EDITOR’S DESK

This is the Hour

This issue, Bay Soundings continues its series on Climate Change and Florida’s Future with stories on land-use mitigation, and renewable energies. The ongoing series is available online at baysoundings.com, and we encourage readers who may have missed the first installment (Fall 2007 edition) to read it there.

As UF Professor Stephen Mulkey is quick to point out, mitigating climate change won’t be a smooth or cost-free endeavor. But the alternative, proceeding with business as usual, is far more troubling. According to a January 2008 report from Tufts University, ignoring climate change could cause $27 billion in harm to Florida’s tourism, electrical utilities and real estate industries by 2025.

On the flip side, there is boundless economic development potential as new, energy-smart technologies are scaled up and brought to market. Just ask Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Mike Sole, who was positively bullish on the green-to-gold future at a meeting in Coral Gables last fall: “We’re coming into a new era that will be a lot like the dot-com times.”

This is the Hour: Never before have the words of a poem I discovered recently meant more or resonated so deeply. It’s time to get down to the business of developing Florida’s true 21st century potential and safeguarding and conserving our natural resources.

Also this issue, Bay Soundings checks in with long-time NewsChannel 8 environmental reporter, Bob Hite, who stepped down as anchor in November to devote more time to his beloved craft of photojournalism. While we are sad to see him go, we wish Bob and his wife Bonnie well as they embark on new adventures, here in the Sunshine State and at their new home nestled in the mountains of Colorado.

Finally, a shout out and hearty congratulations to the “Next Gen” – the students of Westchase Elementary and winners of the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s first Bay Guardian awards for demonstrating their commitment to the environment. You inspire us – thank you!

Your turn – talk back!
We welcome letters to the editor on topics covered in Bay Soundings. Send them to
editor@baysoundings.com.

— Mary Kelley Hoppe

A pleasant day in late October found more than fifty leaders gathered at the Crystal Springs Preserve in Pasco County for a dialogue on the future of funding for land and water conservation. The excitement grew as the participants sensed the potential of working together to persuade state and local officials to put more money into protecting the places that make Florida special. As the lists grew - Green Swamp, Lake Wales Ridge, Cross Bar Ranch, black bear corridors - so did the realization that much more needs to be done to preserve natural Florida.

The event, the first of several “listening dialogues” being conducted around Florida, is intended to move the conversation about land conservation out of Tallahassee. Organized by Audubon on behalf of the Florida Forever Coalition, the dialogues are picking up interest among those who feel that the Legislature is missing a golden opportunity to step up the pace of conservation. The Zephyrhills session was convened by Southwest Florida Water Management District Board member Heidi McCree and former regional EPA Administrator John Hankinson.

McCree and Hankinson posed a series of challenging questions to the participants:

• What are our land and water conservation priorities for this region?
• What tools and strategies are available to secure these priorities?
• Are current conservation policies and programs achieving their goals?
• What policies and funding strategies should be recommended?
• How can advocates create more public and political support for the goals?

Based on the animated dialogue, these are overdue questions, which merit both discussion and action.

Florida has the most successful land acquisition programs in the nation. The state, through its five water management districts, also has the nation’s most ambitious programs for preserving and restoring wetlands and waterways. Billions of dollars have been spent. However state spending on environmental projects has slowed dramatically in recent years.

The state housing slump has cut more than a quarter of the funds typically used for grants for buying land and restoring lakes and rivers. Now with some state leaders bent on taking property tax revenue away from the water management districts and county agencies, environmental programs are facing a tough future. This is occurring just when most experts say that Florida should double its efforts to protect land and water.

The Florida Forever list of lands proposed for protection as state parks, forests and wildlife habitat includes more than 1.5 million acres valued at $10 billion. A list of local park needs based on a survey of local governments revealed an additional $10 billion in unfunded recreational needs. Water resource protection including Everglades restoration, Lake Okeechobee and estuary recovery will require billions more.

The dialogue at Crystal Springs put those huge numbers in local context. A regional map showed in bright green polygons the remarkable places already preserved by the state and local agencies including the Southwest Florida Water Management District. However the map also showed many projects that are incomplete and still awaiting funding.

While the major focus of the dialogue was securing land through purchase and conservation easements, new strategies for land conservation are emerging across the state. In many places landowners and developers are putting significant amounts of land under permanent protection in exchange for increased or concentrated development rights. This approach appears to work well with the “Smart Growth” push for compact development forms.

The huge Babcock Ranch deal was accomplished in part by removing all development potential on 74,000 acres – making the ranch affordable to the state. Near Panama City, the St. Joe Company has committed to putting a conservation easement over 40,000 acres including 33 miles of prime waterfront in exchange for the right to build on adjacent land. In Collier County, the new 5,000-acre town of Ave Maria has allowed the permanent protection of 18,000 acres including critical Florida Panther habitat. The very location of the dialogue at Crystal Springs demonstrates alternative land protection. There, significant land has been set aside to buffer the springs, which are part of the headwaters of the Hillsborough River.

The results of the Crystal Springs dialogue and several others planned around the state will be presented to the Florida Legislature and the Governor and Cabinet. Hopefully, this information will prove valuable to state decision-makers as they consider requests to increase the buying power of Florida Forever from $300 to $600 million.

One thing we know for sure is that the meeting left 50 people inspired to make sure that the decision makers in Tallahassee know that this region of Florida wants to see more green.

Eric Draper is deputy director for Audubon of Florida.

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