Foiled Guana River land swap leads House to pass protections for conservation lands

Floridians are closer to getting a heads up when protected lands are potentially being unloaded by the state, after the House passed a bill that would extend notice requirements.

HB 441 stipulates that at least 30 days before the Acquisition and Restoration Council or the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund formally considers the proposed sale of state-owned conservation lands, the Division of State Lands would have to publicize the sale attempt, including an explanation of why these lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes.

Rep. Kim Kendall, a St. Augustine Republican, described the attempt to take prize land from Guana River Wildlife Management Area last year and swap it out for less desirable land, which created an outcry that stopped the effort but showed holes in Florida law.

“Whether it’s a bad land swap or a good one, we want to see two simple things, and that’s what this bill covers,” Kendall said.

“One, more notice. Instead of seven days, we want 30 days. And instead of no transparency or very little, we want to see things published. The parcels, what’s the appraisal of each? What percentage is going to be kept in conservation? And finally, the why statement. Why is it a benefit for us in the state to do this land swap?”

The proposal would have swapped 600 acres of conservation land in exchange for 3,000 acres of land in St. Johns, Lafayette, Osceola and Volusia counties. A measure about the proposal was placed on the state Acquisition and Restoration Council’s agenda with less than a week’s notice.

Rep. Allison Tant said it was an “honor and a gift” to be able to work with Kendall on this issue.

“What this bill does is make sure that Floridians do have adequate time to be able to know about the issues that are threatening the lands in their communities, and then actual time to work on it,” the Tallahassee Democrat said.

“That was the issue here, is that this came up within three days, and we didn’t know. And if it had not been for Rep. Kendall making others aware of it, it may well have slipped through the net.”

The issue created some embarrassment for Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, who represented that area in Congress prior to running statewide in 2018.

“It was not initiated by DEP (the Department of Environmental Protection). It was initiated by a private landowner,” he said last year after outcry came, including from political enemies.

“Guana Preserve and its beauty, familiarity and serenity is woven into the fabric of our communities and is, indeed, a treasure in northeast Florida. To allow — even enable — this land grab to occur is outrageous and completely contrary to what our community desires. Elected and appointed leaders should vote against this development wolf in sheep’s clothing and preserve this extraordinary natural bounty,” Susie Wiles said in a statement to The Tributary.

Ultimately, the Cabinet would have had the final say. And that will be the case with future projects like this.

If this bill becomes law though, the people will also have a say.

Companion legislation is moving through Senate Committees.