A Florida lawmaker recently filed legislation that would have the federal government consider the potential for a new Florida Springs National Park. But some environmental stakeholders are doubtful a new national park would actually help Florida springs.
The Path to Florida Springs National Park Act recently proposed by Republican Congressman Randy Fine seeks to consider “the suitability and feasibility of establishing Florida Springs National Park in Central and North Florida.” If enacted, the bill would direct the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to determine whether such a park should be added to the National Park System.
A window into our water supply
When his children were born, Fine said, he vowed to travel with them to all 63 national parks, a goal he’s since met. And when it comes to Florida’s more than 1,000 freshwater springs, “these are as amazing as anything I've seen anywhere in America, and they are worthy of a national designation,” Fine said.
Florida’s freshwater springs support local ecosystems and are popular for recreation, like swimming and canoeing. But the springs have another, even more critical function. The groundwater feeding Florida springs is the state’s primary drinking water source.
The water feeding Florida springs flows up to the surface through natural vent openings in the ground, bubbling up from the underground Floridan aquifer system. The massive geologic formation stores the groundwater most Central Floridians rely on for drinking water.
Florida’s springs are like a window into the health of our water supply, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Many of those springs are polluted enough to be considered impaired and state law requires special protections for 30 “Outstanding Florida Springs,” including specialized water quality restoration plans laid out in Basin Management Action Plans or BMAPs.
According to Fine, a Florida Springs National Park would enhance protection for the state’s freshwater springs.
“There's no greater protection that you could make than a national designation,” Fine said. “There's no level of protection of a natural resource higher than being a unit of the National Park Service.”
The concerns
But not all nature lovers are sold on Fine’s pitch. As of Wednesday evening, nearly 5,000 people had signed an online petition stating the proposal “could open the door to unsustainable tourism and commercialization in the Ocala National Forest.”
Fine’s bill mentions the forest, suggesting it be included in a roughly 2,800-square-mile “study area” north of Orlando. The proposed study area also includes several state-designated Wilderness Management Areas and state parks, like Volusia County’s Deep Creek Preserve.
Fine said the study area isn’t meant to represent the actual boundaries of a future national park. Staff at the National Park Service would ultimately decide on those boundaries, should plans for a park move forward.
“What I'm not is an expert in the creation of a national park,” Fine said. “I want the experts to figure out how to turn that into a national park, by consulting with all of the groups that would be affected.”
But critics worry a national park in the region could cost Floridians valuable opportunities to weigh in on how local natural resources are managed.
Last year, Floridians flooded streets and social channels after learning of the state’s leaked plans to develop golf courses and resort-style lodging in some state parks. Following the outcry, Florida lawmakers passed the new State Parks Preservation Act.
But on decisions affecting a national park, Floridians might not have as much sway, Smart said.
“I don't think we're going to be able to have that kind of impact at the federal level,” said Florida Springs Council Executive Director Ryan Smart. “The people who live near the [state] parks will have less of a say in what happens than they do now.”
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Another concern for the Florida Springs Council is that with a national park and new regulations, the public might lose some access to outdoor activities like primitive camping, off-roading, hunting and fishing.
“That's a legitimate concern. That's why you study it,” Fine said. “At the end of the day, when that plan is created, there may be people who oppose the plan. But there's no reason not to create that plan.”
"If it ain't broke"
Although Smart loves national parks, he said, he doesn’t think a new one in itself would do anything to help Florida springs. As it stands, local and state land managers are already doing an excellent job managing Florida’s public lands, Smart said.
“If it ain't broke, don't fix it,” reads a Florida Springs Council email blast clarifying the nonprofit’s take on Fine’s proposal.
The statement goes on to praise Florida's nationally-renowned public land management. Florida State Parks has won four gold medals from the National Recreation and Park Association, most recently in 2019, and is currently a finalist for a fifth award.
“Changing the entity that's managing the lands that we've already conserved — lands that are already well-managed — it doesn't do anything to protect the springs,” Smart said.
A better way to protect Florida springs, Smart said, is to focus on conserving additional land in the state. That’s a top priority for the state’s land acquisition program, Florida Forever. The program aims to protect Florida springs by acquiring more than 6,700 acres of land across more than a dozen counties, including Lake and Marion.
If the federal government were to assist Florida in purchasing more conservation land, “that would be wonderfully helpful,” Smart said. Otherwise, Smart said he urges policymakers to stay focused on the water: how much water is flowing through Florida springs, and what’s in it.
“Primarily, [strategies] need to achieve one of two things. They either need to reduce the amount of pollution at the springs, or they need to increase the flow [of water],” Smart said. “Anything that doesn't do one of those two things isn't really going to benefit the springs, in the short or long term.”
Ultimately, reducing pollution from fertilizer and septic tanks and putting water conservation requirements in place are the most effective ways to protect Florida springs, Smart said.
Fine said any group that believes in protecting Florida springs should want to participate in the discussion about a possible national park. Smart said if the bill were to pass, activating a study, FSC would “definitely take a look at it and consider it.”
But as of now, Smart said, he’s not convinced a Florida Springs National Park is necessary. “I think that it's a well-intentioned idea. It's just not what we need to protect Florida springs. And if that's the goal, let's do the things that we need.”
