The Ixia Chapter Conservation Newsletter is written weekly by Chadd Scott, an art, culture & travel writer, talk radio personality, and podcast producer and coach as well as the Ixia Chapter Conservation Chair. To receive his weekly Conservation Newsletter directly to your email, complete the Subscribe form at the bottom of this page. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Florida Native Plant Society, its chapters, employees or volunteers.
ACTION ALERT about SB 1066 to restore the Ocklawaha River. We are so close but you need to contact Senate President Albritton by Monday morning and tell him you want the bill to be put forth for a vote. See the 2nd item below.
A ray of hope after it looked like what I believe to be the worst anti-environment bill of the legislative session seemed destined to pass. Thursday, voting on the Blue-Ribbon Projects bill was temporarily postponed by Senate President Ben Albritton after being subjected to insightful and blistering comments during the floor debate.
Calls and emails pressured the lawmakers to halt this, and you can do the same to stop this terrible bill. If you haven’t contacted your Senator yet to voice your objections to Blue- Ribbon Projects, please do so now! Find contact information for your Senator here.
Find your senator: https://www.flsenate.gov/senators
One call is all it takes. Two minutes to stop a bill that would overrule local zoning ordinances and allow for 15,000+ acre development bombs to be dropped into rural areas against the will of the people. St. Johns County is suspected of being a prime target for one of these developments.
The bill is anti-environment, anti-democratic, pro-developer, and pro-sprawl.
SB 354, entitled “Blue Ribbon Projects”, would allow anyone who controls a contiguous land area of at least 15,000 acres (more than 23 square miles) to bypass all comprehensive planning, zoning and land use regulations if they agree to place 60 percent of the land area into a “reserve” for environmental protection, agriculture, recreation and/or utilities development without any real detail about what that means. The entire “reserve area” could be in agriculture. It could be used to develop utilities. Development rights would be vested for up to 75 years and accommodate the creation of entire new cities without ANY control by elected officials or input from residents.
If this sounds like a bill that developers who have already consolidated ownerships larger than 15,000 acres wrote for themselves, that’s because it is. The New York landowner behind the scheme has also been bribing senators to push the legislation through.
Take 2 more minutes to contact Senate President Albritton and ask him to allow SB 1066, entitled Tributaries of the St Johns River, to be heard on the Senate Floor.
Call his office, (850) 487-5027, tell them you are a Florida voter, and ask to make a comment for the Senator. Tell whoever you talk to you want SB 1066 heard on the Senate Floor.
As shown above, voicing your opinion on these issues can influence lawmakers.
THIS HAS TO BE DONE BY MONDAY MORNING.
This legislation is about restoring the Ocklawaha River – finally, a full 57 years after it was impounded by a dam that drowned 7,500 acres of floodplain forest and at least 20 springs and spring-run streams, robbed the downstream St Johns River of more than 150 million gallons of freshwater inflow every day since it was constructed in 1968, and became obsolete just one year later when President Nixon deauthorized the Cross Florida Barge Canal boondoggle in 1969.
We have never been so close to success.
We just need Senate President Albritton to let SB 1066 come to a vote on the floor of the Florida Senate where it has the votes to pass. The bill has already cleared every other hurdle, including resounding votes of support by three different Senate committees.
The 2026 legislative session is nearly over, and there is a chance SB 1066 will not be put to a vote unless Senator Albritton understands that it is a real priority for the people of Florida.
Restoration of the Ocklawaha would:
- Allow the regeneration of 7,500 acres of floodplain forest.
- Free at least 20 springs, and plant-rich spring-run streams, that were drowned under the Rodman Reservoir.
- Return 150 million gallons of freshwater flow every day to the St Johns River.
- Restore historic spawning habitat for striped bass, sturgeon and American shad.
- Expand recreational access, to increase the economic benefits to surrounding communities.
CALL: (850) 487-5027
2 calls 4 minutes. Save Florida.
Swallow tail kites have begun their migration from winter grounds in South America to Florida.
With the spring bird migration beginning, remember to turn off your outside lights at night – which you should do year-round to protect moths and insects – so as not to disorientate birds flying through the area. Take the Audubon “Lights Out Homeowners Pledge” and see if you can get your workplace to turn its non-essential lights off at night as well.
LINK: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfN3n9T49z0H-gSPlixsQJlWQaPUDnp_Ur2SHqj9A5x4NxawA/viewform
A sobering read here about the incredible volume of poisonous herbicide glyphosate, sold commercially as Roundup, spread around the state and how deeply it has worked its way into our water, soil, and food.
The State of Florida is arguing in court that the hero whistleblower who exposed the state’s scheme to develop state parks is not a whistleblower and doesn’t deserve protection from retaliation by the state government.
Nice look at some of the work being done statewide by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences program: UF/IFAS.
Every county in the state has an extension office.
Boca Raton-based 4ocean has passed the 50-million-pound milestone in its trash cleanup efforts around South Florida beaches and waterways.
Story on the Midwest Native Seed Network run by the Chicago Botanic Garden which is working to research, store, propagate, and sell regional native plant seed to protect and promote the species.
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