The headlines here sound really good. We much prefer to have agricultural land kept for agriculture than have it developed. Florida does not need more people, stores, concrete, restaurants and roadways. And if Simpson can use that three hundred million to conserve agricultural lands we are happy.
Reading more into this article, however, we see lots of figures in the millions batted around. Millions here, millions there.
The big problem with this is that these millions and millions may serve as political points thrown around but not achieving any significant gains for our environment. This hit me hard a few years back when Amendment 1 was put into law and the Florida Legislature decided to spend the money for whatever projects their current whims dictated.
Additionally, these huge allocations sound really good but very seldom are used to fix our problems. Our state unwritten policy is that in Florida we must not hinder polluters and water users because they make money. Instead we do things like employ companies from foreign countries to tinker with our green algae problem, or we fund committees to study what we already know, or we buy lots of lettuce to feed manatees after we refuse to sustain water clean enough for them to live in.
Read the original article here in the Orlando Sentinel.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
TALLAHASSEE — Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is seeking $300 million for a program designed to keep swaths of rural land from commercial and residential development, triple the amount vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year.
Meanwhile, the Department of Environmental Protection is asking lawmakers for a slight increase next year in funding for the separate Florida Forever land-conservation program.
In outlining proposals by his Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the 2024 legislative session, Simpson on Tuesday said the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program is a way for farmers and ranchers to continue operating amid the pressures of rising land values and a rapidly growing population.
“When you think about what farming of the future is going to look like … are we going to have farmland available?” Simpson told members of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee….