The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Acquisition and Restoration Council will consider a request at its meeting Wednesday, May 21, to swap 600 acres in the Guana River Preserve for 3,066.23 acres in four locations in the state. The proposal has drawn strong opposition from local residents and Audubon Florida.
The request was made by Upland LLC, which owns 104.47 acres contiguous with the Guana River Wildlife Management Area. The agenda item was posted online Wednesday, May 14.
No proposed use for the swapped land was stated in the state documents, but private development is likely a motivation for the request.
According to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Guana River Wildlife Management Area contains mesic hammock, xenic hammock, scrub, mesic flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods, maritime hammock, depression marsh and basin swamp.
According to Division of State Lands staff comments, the swap would provide a net positive conservation benefit, as it translates into a net gain of 2,466.23 acres of additional conservation lands within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
However, Friends of the GTM Research Reserve has stated that this replacement of land in parcels elsewhere would not compensate for the ecological, cultural or scientific value of what would be lost.
The properties subject to the swap would be located in St. Johns, Lafayette, Osceola and Volusia counties.
In a press release signaling its opposition, the Friends group noted that the proposal was introduced with “minimal notice, vague details and questionable transparency.”
“Florida’s public conservation lands are not placeholders for private development,” the group stated. “They are held in public trust — for wildlife, for water quality, for future generations. There is no justification to declare this parcel ‘no longer needed for conservation purposes.’”
The group estimated that the swap would fragment habitats, increase pollution, threaten biodiversity and hinder the reserve’s ability to manage ecosystems. It noted that Guana’s estuarine supports a diversity of life, providing refuge for migratory birds, fish and threatened species. This would include the gopher tortoise.
Currently, the parcel in question is accessible to the public for waterfowl hunting, fishing, paddling and wildlife viewing, activities that opponents fear will be impacted.
A recommendation by the Acquisition and Restoration Council would go to a state board for approval and then to the governor, attorney general and commissioner of agriculture.
