Jason
01-04-2007, 10:43 AM
The 'real' Florida is still out there
Environmental writer says unspoiled wilderness can be found
By RICHARD PRIOR | More (javascript:document.searchReporter.submit();) by this reporter | richard.prior@staugustinerecord.com | Posted: Saturday, December 30, 2006 ; Updated: 6:02 AM on Saturday, December 30, 2006
Bill Belleville's message is simple.
The "real" Florida is still out there, on the far side of the malls, parking lots and condo complexes.
And it's worth keeping.
Granted, the "real" Florida is getting harder to find. You just have to know where to look.
"There's a spot I could take you to that's just 15 minutes outside of town," said Belleville, an environmental writer and documentary filmmaker.
Relaxing on the porch in his Sanford home, Belleville said, "There are places around the Wakiva River that look like Florida would have 500 years ago.
"You can walk down the edge of high bluffs, down to the edge of the swamp, surrounded by cypress and swamp tupelo and sweet gum."
Visitors, he said, will find thin springs trickling out of the limestone bluffs along the Wakiva. Vines and moss are woven into a wilderness pattern, "just outside this chaos of growth," said Belleville, savoring the sight he visits often. "Florida has lots of them, these time-stuck places."
The search for unspoiled Florida has gotten more difficult because so much development has sprung up to accommodate the incoming tide of visitors and new residents.
But, he insisted, the drive to satisfy every resident's whimsy doesn't mean so much land has to be plowed up and paved over. There have always been ways to protect what made Florida attractive in the first place.
"We're one of only 14 states that have a Growth Management Plan," said Belleville. "The ideals in that law are supposed to be adopted by each city and county when they do their own comprehensive management plan.
"They're supposed to follow that plan as a strategy for developing growth. If the cities and counties did that, growth should be reasonably sustainable."
Growth control is spotty
Those well-intention plans, however, are next to useless because of all the exemptions that are granted almost automatically.
"The (state) Department of Community Affairs is supposed to challenge these exemptions and make sure there is a good reason for them to exempt the plan," said Belleville. "They don't. They're like a lapdog.
"Going back five, six years ago, there were 100,000 exemptions requested by various city and county governments. The DCA only challenged four."
Development in certain areas of the state is nothing new, he said.
"Of course, you have Disney in the 1970s," he said. "But in the 1890s, you see a lot of literature about 'Come To Florida' -- this salubrious environment that'll cure all ills.
"There was a lot of over-the-top literature in those days: 'Come here, get rich, lay in the sun.'"
Limit growth areas
If modern growth were largely confined to existing Urban Service Boundaries, Belleville said, nature would have a chance to flourish in the rest of the state.
"Just because a developer buys cheap land out in the country," he said, "you can't go ahead and put 20,000 people there and expect the public to subsidize roads and all the other infrastructure."
Taxpayers would also get a break if "meaningful impact fees" were assessed, he said.
"We, all the taxpayers, end up subsidizing development, Belleville said."Even the most conservative studies show that, for every dollar in ad valorem revenue brought in through new growth, $1.30 goes out.
"And that's conservative. I've heard two and three times that much.
"Thirty cents doesn't sound like much but put it in the millions of dollars each year. It's something we have to pay for."
Unspoiled land may still be preserved by putting ranch land and pastures into conservation easements, he said.
"Ranchers who want to keep on ranching may want to do it," said Belleville. "I admire those guys. They're hard workers, and they have a real attachment to the land.
"Conservation easements give them enormous tax breaks."
Buying land outright, such as through the Florida Forever program, is another way to control development, he said. However, he added, the investment needs to be more substantial.
"The revenue Florida Forever gets is not keeping up with land values," said Belleville. "It's in the range of $300 million a year. Statewide, that's hardly anything anymore."
The Seven-County Regional Commission is made up of representatives from Seminole, Orange, Osceola, Brevard, Volusia, Polk and Lake.
A study completed last year by the commissioners determined that their region alone needs $1 billion a year to buy land to keep up with the rate at which it is being lost, Belleville said.
'My Cracker Landscape'
A native of Maryland's Eastern Shore, Belleville came to Florida to become a writer after graduating from the University of Maryland.
He first worked for a weekly in Kissimmee, then for different newspapers for seven years.
The environmental writer and filmmaker's books include "River of Lakes, A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River."
His most recent book is "Losing It All To Sprawl: How Progress Ate My Cracker Landscape."
Belleville has completed projects for the Discovery Channel and PBS. He is now working on a film, "In Marjorie's Wake," about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
"When I came here after graduation, I had to learn what Florida was all about," said Belleville. "You have to work at it because Florida's so different.
"They say a thousand people a day are coming to Florida. Some of them want to learn, too. Others come just because the economy seems good, and they can play outdoors.
"So the question is, how will the people who want to appreciate Florida grow in ratio to people who don't care one way or another, people who just want to live someplace where it doesn't snow?"
Bill Belleville's Favorite Old Florida Places and naturally intact landscapes:
1. Welaka
On the eastern high bank of the St. Johns River across from the mouth of the Ocklawaha.
Welaka has a few fish camps, marinas and Mom and Pop style cottages. Once prosperous because of the river (via shad fishing, steamboat landing, etc.) it is now smaller in population than it was when it was in its heyday. The main street has a single light and if you keep going west on it, it turns into a boat ramp.
2. Everglades City
At the northwest edge of the Everglades National Park.
Jumping off point for those who want to paddle the Wilderness Waterway, which covers about 100 miles of wild backcountry of tidal rivers, creeks and bays, ending in Flamingo on the Florida Cape inside the park. Once on the fast track to prosperity during the Florida boom, Everglades City and nearby Chokloskee took a nose dive. Grandiose plans created wide boulevard-like streets, etc, but instead of drawing rich tourists it only drew commercial fishermen -- who were the only ones that could stand the salt marsh mosquitoes.
3. White Springs on the upper Suwannee River.
Another little steamboat landing built around a spring. The restored spring house is still there, and the spring still flows out of it. When the steamboats stopped running, the "restorative" and "salubrious" powers of the spring resort were forgotten, like the rest of White Springs itself.
4. Intact natural landscape
Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge on the St. Johns River just below Lake George. Several lakes and linking creeks surrounded by dense hardwood swamp. Overwintering corridor for many migratory birds, including many that live here during the winter months.
Lake Dexter in the refuge was believed to be the "Battle Lagoon" where William Bartram writes in "Travels" (1791) of fighting aggressive alligators while camping here on the shores.
5. Wekiva River system
Northwest of Orlando, this is an intact natural landscape and a major tributary of the St. Johns. The best protected river system in all of Florida thanks to state and local laws, and the acquisition of land for public protection. Nearly 110 square miles is protected around the Wekiva and some of its tributaries, like the Blackwater Creek. The only river protected wholly (for its entire length) as a federal Wild and Scenic River in Florida. Ground zero for the Florida Black Bear since there is such a biological diversity of habitats here. Public land is composed of state parks, preserves, reserves and a state forest.
6. Cedar Key and its Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge.
Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Cedar Key is actually a series of keys linked by bridges and causeways. Once famous for its cedar harvesting for the pencil industry (no kidding), Cedar Key later became a Mecca for commercial fishermen, and then for artists.
A net ban a few years ago changed the face of the fishery, and former fishermen now tend offshore beds of clams which they "plant" there as seed stock.
Hundreds of offshore islands, including the original "Cedar Key" - Atsena Otie - and Seahorse Key can be reached by boat or kayak. Many seabirds and wading birds are protected here.
7. North Key Largo
Almost half of massive Key Largo key is owned by the state. An ambitious and illegally planned development there would have opened the doors for wholesale destruction of the dense mangrove forests which still occupies the northern half of this key. Protected here are the rare Florida Keys Tree Snail (which vary in coloration by the hammock in which they live.) A nature trail that follows a road build by the failed Port Bougainvillea Resort allows visitors to see the Antillean forest of mahogany and gumbo limbo that once covered most of the keys. Carl Hiaasen's fictional "Skink" camps out here.
8. Avon Park and its Jacaranda Hotel
Just off of US 27, which was the major road to open the interior of Florida.
Many Old Florida towns with boom-era hotels are located here. The Jacaranda, named for the large flowering tropical tree that grows outside in the median strip, has been restored and is run by a local college for their hospitality department.
Junk shops that have not yet turned into antique stores line the street. Evening entertainment is renting a suite and sitting out on the second floor balcony while the street-sweeping machine drives up and down the deserted street.
9. Mosquito Lagoon
This is an intact natural place. It is inside government land protected to the east by the Canaveral National Seashore and to the west by the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.
The healthiest component of the long Indian River Lagoon system since it is almost entirely surrounded by intact wetlands made mostly of black mangroves. Four to five miles wide and studded by many old "spoil islands" created when the Intracoastal channel was dredged for its length.
Dolphins and manatee sightings are common, along with migratory birds and roseate spoonbills. A nationally featured hot spot for redfish and sea trout and sport fishing guides make lots of money bringing clients here.
Environmental writer says unspoiled wilderness can be found
By RICHARD PRIOR | More (javascript:document.searchReporter.submit();) by this reporter | richard.prior@staugustinerecord.com | Posted: Saturday, December 30, 2006 ; Updated: 6:02 AM on Saturday, December 30, 2006
Bill Belleville's message is simple.
The "real" Florida is still out there, on the far side of the malls, parking lots and condo complexes.
And it's worth keeping.
Granted, the "real" Florida is getting harder to find. You just have to know where to look.
"There's a spot I could take you to that's just 15 minutes outside of town," said Belleville, an environmental writer and documentary filmmaker.
Relaxing on the porch in his Sanford home, Belleville said, "There are places around the Wakiva River that look like Florida would have 500 years ago.
"You can walk down the edge of high bluffs, down to the edge of the swamp, surrounded by cypress and swamp tupelo and sweet gum."
Visitors, he said, will find thin springs trickling out of the limestone bluffs along the Wakiva. Vines and moss are woven into a wilderness pattern, "just outside this chaos of growth," said Belleville, savoring the sight he visits often. "Florida has lots of them, these time-stuck places."
The search for unspoiled Florida has gotten more difficult because so much development has sprung up to accommodate the incoming tide of visitors and new residents.
But, he insisted, the drive to satisfy every resident's whimsy doesn't mean so much land has to be plowed up and paved over. There have always been ways to protect what made Florida attractive in the first place.
"We're one of only 14 states that have a Growth Management Plan," said Belleville. "The ideals in that law are supposed to be adopted by each city and county when they do their own comprehensive management plan.
"They're supposed to follow that plan as a strategy for developing growth. If the cities and counties did that, growth should be reasonably sustainable."
Growth control is spotty
Those well-intention plans, however, are next to useless because of all the exemptions that are granted almost automatically.
"The (state) Department of Community Affairs is supposed to challenge these exemptions and make sure there is a good reason for them to exempt the plan," said Belleville. "They don't. They're like a lapdog.
"Going back five, six years ago, there were 100,000 exemptions requested by various city and county governments. The DCA only challenged four."
Development in certain areas of the state is nothing new, he said.
"Of course, you have Disney in the 1970s," he said. "But in the 1890s, you see a lot of literature about 'Come To Florida' -- this salubrious environment that'll cure all ills.
"There was a lot of over-the-top literature in those days: 'Come here, get rich, lay in the sun.'"
Limit growth areas
If modern growth were largely confined to existing Urban Service Boundaries, Belleville said, nature would have a chance to flourish in the rest of the state.
"Just because a developer buys cheap land out in the country," he said, "you can't go ahead and put 20,000 people there and expect the public to subsidize roads and all the other infrastructure."
Taxpayers would also get a break if "meaningful impact fees" were assessed, he said.
"We, all the taxpayers, end up subsidizing development, Belleville said."Even the most conservative studies show that, for every dollar in ad valorem revenue brought in through new growth, $1.30 goes out.
"And that's conservative. I've heard two and three times that much.
"Thirty cents doesn't sound like much but put it in the millions of dollars each year. It's something we have to pay for."
Unspoiled land may still be preserved by putting ranch land and pastures into conservation easements, he said.
"Ranchers who want to keep on ranching may want to do it," said Belleville. "I admire those guys. They're hard workers, and they have a real attachment to the land.
"Conservation easements give them enormous tax breaks."
Buying land outright, such as through the Florida Forever program, is another way to control development, he said. However, he added, the investment needs to be more substantial.
"The revenue Florida Forever gets is not keeping up with land values," said Belleville. "It's in the range of $300 million a year. Statewide, that's hardly anything anymore."
The Seven-County Regional Commission is made up of representatives from Seminole, Orange, Osceola, Brevard, Volusia, Polk and Lake.
A study completed last year by the commissioners determined that their region alone needs $1 billion a year to buy land to keep up with the rate at which it is being lost, Belleville said.
'My Cracker Landscape'
A native of Maryland's Eastern Shore, Belleville came to Florida to become a writer after graduating from the University of Maryland.
He first worked for a weekly in Kissimmee, then for different newspapers for seven years.
The environmental writer and filmmaker's books include "River of Lakes, A Journey on Florida's St. Johns River."
His most recent book is "Losing It All To Sprawl: How Progress Ate My Cracker Landscape."
Belleville has completed projects for the Discovery Channel and PBS. He is now working on a film, "In Marjorie's Wake," about Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
"When I came here after graduation, I had to learn what Florida was all about," said Belleville. "You have to work at it because Florida's so different.
"They say a thousand people a day are coming to Florida. Some of them want to learn, too. Others come just because the economy seems good, and they can play outdoors.
"So the question is, how will the people who want to appreciate Florida grow in ratio to people who don't care one way or another, people who just want to live someplace where it doesn't snow?"
Bill Belleville's Favorite Old Florida Places and naturally intact landscapes:
1. Welaka
On the eastern high bank of the St. Johns River across from the mouth of the Ocklawaha.
Welaka has a few fish camps, marinas and Mom and Pop style cottages. Once prosperous because of the river (via shad fishing, steamboat landing, etc.) it is now smaller in population than it was when it was in its heyday. The main street has a single light and if you keep going west on it, it turns into a boat ramp.
2. Everglades City
At the northwest edge of the Everglades National Park.
Jumping off point for those who want to paddle the Wilderness Waterway, which covers about 100 miles of wild backcountry of tidal rivers, creeks and bays, ending in Flamingo on the Florida Cape inside the park. Once on the fast track to prosperity during the Florida boom, Everglades City and nearby Chokloskee took a nose dive. Grandiose plans created wide boulevard-like streets, etc, but instead of drawing rich tourists it only drew commercial fishermen -- who were the only ones that could stand the salt marsh mosquitoes.
3. White Springs on the upper Suwannee River.
Another little steamboat landing built around a spring. The restored spring house is still there, and the spring still flows out of it. When the steamboats stopped running, the "restorative" and "salubrious" powers of the spring resort were forgotten, like the rest of White Springs itself.
4. Intact natural landscape
Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge on the St. Johns River just below Lake George. Several lakes and linking creeks surrounded by dense hardwood swamp. Overwintering corridor for many migratory birds, including many that live here during the winter months.
Lake Dexter in the refuge was believed to be the "Battle Lagoon" where William Bartram writes in "Travels" (1791) of fighting aggressive alligators while camping here on the shores.
5. Wekiva River system
Northwest of Orlando, this is an intact natural landscape and a major tributary of the St. Johns. The best protected river system in all of Florida thanks to state and local laws, and the acquisition of land for public protection. Nearly 110 square miles is protected around the Wekiva and some of its tributaries, like the Blackwater Creek. The only river protected wholly (for its entire length) as a federal Wild and Scenic River in Florida. Ground zero for the Florida Black Bear since there is such a biological diversity of habitats here. Public land is composed of state parks, preserves, reserves and a state forest.
6. Cedar Key and its Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge.
Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Cedar Key is actually a series of keys linked by bridges and causeways. Once famous for its cedar harvesting for the pencil industry (no kidding), Cedar Key later became a Mecca for commercial fishermen, and then for artists.
A net ban a few years ago changed the face of the fishery, and former fishermen now tend offshore beds of clams which they "plant" there as seed stock.
Hundreds of offshore islands, including the original "Cedar Key" - Atsena Otie - and Seahorse Key can be reached by boat or kayak. Many seabirds and wading birds are protected here.
7. North Key Largo
Almost half of massive Key Largo key is owned by the state. An ambitious and illegally planned development there would have opened the doors for wholesale destruction of the dense mangrove forests which still occupies the northern half of this key. Protected here are the rare Florida Keys Tree Snail (which vary in coloration by the hammock in which they live.) A nature trail that follows a road build by the failed Port Bougainvillea Resort allows visitors to see the Antillean forest of mahogany and gumbo limbo that once covered most of the keys. Carl Hiaasen's fictional "Skink" camps out here.
8. Avon Park and its Jacaranda Hotel
Just off of US 27, which was the major road to open the interior of Florida.
Many Old Florida towns with boom-era hotels are located here. The Jacaranda, named for the large flowering tropical tree that grows outside in the median strip, has been restored and is run by a local college for their hospitality department.
Junk shops that have not yet turned into antique stores line the street. Evening entertainment is renting a suite and sitting out on the second floor balcony while the street-sweeping machine drives up and down the deserted street.
9. Mosquito Lagoon
This is an intact natural place. It is inside government land protected to the east by the Canaveral National Seashore and to the west by the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.
The healthiest component of the long Indian River Lagoon system since it is almost entirely surrounded by intact wetlands made mostly of black mangroves. Four to five miles wide and studded by many old "spoil islands" created when the Intracoastal channel was dredged for its length.
Dolphins and manatee sightings are common, along with migratory birds and roseate spoonbills. A nationally featured hot spot for redfish and sea trout and sport fishing guides make lots of money bringing clients here.