St. Johns County Successfully Stops Proposed Land Swap of Guana River Wildlife Management Area

First off, I just want to say we did it. Today's call to action is turned into a celebration of what can be accomplished when all people gather together with one voice and say no. When you look at the heart of this ecosystem, Guana, Matanis, the St. John's, you quickly realize it must be protected. Um, I take the a the applicant at their word that their intent was to keep the land in preservation, but what of the next owner or the next? We have been shown how quickly the path of development can start, no matter how long that process would have taken. And we must not let our guard down in what has been clearly shown is our responsibility to keep watch over. My most important message I want you to understand is I'm not going to let this go. In my opinion, this was a workaround. And I number one am committed towards doing legislation. I've already talked to my staff on trying to figure out what we can button up to stop this wraparound, this workound, find a hole, whatever you can be done to try to do this again. We're going to try to button that down as hard as we can, which will also include giving more than three business days notice. It is a breath of fresh air to see everybody so unified around telling uh sending a central message that our conservation land is off limits. So, I think if there's one takeaway for anybody who's looking at conservation land in St. John's County, we want more, not less, not less, and keep development away from our our conservation. I'm extremely excited and so incredibly proud of this victory to all of us. The Guana River land swap proposal has been officially withdrawn. Uh this incredible outcome is the direct result of the passion, the dedication, and the unwavering voices of the people of St. John's County. When our community pulls together, when we stand united with what we believe in, we are an unstoppable force. Much like last year's project, the Guana land slop swap was an egregious overreach of state government, a plan that sought no local input whatsoever. And much like that project, this one also seemed like a done deal. And until last year, I'd never seen an issue that so galvanized a community, a region, or an entire state the way that this one did. And yet, here we are again. But this time, to me, it was personal. My family has for generations, alongside the Payton family, played a part in the conservation of Guana. They fought to preserve it for their children. And today I pledge I will continue to fight to preserve it for mine and for yours. So congratulations St. John's County. You rallied, you mobilized, and you stood arm-in- arm to fight that. And because of that, we won. And in closing to everyone listening out there, especially in Tallahassee, I hope you are keeping score because that's two out of two for St. John's County. And I would caution anyone about coming for us a third time.