RICK AND THE GRN AT WORK

Last week, I was out in Florida talking with folks about a number of issues, but one issue seemed to keep taking center stage—protecting the Nature Coast from a huge development called Magnolia Bay. It’s probably because it covers so many of the topics we all care about—water quality, endangered species, smart growth, and Gulf fisheries. My involvement with the issue goes back farther than last week though, and it’s a great example of the Gulf Restoration Network in action.

Boggy Bay is a cozy corner of the Nature Coast in Florida, one of the longest remaining stretches of pristine coastal habitat in the Gulf. Seagrass beds off the coast are nurseries for gag grouper and home to manatees. The coastal wetlands are of incredibly high quality and help protect communities from flooding and storm surge.

Unfortunately, developers in Florida have proposed a massive development that includes 25-story condos, tons of retail stores and the consequent parking, a 300-boat marina, and a 2-mile channel right through the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve. The golf course will come later. Obviously, this is a horrible plan for such a delicate and pristine area.

Rick Causey, a leading member of the Environmental Alliance of North Florida, recognized the folly as soon as he learned of the proposed project, which happens to be located very close to his home. Of course, this is way beyond a NIMBY issue, so Rick started building widespread support.

As I called around to our member groups in Florida doing outreach for the Save Our Cypress Campaign, this Magnolia Bay issue kept popping up. Eventually, I ended up on the phone with Rick, who quickly added his organization to the network. So far, we’ve helped line him up with some other friends of ours, Southwings, to do a flyover of the area. We’ve worked to share news on the issue with our member and e-activists throughout the country. And just last week, I worked to convene a strategy meeting with many of the various groups opposing the project. Now, we’ve put together an action webpage so you can weigh in to the relevant agencies to voice your opposition.

I love it. A local member group becomes aware of an issue that is anything but local. That group alerts the GRN to what’s happening and enlists our support in taking the message to a wider audience. We’re happy to support Rick and our other member groups in the area, like the Sierra Club, in the efforts to stop the Magnolia Bay Resort and Marina. The impacts to the entire state of Florida and the Gulf could be huge, and the GRN is uniquely situated to effectively work to preserve the Nature Coast.

Dan Favre is the Campaign Organizer for the GRN.