Ron DeSantis blames ‘private landowner’ for thwarted Guana River land swap idea

Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state wasn’t behind a controversial, short-lived proposal to swap conservation land in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area of St. Johns County to a private company.

“It was not initiated by DEP (the Department of Environmental Protection). It was initiated by a private landowner,” he said in Tampa, referring to Upland LLC.

The proposal would have swapped 600 acres of conservation land in exchange for 3,000 acres of land in St. Johns, Lafayette, Osceola and Volusia counties. A measure about the proposal was placed on the state Acquisition and Restoration Council’s (ARC) Wednesday agenda with less than a week’s notice.

But opposition mounted quickly, including from the Governor’s exiled campaign consultant.

“Guana Preserve and its beauty, familiarity and serenity is woven into the fabric of our communities and is, indeed, a treasure in northeast Florida. To allow — even enable — this land grab to occur is outrageous and completely contrary to what our community desires. Elected and appointed leaders should vote against this development wolf in sheep’s clothing and preserve this extraordinary natural bounty,” Susie Wiles said in a statement to The Tributary.

Wiles, of course, is now President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff. And her words left a mark on the process, both on record and off, as word is she talked to Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and other leaders on Monday.

As Florida Politics first reported Monday, Upland withdrew its proposal and said there were no intentions to develop the space commercially after obtaining it.

Everyone from Gate Petroleum and Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Carlucci to state Rep. Kim Kendall and likely next Governor Byron Donalds opposed the deal.

This follows up on last year’s spiked DEP Great Outdoors Initiative proposal to “increase the number of outdoor recreation opportunities available at Florida’s state parks, including pickleball, disc golf, golf, and paddling.”

“If people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it,” DeSantis said in August. “They’re not doing anything this year. They’re going to go back and basically listen to folks.”

Though the Guana situation was not a DEP initiative, the framing of the reporter’s question in Tampa suggests memories are not short regarding what the state wanted to do with conservation space last year, and that skepticism about the administration’s intentions remains.

Ultimately, the Cabinet would have had the final say about the idea later this Summer.