A.G. Gancarski
On Saturday at 12:20, former Senator Bob Graham will be speaking at Speak Up for Florida Forever, a Jacksonville event put on by the Florida Conservation Commission.
The free all-day event at Jacksonville’s Camp Milton Historic Preserve is billed as “a call to action to preserve and protect Florida’s natural lands and working landscapes,” aligning with the state’s Florida Forever program, which preserves wetlands and forests.
The Jacksonville event “features prominent speakers, live music, guided tours of Camp Milton’s biodiverse nature trails and boardwalk, educational programs for children and families, food trucks, and environmental exhibitors.”
Among the prominent speakers: former Senator Bob Graham, whose interest in the environment has driven him throughout his career, as both governor of the state and in the senate, where Graham was on the environmental committee.
Graham has been a staunch environmental advocate for his entire career, and spoke on Jacksonville radio earlier this year about the urgency of environmental protection in the Sunshine State.
““Our state ended the 20th century with about 18 million-plus people. It’s projected that by the end of the 21st century, at a minimum, we will have close to 40 million in Florida, and could have substantially more than that. That’s the Florida that Amendment 1 is looking at. How do we prepare in terms of protecting the most important lands that in turn protect our water supply, such as the banks of the St. Johns River?”
These are the questions that policy makers grapple with … and that’s especially true in Northeast Florida, where woodlands and wetlands routinely have become subdivisions and strip malls.
Earlier this year, Graham called attention to the Florida Legislature ignoring the intended purpose of Amendment 1, by diverting funds to the construction of water and sewer systems.
When FloridaPolitics.com talked to Graham Wednesday, he made similar points.
Graham noted that, while there have been several of these events to discuss major environmental issues statewide in recent years, this is the first one in Northeast Florida.
This one is especially well-timed, ahead of the 2017 legislative session.
As referenced above, Graham is very much concerned with the usage of Amendment 1 funds; the former Florida governor and senator sees Amendment 1 as a logical “extension of a series of land acquisition projects going back to the 1960s” related to both environmental protection and recreational lands.
Describing the “language on the ballot” as “very straightforward,” Graham is irked by what he sees as a “very narrow” interpretation of the language by the legislature, one which has “provided only a pittance.”
“Important sites in Duval County,” said Graham, “would be acquired if the legislature allocates the funds.”
Of course, that’s a big if.
And Graham says that “shortsighted” Governor Rick Scott has not done the environment justice during his tenure.
Scott, said Graham, “eliminated much of the environmental protection and growth management legislation passed in the 1970s and 1980s … [following] a philosophy that government has a very limited role” with “decisions made by what the marketplace dictates.”
“That attitude will result in significant damage,” Graham said, to water and land and future generations.
Regarding the pending legislative session, Graham sees reviving the spirit of Amendment 1 as “the #1 priority on a statewide basis,” even as a “series of regional issues,” including protecting the St. Johns River, also merit attention.
Graham and co-author Chris Hand will be signing their new book, America, the Owner’s Manual, at the event after Graham speaks; the estimated time for the book signing is 1:20 p.m.
