The people win. Sneaky government (and developers) lose

Guana River Marsh Aquatic Preserve. Via FDEP

We were all set to get you riled up about the proposed Guana Preserve land swap.

That audacious and obnoxious proposal involved the state trading 600 acres of the state-owned Guana River Wildlife Management Area in northeast Florida to some recently-formed, fly-by-night company for a total of 3,066 acres in four counties. 

The suspicion was that “The Upland LLC,” the company formed in February, wanted to develop the Guana River acreage (with golf courses, maybe?). The proposal emerged when the state’s Acquisition and Restoration Council released an agenda for a previously unscheduled meeting on Wednesday, May 21, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The cherry on top of this putrid cake? The state’s public lands director for the past eight years, Callie DeHaven, resigned abruptly in the wake of all this.

But late Monday came word that The Upland LLC was withdrawing its proposal, "due to public sentiment resulting from misinformation," according to a letter to the Florida DEP from the company. "To be clear," wrote attorney Gary K. Hunter Jr. on behalf or The Upland LLC, "there was never any intention to develop the acquired land for commercial or community development purposes."

Sure.

It was clear what was happening. Florida officials — perhaps at the urging of the Governor's Office — were trading away public land for development, almost exactly as they sought to do last summer with the state parks proposal.

But the answer from Floridians was a resounding NO.

Protests sprung up, conservation groups mounted letter-writing campaigns that resulted in tens of thousands of emails to the ARC.

And sneaky government and the developers blinked.

Keep it up, people. This is how we won the battle of the state parks. This is how we win against future bad development proposals on public lands.

These underhanded proposals should put you on notice: This is how it's going to work. Be prepared, because this won't be the last of it.

But when Floridians respond, and speak en masse, the other side has to listen.

ROCK MINE DECISION DAY: MAY 22

The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners are scheduled to vote on the controversial Southland rock mine at their meeting on Thursday, May 22.

We’ve told you why this rock mine is a terrible idea — from the environmental harm it’s likely to cause to the impact the blasting may have on the multi-billion dollar EAA Reservoir right next door. But the land is owned by Big Sugar, which is used to getting what it wants — and may reap that benefit once again unless we speak up!

Click the graphic or this link to tell Palm Beach Commissioners to VOTE NO on the rock mine. VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart will speak at the commissioners' meeting urging them to reject the proposal; and we'll update you on how the vote went — and what the next steps, if necessary, will be.

A look back at the 2025 Legislative session

Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples was joined by Policy Director (and VoteWater Executive Director) Gil Smart last Friday for a livestream look back at the 2025 Legislative session, focusing on how your advocacy this session helped push the state parks bill across the finish line — and kept other damaging proposals at bay.

Watch the recording by clicking the button below.

VoteWater's 2024 Annual Report now available

The year 2024 was a big one for VoteWater. We published our landmark Dirty Money Project, helped stop plans to develop Florida's state parks, fought Lake O discharges, backed clean-water candidates and more.

You can read all about our achievements, and the road ahead, in our 2024 Annual Report — click the link, or email [email protected] for a hard copy.

Join VoteWater. Defend the waters that define Florida

VoteWater isn’t just a clean-water group—we’re a movement of people who love the water and are ready to protect it by:

✅ Holding political leaders accountable

✅ Fighting the influence of “dirty money” in politics

✅ Supporting science-based policies to curb nutrient pollution

✅ Mobilizing boaters, anglers, and locals to speak up

Clean water needs a political champion—and that champion is YOU.

JOIN WAVEMAKERS!