TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Environmentalists are criticizing a proposal to allow a wetlands mitigation bank to be established on private property along the St. Johns River where the state has already paid a landowner not to develop.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is recommending the governor and Cabinet approve a request by Roberts Capital Ventures to amend the conservation easement on 5,236 acres in St. Johns County. The firm would pay the state $4 million after the state paid nearly $6 million to preserve the land in 2016.
Why it matters: Environmentalists say approval could encourage more Florida landowners to seek rollbacks in protection after they’ve taken millions of dollars from the state to conserve their property.
“This amendment is not in the public interest, sets an alarming precedent and will cause harm to the St. Johns River,” Lisa Rinaman of the St. Johns Riverkeeper environmental group said Thursday. “This land is already protected from development for a reason.”
