- A proposed plan for development of Florida state parks caught the attention of Wakulla County neighbors.
- One Wakulla County group helped rally opposition to the plan.
- Watch the video to see what they're doing to protect Florida state parks in the future.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
"It's such a unique and fragile environment and it's so different than so many other places."
Pete Scalco used to mange Wakulla Springs State Park and spent 33 years with the parks service in Florida.
"I'm passionate about protecting them."
This follows the early release of Florida Department of Environmental Protection proposed a plan to make Florida parks more recreational.
Neighbors across the state and in Wakulla County protested the idea.
Pete Scalco "I committed early on to public service to try and protect this for future generations so when I see that could threaten that whether it's just I'll conceived ideas or greed, it's a call to action and it should be for all people."
Governor DeSantis addressed those concerns last Wednesday
Ryan Smart is the Director for Florida Springs Council...one of the first groups to raise concerns.
"We were able to generate tens of thousands of emails within a day to those legislators letting them know how their constituents and the people of Florida felt about this proposal which was overwhelmingly opposition of the kind I've never seen before."
Florida Springs Council focuses on protecting natural land and advocating for preservation.
For now, the state's plans are suspended.
Smart tells me the work the community has done to protect state parks and voice concerns helped with this outcome.
"Our big focus is gonna be working on legislation for the 2025 legislative session that would make sure that nothing like this could ever be proposed again."
Although many believe there's not a current threat to our state parks, Scalco is hopeful people don't lose sight of what this land is for.
"It belongs to the people of the state if Florida and it's our property it's kind of like private property but everyone owns it and we all have a right to it."
The Florida Park Service is one of the largest in the country with 175 state parks, trails and historic sites.
