Save Guana Now

05/10/2026

Happy Mother's Day to moms everywhere!
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1350476333774683&set=pcb.1350476773774639

📸 Terrie Johnson
Roseate spoonbill mother and chick

04/27/2026

Well said Matanzas Riverkeeper! FANTASTIC NEWS! Thank you Rep. Kim Kendall!

📢Big news for Florida’s environment THANKS TO YOU🌿

🐢On Earth Day yesterday, CS/HB 441: Conservation Lands was signed into law—bringing stronger transparency and public oversight to how state conservation lands are managed.

💪After past concerns about potential land swaps, this is a big step toward accountability, transparency, and long-term conservation of our public lands. We are so very grateful for our community's out-spoken advocacy in getting the Guana Land Swap rescinded and are incredibly inspired with this legislative outcome!

👉Here’s what it does (effective 7/1/2026):
• Requires Division of State Lands to publish certain information on its website before Acquisition & Restoration Council or Board of Trustees of Internal Improvement Trust Fund meets to review proposed sale of conservation lands
• Requires that certain parcels proposed for exchange be appraised in accordance with certain criteria
• Removes provisions requiring division to submit certain requests to Acquisition & Restoration Council for review
• Removes provisions requiring division to provide certain recommendations to board of trustees
• Requires division to publish certain information on its website before council or board of trustees meets to review proposed land exchange
• Requires division to submit certain requests to council for review & requiring council to provide recommendations to division in certain circumstances
• Requires division to provide certain recommendations to board of trustees in certain circumstances
• Requires governing board of water management district to publish certain information on its website before meeting to review proposed sale or exchange of certain lands.

🙌Why it matters:
Florida’s natural lands—like wildlife areas, forests, and waterways—aren’t just beautiful, they’re vital. This law helps prevent backroom decisions and gives Floridians a real voice in protecting these spaces. Protecting Florida’s future starts with protecting our land. 🌎

03/03/2026

Call, leave your message, then share. To learn how this bill will devastate St. Johns County with the potential development of 50,000 acres with little oversight, click here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0Ly2Vh4oQ6WgwM1339mgxZDsQ6dJhp4DnZyDas78kpqhxc2kcUjmdEMcB869qoZwGl&id=100081653688196
But first, call the number - or both numbers - and leave your message for Senator Pizzo. AND SHARE!

Call, leave your message, then share. To learn how this bill will devastate St. Johns County with the potential development of 50,000 acres with little oversight, click here: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0Ly2Vh4oQ6WgwM1339mgxZDsQ6dJhp4DnZyDas78kpqhxc2kcUjmdEMcB869qoZwGl&id=100081653688196

But first, call the number - or both numbers - and leave your message for Senator Pizzo. AND SHARE!

03/01/2026

Great news! The bill to prevent future Gauna land swaps passed! Thank you Rep. Kim Kendall! She was on this from the moment news hit that Guana was one week away from potential decimation of 600 acres. Thanks to all who signed petitions, protested, and said Hell No to the land swap.

Sadly, developer pawn Commissioner Sarah Arnold is greenwashing herself with this story - and is featured in this report. She brought her cameraman to our protest for her photo ops. Don't be duped by developer mouthpieces. She didn't even post the Audubon petition to stop the land swap on her page.

A bill filed in response to an attempted land swap deal that would have transferred hundreds of acres of pristine conservation lands in St. Johns County into private hands has cleared the Florida Legislature.

01/31/2026

Senator Thomas Leek stopped a bill that could have prevented our current toxic algae bloom on the St. Johns River. Here's the health alert from the St. Johns County Department of Health: https://stjohns.floridahealth.gov/2025/12/18/doh-st-johns-cautions-about-blue-green-algae-at-the-st-johns-river-shands-bridge/

The Rodman Dam - which Senator Leek advocated to remain intact - is causing the health of the St. Johns River to decline - and has been associated with toxic algae blooms. Read about the bill that Leek killed that could have saved our river from today's algae bloom:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02sSFDvmo87euceLGTT4ysmzhDN93T4sBcTcyWV9ZnfoUDSke9TbHWf6bV6DzY7ghDl&id=100081653688196

Leek's recent actions are damaging the health of the river AND OUR HEALTH. Why is he putting recreation in a small, dammed area of Florida over the health of the longest river in the state - and the health of everyone who lives near it? Shrimp from blue-green algae toxic waters have also been associated with ALS - the disease that causes death within a few years of diagnosis. Write your state legislators today and tell them to bring back the bill that the MAJORITY of them voted for! The bill to breach the Rodman Dam, unite the rivers, and unbury the natural springs.

01/14/2026

For once some good news from Tallahassee! The first committee to review State Rep. Kim Kendall’s new bill approved it 16-0! Every legislator who was present voted YES. A minor amendment was made that only strengthens it. Thank you Natural Resources and Disasters House Subcommittee. And now there are five committees to go. UPDATE: It also passed its first Senate Commitee!

The bill provides stronger protections for conservation land by requiring more public notice before meetings to discuss proposed sales or swaps of conservation land, requiring the state to publish a statement that explains why the lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes, and requiring more transparency about the details of a proposed swap.

There will be 5 more committee meetings and we will be asking you to follow Action Alerts 5 times to ensure this bill survives intact through every meeting. Watch for Action Alerts here, throughout this legislative session. Thanks to all who followed the action alert and asked legislators to vote YES.

01/13/2026

UPDATE: UNANIMOUS APPROVAL IN THE FIRST COMMITTEE!! YES!! Total Yeas: 16
Total Nays: 0
Total Missed: 3
Total Votes: 16

THANK YOU REP. KENDALL!!!

If you're reading this this morning, please follow the quick action alert here: https://matanzasriverkeeper.good.do/guanalandswapbill/SB546ENR/

The bill provides stronger protections for conservation land by requiring more public notice before meetings to discuss proposed sales or swaps of conservation land, requiring the state to publish a statement that explains why the lands are no longer needed for conservation purposes, and requiring more transparency about the details of a proposed swap.
SB 546 - Land Conservation will have its first vote in the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources today, January 13th.

There will be 5 more committee meetings and we will be asking you to follow Action Alerts 5 times to ensure this bill survives intact through every meeting. Watch for Action Alerts here, throughout this legislative session. Check back on this post later today for the outcome of the first vote!

12/12/2025

If you see your state rep on this list of committee members who voted for HB 299, then you know who they're working for - and it's not you! They approved a bill that hands power over to developers who have 10,000+ acre parcels to get quickie-approvals on their monster developments. It's being framed as a "conservation" bill.
Here's how 1000 Friends of Florida describes the bill: HB 299 / SB 354 would require administrative approval of massive developments of 10,000+ acres (at least 15 square miles) with no upper limit on size. Local governments would have only 60 days to review proposals, after which projects are automatically approved and granted 50 years of vested development rights, even if no construction occurs.
Although the bill requires 60% of land to be designated as "reserve," it does not ensure that these areas will be meaningfully protected, planned, or managed. Projects also do not have to fall within designated growth areas, meaning large expanses of rural or agricultural land could be converted without public hearings or comprehensive plan amendments.
These provisions bypass community planning safeguards, weaken local decision-making, and risk long-term impacts on water resources, infrastructure capacity, and Florida's agricultural heritage.
(I'm not linking to Florida Politics' latest puff piece that I was censored from commenting on, but you can find it if you do a search. The amendment made to the bill is virtually inconsequential.)

If you see your state rep on this list of committee members who voted for HB 299, then you know who they're working for - and it's not you! They approved a bill that hands power over to developers who have 10,000+ acre parcels to get quickie-approvals on their monster developments. It's being framed as a "conservation" bill.

Here's how 1000 Friends of Florida describes the bill: HB 299 / SB 354 would require administrative approval of massive developments of 10,000+ acres (at least 15 square miles) with no upper limit on size. Local governments would have only 60 days to review proposals, after which projects are automatically approved and granted 50 years of vested development rights, even if no construction occurs.

Although the bill requires 60% of land to be designated as "reserve," it does not ensure that these areas will be meaningfully protected, planned, or managed. Projects also do not have to fall within designated growth areas, meaning large expanses of rural or agricultural land could be converted without public hearings or comprehensive plan amendments.

These provisions bypass community planning safeguards, weaken local decision-making, and risk long-term impacts on water resources, infrastructure capacity, and Florida's agricultural heritage.

(I'm not linking to Florida Politics' latest puff piece that I was censored from commenting on, but you can find it if you do a search. The amendment made to the bill is virtually inconsequential.)

12/10/2025

Pick one of these two easy ways to take action: 1) Go to the 1000 Friends of Florida link here and follow the prompts, beginning with filling out your address: https://takeaction.io/1000fof/vote-no-on-house-bill-299-blue-ribbon-projects/ #/20 That will send an email from you to all committee members - you can add to the email if you wish.

OR 2) you can copy and paste the emails below into your own email form and tell our state representatives in the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee to VOTE NO on HB 299 on Thursday. (Include your name and address, to be counted.)

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

The 1000 Friends of Florida link above provides more information about the bill which would be a disaster to our county and to our state.

Thank you for taking action TODAY. SHARE ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND IN YOUR FB GROUPS.

UPDATE: Fl. House Committee approves HB 299 in a 12-2 vote.
Don’t forget who voted to enrich the developers at our expense:
1. Dean Black of Jacksonville (Duval County),
2. Ryan Chamberlin of Belleview (Marion County),
3. Dan Daley of Coral Springs, (Broward County)
4. Lisa Dunkley of Sunrise ((Broward County),
5. Anne Gerwig of Wellington (Palm Beach County),
6. Peggy Gossett-Seidman of Highland Beach, (Palm Beach County)
7. Phillip Griffitts of Panama City Beach (Bay County),
8. Brian Hodgers of Viera (Brevard County),
9. Jeff Holcomb of Spring Hill (Hernando County)
10. Berny Jacques of Seminole (Pinellas County),
11. Chad Johnson of Chiefland (Levy County)
12. Kiyan Michael of Jacksonville (Duval County)

Pick one of these two easy ways to take action: 1) Go to the 1000 Friends of Florida link here and follow the prompts, beginning with filling out your address: https://takeaction.io/1000fof/vote-no-on-house-bill-299-blue-ribbon-projects/ #/20 That will send an email from you to all committee members - you can add to the email if you wish.

OR 2) you can copy and paste the emails below into your own email form and tell our state representatives in the Intergovernmental Affairs Committee to VOTE NO on HB 299 on Thursday. (Include your name and address, to be counted.)

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

The 1000 Friends of Florida link above provides more information about the bill which would be a disaster to our county and to our state.

Thank you for taking action TODAY. SHARE ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND IN YOUR FB GROUPS.

12/01/2025

More excellent coverage of Rep. Kim Kendall's bill to protect Guana and other state lands. Thank you Nws4Jax!

Months after public outcry stopped a controversial land swap involving Guana Preserve in St. Johns County, Rep. Kim Kendall has introduced HB 441 to prevent similar deals from happening without public knowledge. The bill requires the Division of State Lands to publish key information on its website....