The following was sent by the Florida Springs Council.
Please don’t confuse this national park proposal by legislator Randy Fine with the proposal by Dr. Bob Knight of the Florida Springs Institute, who is proposing a National Heritage Area, as described below, as taken from the FSI Newsletter:
Establishing the Florida springs region as a National Heritage Area not only will help to preserve and protect our world-class springs, it also has real potential to improve economic opportunities for our local and regional communities.
A National Heritage Area is not a national park, and the federal government does not acquire or manage land. Instead, these areas work through partnerships with local governments, businesses and communities to accomplish their goals. As such, it allows for a community-based approach to help connect citizens to the preservation and planning process and to help improve the regional quality of life.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
Recently, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about Congressman Randy Fine’s proposal to study the feasibility of establishing a Florida Springs National Park south of Jacksonville, north of Orlando and east of Gainesville. I believe Congressman Fine is sincere in his love of national parks and desire to help Florida’s springs. It’s two things we have in common.
While it may sound like an appealing idea on paper, the Florida Springs Council is concerned about the changes in protections and public access that would result from converting several state parks, state forests and the Ocala National Forest into a national park. Here’s why we’re concerned:
- public lands. That’s why Florida’s state parks have won four gold medals, more than any other state, and are currently a finalist for a fifth. At a time when our national park system is under attack by politicians in Washington D.C., Florida’s state parks have unified support from our representatives in Tallahassee.
- Floridians have more control over the future of our public lands. The passage of the State Park Preservation Act proves we can protect our parks at the state level when threats emerge. As importantly, local residents currently have the ability to shape how state lands are managed by participating in the drafting of management plans, or by volunteering with the local “Friends of” group. If decisions about Florida’s most precious public lands are being made at the federal level, our ability to protect and manage those lands will be diminished.
- Jeopardizes recreational opportunities that Floridians depend on. For generations, Floridians have come to the Ocala National Forest for easy and free access to off-roading, hiking, primitive camping, hunting, and fishing. Converting the ONF into a national park could mean the loss or regulation of these outdoor recreational opportunities and create a harmful divide within our community. Environmentally sensitive areas within the ONF, like the areas around Juniper and Alexander Springs, are already designated Wilderness Areas, and afforded the highest level of protection. We need to prohibit and regulate pollution and harmful water withdrawals, not outdoor recreation.
- Floridians have more control over the future of our public lands. The passage of the State Park Preservation Act proves we can protect our parks at the state level when threats emerge. As importantly, local residents currently have the ability to shape how state lands are managed by participating in the drafting of management plans, or by volunteering with the local “Friends of” group. If decisions about Florida’s most precious public lands are being made at the federal level, our ability to protect and manage those lands will be diminished.
- Jeopardizes recreational opportunities that Floridians depend on. For generations, Floridians have come to the Ocala National Forest for easy and free access to off-roading, hiking, primitive camping, hunting, and fishing. Converting the ONF into a national park could mean the loss or regulation of these outdoor recreational opportunities and create a harmful divide within our community. Environmentally sensitive areas within the ONF, like the areas around Juniper and Alexander Springs, are already designated Wilderness Areas, and afforded the highest level of protection. We need to prohibit and regulate pollution and harmful water withdrawals, not outdoor recreation.If the study moves forward, we will review the results and consider our position. However, in the opinion of FSC, turning state conservation lands and the Ocala National Forest into a national park would do nothing to restore our springs and could be a step-backwards in the protection and management of our public lands.
Our springs have long been neglected at the state level and we would welcome Congressman Fine’s help in protecting them. At the federal level, springs need more funding for land conservation and infrastructure projects, stronger laws to protect wetlands and regulate non-point source pollution, and better protections for plants and wildlife.
Thanks for advocating for our springs,
Ryan Smart
Executive Director
