Golf courses in state parks?

Audubon Florida staff continue to monitor public meeting schedules for any indications that the development proposals concerning state parks are returning for public comment or approval. In August, we sounded the alarm when the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced that nine state parks were slated to receive hotels, golf courses, pickleball courts, and more. You responded! More than 38,000 of you filled out our action alert and hundreds more shared the news across your networks and called your local elected officials. Amidst this public outcry, Governor DeSantis shelved the plans...for now. Because of Audubon’s strength as a respected conservation leader, we led the charge against these egregious development proposals, inspiring Floridians to stand up for conservation and nature-based recreational uses of state parks.

We will continue to help grassroots advocates engage with park planners as this process moves forward and provide expert evaluation of the potential impacts of new proposals. As Florida’s oldest statewide conservation organization, Audubon was part of the effort to create Florida’s state parks and is just as important to the survival of these special places and their wildlife today. 

Developer eyes state forest.

Audubon Florida learned of a potential development proposal and land swap within the Withlacoochee State Forest for a 324-acre golf course. In return for the highquality habitat in the state forest—a critical part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor—golf course developer Cabot Citrus would purchase 861 acres of timber land located roughly 50 miles northwest of Cedar Key in Levy County to give to the State of Florida. While the swap would result in additional protected acres, the quality of habitat is not equal, potentially setting a dangerous precedent that views protected lands as “open” for development. Though the Florida Cabinet approved the swap, they Crested Caracara. Photo: Tim Timmis/Audubon Photography Awards delegated the final decision to the Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC). “Public outcry and advocacy combined with our policy team's hard work appear to have this proposal on hold. The terms of the proposed swap set a high bar for the applicants to clear.

Audubon's team is remaining vigilant on this issue despite the lack of movement," explains Executive Director Julie Wraithmell,. Our policy team is carefully watching future ARC agendas for the appearance of this issue and is ready to advocate for the swap to return to the Cabinet for further discussion and public comment. 

Massive Orange County Ranch Annexation Averted

The City of Orlando and Orange County came to an agreement on several terms that halted the City's annexation of 82 square miles of wetlands, flatwoods, scrub, and ranch in eastern Orange County.

Audubon and its members were vocal opponents of this hasty annexation because Orlando's land use regulations are less stringent than Orange County's when applied to the development of large rural/natural areas, as is intended for these parcels. The annexation was being advanced in haste because of two Orange County referenda on the November 5 ballot that, now passed, require the City to share annexation approval authority with the County and increase protections for rural areas.

Congratulations to all the Audubon advocates in Orange County who wrote to the Orlando City Council, urging them to deny the annexation request. Congratulations also to our partners at Orange Audubon Society for their advocacy. Thank you to Orange County for standing firm on this issue on behalf of the public interest. And thank you to Mayor Dyer and the members of the Orlando City Council for hearing our concerns and striking an agreement that creates the conditions for more protective comprehensive planning. 

This article originally appeared in the 2024 Winter Naturalist.