| 14 January 2012
If you enjoy the use of Florida's abundant water resources two new Florida bills may interest you.The House and Senate bills are identical with the same purpose. Their effect would be to privatize tens of thousands of acres of submerged lands in Florida. The two bills are SB 1362, sponsored by Senator Hays and HB 1103 sponsored by Representative Goodson.
Many outdoor related organizations, such as Florida Airboat Association and Audubon of Florida, are very concerned and asking their constituents to strongly oppose the bills.
The bills aim to change the legal definition of “Ordinary High Water.” If enacted new surveys would set the “Ordinary High Water Line” at a lower elevation than allowed under current case law. The result is to cause the line which differentiates between public and private lands to move further out in the water.A statement on the Audubon of Florida website states, “If you are a kayaker, airboater, fisherman, duck hunter or bird watcher who maneuvers your means of conveyance around in shallow marshy water this means that someday, headed into your favorite place, you are going to encounter a fence, barbed wire, and no trespassing signs blocking your way. And, one day a little later in the future, you will see rooftops and strip malls where the ducks, deer, and wading birds used to be.”
Anyone opposed to the bill should contact Senator Hays and Representative Goodson, as well as the members of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee,and urged them to drop these special-interest bills to prevent blocking public use of lands that were currently public access. The Audubon site concludes, “This is privatization of Florida’s public lands in rivers and lakes, pure and simple.”
To view the content of the bills click here.
Contact information for the appropriate parties can be found by clicking here.
