FL Public Land Up For Grabs?
Monday, February 13, 2012
Pending Florida legislation could convert some 500,000 acres of publicly owned shoreline into private ownership. Opponents, including Audubon Florida Director Eric Draper, warn that it's a land grab move backed by Florida agribusiness interests.
"One bill I'm very concerned about sets the ordinary high water line at an extraordinary low level. It would basically take away our right to have access to those shorelines and river banks throughout the state of Florida."
It would mean a person could be arrested for getting out of a boat and stepping on the shore, according to the Florida Audubon Society.
Growers claim they need the land in order to expand to meet increasing demands for their crops. They propose to change the public-private boundary lines of lakes, rivers and streams from the "ordinary high-water line" to the "low-water line." That shift would affect about a half-million acres around the state.
Draper says every Florida governor in the past 30 years has stopped similar efforts to give away the state's shorelines. In 2000, former Attorney General Bob Butterworth called such legislation an attempt to create "one of the greatest land giveaways" in state history, Draper adds.
"Floridians are used to fishing, canoeing and swimming in these areas. We need to continue to have access to them."
HB 1103 passed the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 17. A companion bill in the Senate, SB 1362, has not been heard yet. It has been referred to the Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee, as well as the Budget Committee.
More information on land-privatization legislation is available at http://fl.audubonaction.org.
get more stories like this via email
United Nations experts are raising concerns about chemical giants DuPont and Chemours, saying they've violated human rights in North Carolina…
Social Issues
The long-delayed Farm Bill could benefit Virginia farmers by renewing funding for climate-smart investments, but it's been held up for months in …
Environment
Conservation groups say the Hawaiian Islands are on the leading edge of the fight to preserve endangered birds, since climate change and habitat loss …
Environment
April has been "Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month," but the pests don't know that. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it's the …
Health and Wellness
The 2024 Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium Public Conference kicks off Saturday, where industry experts and researchers will share the latest scientific …
Environment
Environmental groups say more should be done to protect people's health from what they call toxic, radioactive sludge. A court granted a temporary …