Who isn’t following the amazing drama of Yellowstone? The first few seasons had some amazing character-building stories and literally explosive episodes. This season, however, has drama that is hitting really close to home in Florida when it comes to fighting off development of agricultural spaces, and the disconnect between big money and a truly crucial and unique way of life. Florida is the 3rd largest populated state in the nation and has the 4th largest economy.
One of the top money makers in Florida is tourism, it’s undeniable that our beaches, fishing, and amusement parks are some of the best in the world. Think of the destination desirability of the Florida Keys and Disney World alone, “In 2015, the tourism industry contributed $51 Billion to the state GDP”. However, agriculture has been a constant in Florida’s economy well before tourism, famous for our oranges but, “also a major producer of watermelons, vegetables, hay, tobacco, cotton, and sugarcane. The agriculture industry in Florida employs 2 million people and contributes more than $104 billion to Florida’s economy every year.” Florida has a rare environment that is uniquely qualified to produce a wide variety of agriculture materials at times of the year when the rest of the United States is unable to grow crops in a conventional way. Florida has always been wealthy in land and beauty, but the majority of its population has always been blue color and hardworking, that is until Florida started to receive a massive wave of new residents moving to the state in the 1970’s and the rate of new residents has not slowed since then.
Florida has grown 50% in the last 20 years. Only 14.1% of residents in Florida work in the agriculture industry, and this creates a huge divide when it comes to what the residents of the state think are important when it comes time to vote. We have many wealthy residents that have moved to our state full time or only stay here a few months out of the year. They are drawn here by the beautiful views, pristine waters, clean air, and spacious landscapes. Many new residents want great views from a restaurant, easy access to shopping, healthcare, and air conditioning. The new residents’ desires and the money they are willing to pay are changing the dynamics of Florida’s character. This shift is pushing Florida and its governing bodies into a trend of land exploitation, focusing on profitability over environmental conservation and protection.
A common phrase in Florida is,“ Don’t New York my Florida” as inherent residents became weary of transplant residents voting to make changes that would destroy our waters and lands due to desires of individuals who moved from cities to make their new home similar to their previous states. The changes always seem simple to the new residents, but have huge impacts to the born and raised residents. Examples like a transplant retiree voting against more in taxes to pay for school bus drivers or land to be purchased for conservation , because they do not have kids in school and are not going to use the conservation land for hiking. True Floridian’s however, know the importance of conservation land to protect our waters, wildlife, air quality, and benefit protection against rain and storms.
The state is hanging at the edge of the cliff. This generation will be the one who decides what our state looks like in the next 80 years. Once land is developed it is never returned to its prior natural form. Look at the housing calamity in Detroit where even in 2022 there are still over 55,000 vacant houses. Nobody will assume the cost to demolish them and pay for cleanup to make the land available to any type of garden or agriculture project. Once you develop land, it is the end of its ecological peek potential. New residents to the state don’t understand the impacts of allowing dense housing near rivers or along water fronts because they only see opportunities of a new condo, restaurant, or financial gain, and all Floridian’s lose. Every pasture, or estuary that gets rezoned into residential property kills the very views that everyone moved to the state to enjoy. Viewing a man-made pond with no native plants around it and one Blue Heron is a sad fraction of what previously existed in most spaces before it was bull dozed to make way for apartment buildings, a parking lot and a small square of grass for dogs to do to the land what the builders did to the land.
It’s okay that everyone wants to be a part of Florida, take in its beauty and call this wonderful state home. It is the greed and corruption from the builders and investors that needs to be controlled. These are the people who see our precious Florida as something to exploit for money, and theses high dollar companies often financially support many of the commissioners and council members who have final say on whether rezoning is approved and how many houses can be crammed into a lot. Go out and visit your State’s beautiful parks and go for a hike, even just for an hour. Go and visit Lake Manatee State Park or Myakka River State Park and see how big oak trees, pine trees, and maple trees should be, take in the abundance of wildlife. Understand that nature isn’t this thing that is supposed to happen somewhere off in the distance but rather it should be all around us all the time and we need to work around it and with it. This will not only be healthy for you to forest bathe, but also give you perspective on how nature should look, and how unhealthy the landscape is that is sprinkled through our town and roadways.
Photo credit: Crescent Bar G Cattle Services
Go make a difference, control the rampant greed and exploitation of our lands and neighborhoods. Find out who your commissioners are, look up what’s happening on the agendas and show up to the meeting to speak! Post the agenda to your local community social media websites with a link to make a comment. This is not glamorous work, it’s long and requires effort. The scene is like season 5 of Yellowstone when John Dutton is being sworn in as governor, he takes a really long pause before he says, “I do”. He doesn’t want the job, but he knows the only way for him to protect his family, way of life, and surrounding ranches is to do the hard thing. Fellow residents of Florida… it’s time to do the hard thing, rally the neighborhood, show up to the meetings, present facts on why builders’ proposed version of “progress” is bad for the community. Make sure the commissioner who was elected to represent you knows how you feel and how their vote should be casted to represent your community. Be counted and ensure the open space, clean air, and clean water is there for your children to grow up in.
Just one of the many Yellowstone quotes that hit home:
Clara Brewer: “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
John Dutton: “Well, there isn’t anything like it.”
The Veranda View 