Guest AuthorSince 1940, a national nonprofit group called American Forests has been scouring the U.S., looking for the biggest trees in the land. When they find a big tree, they make measurements, compare with other known specimens, and finally record the biggest as Champion Trees.
And guess what? Florida has more national champion trees than any other state.
There’s a Champion scrub hickory in Seminole State Forest that’s 61 feet tall and 6-feet around, and a Champion slash pine in North Florida that’s as tall as a 13-story building with a trunk that’s a full 12 feet around. Not surprisingly, Florida holds the national record for several varieties of Champion palm trees in South Florida.
I’m thinking quite a bit lately about all these trees that have grown for decades in the Florida sunshine, because I’m hoping we citizens can raise our voices to stop a wrong-headed state plan that would open our state parks to industrial logging.
That’s right, the current administration in Tallahassee wants to let private companies come in and log our state parks. We’ve always had a little logging in state parks, but the purpose was always to restore native forest conditions — not solely to make a buck.
It’s important to note that there are plenty of other places to harvest timber in Florida. The state, for example, allows timber companies to conduct big-time logging operations on over a million acres of our state forests. Our state forests are a separate entity from our state parks. Part of the state forest mission is to grow trees for timber harvesting. Last year, the Florida Forest Service projected it would earn over $6 million selling timber off state forests. That makes sense, because the state forests have a mission that allows for such uses.
But our state parks are different. They are supposed to stand as living examples of real Florida. People come to visit our state parks to see unspoiled nature — not timber-cutting operations. Yet, the state is pursuing a contract that would let a private company survey our parks with an eye to sell off trees. It’s not right. These are our state parks, and we need to let our elected leaders know we oppose this.
Our state parks host about 27 million visitors a year and generate an estimated $2.1 billion for our economy. Our state parks also have something special: A national reputation for excellence, winning the Gold Medal from the National Recreation and Park Association three times — a record held by no other state.
I have to ask: why mess with success? Our parks are popular. They bring the visitors that run our economy and provide jobs. They are so outstanding they win national awards.
They also provide something intangible, something that doesn’t fit on a black-and-white balance sheet in some state office building. Our parks are rare remnants of our state’s vanishing wild heritage, something sorely needed in a state that has been aggressively developed.
When we get weary from the crowded highways and strip-mall landscapes, our state parks give us an escape. We need to preserve places for us to get fresh air and exercise, to learn about the birds and the trees, to gather for family picnics, campouts, and peaceful contemplation.
We have plenty of other land available for timber operations. Like I mentioned, we have a million-plus acres of state forests that are open to logging. And, according to the Florida Forestry Association, Florida has 12.3 million acres of private land used for timber operations. It’s not as if we need more places to cut trees.
Join me in telling state leaders: leave our state parks alone.
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Manley Fuller is President of the Florida Wildlife Federation. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
