Urge Governor DeSantis to Protect Our Wetlands from Overdevelopment
Please join us in urging Governor DeSantis to take action and reverse course on a wetland destruction proposal that was part of former Governor Scott’s administrative priorities. Governor DeSantis has the authority to direct the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to abandon an effort that would result in less protection of our important wetland resources and be contrary to the best interest of the environment and the public.
Wetlands help cleanse water, storing up to a million gallons per acre during times of flood, and as Naples acutely felt during Hurricane Irma, wetlands help protect our communities from storm surge. In addition, nearly every protected wildlife species in Southwest Florida relies on wetlands as part of their essential habitat.
Because of their ecological value, wetland permitting is not something to be fast tracked. Yet the state of Florida is actively pursuing federal Clean Water Act authority for issuing 404 “dredge and fill” permits (the authorizations needed to destroy wetlands for development). This is being proposed in the name of streamlining and efficiency, in spite of the fact that the state may not have the expertise or workforce capacity to take on this process. The result will be reduced environmental review and protections, at a time when Florida needs all of its remaining wetlands to maintain our sensitive environment and quality of life.
Please urge Governor Ron DeSantis to state his opposition to further pursuit of this destructive proposal, and instead direct FDEP to focus on those projects that will improve –not degrade- wetland protection and water quality. We need every tool available to protect not just our remaining wetlands, but also our quality of life and economy that is so closely tied to it, in the face of increasing growth.
