Gov. DeSantis extols conservation priorities, knocks climate activists

Aerial view of Everglades swamp, Florida.

It’s a fine line for Gov. Ron DeSantis to make conservation a priority while eschewing climate politics of those who he may condemn as “woke.”

Florida keeps beating revenue projections, and in addition to his tax relief package, DeSantis intends to use some of that revenue to bolster commitments to conservation in the Everglades, coastal resiliency, and restoration of oyster beds and coral reefs.

“Florida, the beauty of Florida, conserving Florida’s beauty, protecting Florida’s beauty, has been a staple of our administration from the very start, over four years ago,” DeSantis said when rolling out his proposed budget.

“We made big, ambitious promises, but my view is, I don’t promise things unless I know I can follow through. I know this necessarily wasn’t going to be easy, but I felt we had the people of Florida behind us on this one. So, we set out an agenda, we said we would accomplish it, and not only did we accomplish it, we exceeded what we promised. It’s really been a golden age of conservation in the state of Florida.”

He noted the increase in water flow over four years from Lake Okeechobee through the Everglades, as shown in maps produced by the state. He reiterated his proposed $3.5 billion over four years for Everglades restoration.

“We’re going to be able to do for water quality in Everglades restoration: $1.1 billion. So, that’s a first step in reaching that $3.5 billion, obviously, that puts us on target to be able to do that over a four-year period,” DeSantis said. “That money has worked, that money is important, and we’re going to continue fighting for that.”

Reaction was positive to the proposal, which debuted in January.

“The restoration of America’s Everglades is paramount to Florida’s clean-water-based economy, and the Governor has made a concerted effort to ensure Florida significantly invests in its future,” Everglades Foundation CEO Eric Eikenberg said at the time.

“A reliable source of clean fresh water for nine million South Florida residents and countless tourists is at stake, and this announcement demonstrates that Everglades restoration and Florida’s resilience remain a top priority for the second term of his administration.”

Also, a state with a long coastline and a lot of coastal development means an ongoing battle with Mother Nature on shifting shorelines. 

“As we saw with (Hurricane) Ian and then of course with Nicole, it’s important to be able to bolster those coastlines,” DeSantis said.

The DeSantis administration proposes $406 million for coastal resiliency programs and projects, along with $156 million for beach renourishment.

“As Florida continues to recover from 2022’s devastating hurricanes, it is more important than ever that our leaders prioritize resilience and climate solutions,” said Dawn Shirreffs, Florida Director for the Environmental Defense Fund.

“Thank you Gov. Ron DeSantis for your funding recommendation of $406 million for resilience and to keeping Florida, Florida. We look forward to (continuing) working with you, the Legislature and the Office of Resilience to strengthen the Sunshine State.”

Those proposed amounts are in addition to the $100 million for beach renourishment recently agreed to by the Legislature in December.

Another $15 million is to go to oyster restoration efforts around Apalachicola, and $21.2 million for coral reef restoration.

Don’t take these otherwise green initiatives as any indication DeSantis is changing his tune on climate politics, though.

“What I have said is, you will have people that say, under climate change, that gives them the right to regulate and control everything people do, and we reject that in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.

“They claim climate change for gas stoves. They claim all this stuff. Notice how they don’t like gas, natural gas, they don’t like oil, they say it all should be windmills and solar panels, but what’s the cleanest of all? Nuclear. They almost all oppose nuclear.”

Florida’s conservation plans aren’t about control, he said.

“What we do is — I have vulnerable areas in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said. “We’re a storm-prone state. If you look at what happened in Ian, some of the areas that had been fortified after Charley and even a little after Irma, they did much better.”