Center Lecture Hall, Building C, second floor, 416 NE First St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 (enter at Main Entrance B — clearly marked on the outside of the building.)
- Contact: Susan Steinhauser, browardsierrapc@gmail.com
WHERE: Keep FL State Parks Wild-Defend Topsail Hill Preserve State Park and Grayton Beach State Park at Watercolor Inn & Resort, Watercolor LakeHouse, 34 Goldenrod Circle, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
WHERE: Keep FL State Parks Wild-Defend Camp Helen State Park at Lyndell Conference Center, 423 Lyndell Lane, Panama City Beach, FL 32407
BACKGROUND:
On August 20 the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) proposed destroying swaths of nine Florida state parks in order to develop golf courses, resort-style hotels, and pickleball courts.
FDEP has arranged to collect public comment at eight simultaneous 1-hour long “public meetings” on Tuesday, August 27 for nine parks across the state from Walton County in the panhandle to Miami-Dade. All of the meeting locations and documentation links can be found here.
With so little notice given by FDEP, state park enthusiasts and conservationists are scrambling to organize attendance at all of the public meetings, but with less than seven days notice and only one hour available during business hours for each location, FDEP has set up the public to be left unheard. On Tuesday, August 27, FDEP will be put on notice that they cannot and will not silence or ignore the public.
VISUALS: Signs, banners, costumes, and large crowds.
Sierra Club Florida Joins Coalition to Defeat Amendment 2 Ballot Initiative
August 1, 2024
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Today, Sierra Club Florida announced it has joined the NoTo2.org political committee, a coalition of nearly 30 environmental organizations dedicated to defeating Amendment 2 – an initiative on the 2024 ballot to enshrine the right to hunt and fish in Florida’s constitution.
Despite the Florida Statutes already recognizing such a right, outdoors and gun rights groups have nonetheless pushed the amendment onto this year’s ballot as a means to permanently establish hunting and fishing as the preferred practice for wildlife management in Florida.
By designating hunting and fishing as an official function of Florida’s highest law of the land, Amendment 2 would codify lethal force as the state’s primary method for animal control and removal – overriding wildlife protections, upending conservation efforts, and opening the door to hunting in public places such as parks, as well as the private property of individual citizens.
Together with its NoTo2.org partners, Sierra Club Florida is committed to defeating this deceptive and dangerous amendment in November, and ensuring that Floridians from all sides of the political spectrum are equipped with the facts ahead of Election Day.
Grant Gelhardt, Sierra Club Florida Conservation Committee Chair, said, “Just as Florida legalizes the killing of bears, now all of our wildlife is under threat with Amendment 2. Make no mistake: This amendment was deliberately designed to exploit one of our most cherished cultural pastimes as a means to bypass wildlife protections and gun safety regulations. Any Floridian who cares about protecting their existing right to hunt, fish, or private property should vote NO on Amendment 2 this November.”
Susannah Randolph, Sierra Club Florida Chapter Director, said, “The gun lobby has once again demonstrated there is no depth too low for them in their shameful scheming to amend Florida’s constitution with their agenda. This amendment does nothing to protect the long-established legal rights of Florida’s hunters and anglers, and only stands to jeopardize the safety of our wildlife, residents, and communities. Sierra Club Florida stands with its partners around the state in rejecting this attack on our Constitution, and urges all Floridians to say “NO” to Amendment 2 on Election Day.”
Duke Energy Settlement Agreement
July 16, 2024
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - This week, Duke Energy Florida reached a rate settlement agreement that has been sent to the Florida Public Service Commission for approval, and includes two critical requirements requested by Sierra Club to accelerate Florida’s transition to cleaner energy sources and reduce costs to ratepayers.