Land deal involving Audubon, Scott campaign goes to Cabinet

Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet on Jan. 13 will take up a proposed conservation land purchase with political overtones: 620 acres in Corkscrew Swamp in Collier County for $9.7 million.

During a campaign swing in Southwest Florida last August, Scott announced the state would spend $20 million to acquire land in the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed.

Joining Scott at the announcement was Audubon Florida Executive Director Eric Draper, who said he’d been lobbying the governor for four years to get the land purchased.

With Sierra Club Florida backing former Gov. Charlie Crist in his re-election challenge to Scott, Draper’s appearance with Scott rankled some environmentalists. Former Republican Sen. Paula Dockery, now a syndicated columnist, told the Tampa Bay Times the environmental support for Scott was “insane.”

Now with the issue on the Cabinet agenda, Draper says he’s glad the state is buying conservation land again. And he denies Audubon Florida endorsed the governor or that there was any deal to get the land, which is next to Audubon’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

“I don’t see it that way,” Draper said, when asked if there was a deal to win Audubon’s support. “I see it this way: The legislature appropriated money to be spent.”

He said there was money appropriated in the state budget for Everglades and South Florida land-buying. “When I saw that appropriated,” Draper said, “I went to the Governor’s Office and said I think there is an important piece of property to buy.”

Draper said he also worked with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to prioritize the purchase. DEP is recommending acquisition of a purchase option agreement from The Trust for Public Land to buy the property for 85 percent of the appraised value.

DEP says the larger Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed purchase area, with nearly half of 67,894 acres already acquired, will preserve connections between large swamps in Southwest Florida that will be necessary for the Florida panther and black bear to survive in the future. And it will provide protect for water flowing into other conservation lands, including the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Fakahatchee Strand.

Draper said the 620-acre tract next to Audubon’s sanctuary was for sale and the group was concerned that it would be developed.

He also said he worked with Scott’s campaign on the “Let’s Keep Florida Beautiful” campaign platform, which includes the governor’s promise to request $150 million a year for the Florida Forever land-buying program.

“Our job is to make the governor better,” Draper said.

“I don’t think it was any secret in my comments (about) the governor during his election campaign that after a rough start, he was moving in the right direction,” Draper said. “I think the job of the environmental community is to keep him moving in the right direction.”

Bruce Ritchie (@bruceritchie) is an independent journalist covering environment and growth management issues in Tallahassee. He also is editor of Floridaenvironments.com.