03/08/2024
Y'all did this.
Thank you to all who knocked doors, attended meetings, made phone calls, sent emails, and donated over the course of this two-year battle to protect Wakulla Springs. Thank you especially to the 400 fishermen, oyster farmers, residents, and advocates who sweated at the Wakulla Commission Chambers in 119-degree August heat, keeping the oil company from getting zoning approval. And thank you to Representative Jason Shoaf and Senator Corey Simon, who saw the public response and stepped up to secure a deal to protect a massive section of the Wakulla Springs Cave, including the proposed gas station site. It's not over yet, but we're getting close to a huge win for our groundwater and Wakulla Springs.
As we've said all along, we have nothing against gas stations, but we're opposed to building one on underground river that feeds Wakulla Springs. This deal will still allow the company to build their gas station, just on a different parcel and a safe distance from the cave. It's a win-win.
We're not at the finish line yet. We still need to get the Governor's signature and hammer out some more details. But thanks to all of you, we're getting very close.
You have proven, once again, that Wakulla folks have the power to defend our waters, heritage, and way of life. And we're just getting started.
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While we're here, please note that our organization is now using the legal name of our nonprofit: the Downriver Project. We are becoming less active on Facebook and more active on Instagram . We also have a new page here: The Downriver Project.
As the Downriver Project, we continue to monitor local events and sponsor a scholarship at Wakulla High, and we will soon be releasing a series of coloring books about wildlife at Wakulla Springs and the St. Marks National Refuge. We remain an all-volunteer nonprofit dedicated to defending the legendary waters of Wakulla County.
If you believe this work is useful, please consider getting involved or donating at downriverproject.org.
Thank you all for your support!
What was planned to be a 16-pump gas station on environmentally sensitive land is now on the way to becoming greenspace the size of Tallahassee’s Tom Brown Park.
