Taylor County Under Pressure
Rural Taylor County in the Big Bend of the Florida Panhandle is facing increasing pressure to grow as its County Commissioners try to better the economy while balancing nature with the needs of its citizens.
Magnolia Bay
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The area known to locals as Boggy Bay. Developers wanted to fill in 100 acres of wetlands and dredge a trench through the Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve for an upscale marina community called Magnolia Bay. Photo taken by Preston Robertson
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The proposed Magnolia Bay development in Taylor County has been the subject of much consternation from those who wish to protect the state's last natural coastline, including the Florida Wildlife Federation and its members. This planned marina and massive condominium project, near Dekle Beach, would require the dredging of a channel through the established Big Bend Seagrasses Aquatic Preserve and the destruction of coastal wetlands. Both the Suwannee River Water Management District and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have recently come out strongly against this plan and we applaud them for their stance on this critical issue. (Click on the above links to see the agencies' responses to the development). The Department of Environmental Protection has determined the project is not in the public interest. If there is one thing we have learned from this effort, it is that citizen action counts - over 1,000 comments were received by the Corps of Engineers in opposition to Magnolia Bay. While protection of the Big Bend's coast is an ongoing effort, it is heartening to know that governmental agencies, both state and federal, are able to do the right thing for the environment, our quality of life, and future Floridians. Thank you to everyone who voiced an opinion and got involved in the process.
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Comp. Plan Amendments Open Door
to Multiple Coal Plants
For Immediate Release
June 5, 2007
Contact Jay Liles
850-656-7113
Perry, FL. - Ultimately, the Taylor County Commission was going to vote for amendments to the county Comprehensive Plan allowing as many as seven coal fired power plants to be built in the county. We knew going in the deck was stacked. Taylor Energy Center (TEC) drafted the amendments for the county. TEC explained the rationale for the amendments and TEC offered rebuttal to the many dozens of county residents, environmental advocates and local activists who expressed their opposition to the change. Their opinions mattered not. The Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve two Comp. Plan amendments adding new land use categories for up to seven power plants and altering the site map to permit construction of the plants on a 3000 acre site, adjacent to the Buckeye Paper Mill.
FWF Policy Consultant Jay Liles attended the hearing and spoke on behalf of the Federation in opposition to the amendments. "The amendments would permit multiple power plants to be sited in the county, which is a direct contradiction to the vision stated by the current Comprehensive Plan which states that it is the intent of the county to retain its rural and agricultural character", said Liles. "Taylor County Commissioners see this as economic growth. We see it as a step backward in fighting global climate change along the Big Bend, one of the state's most vulnerable coastlines".
FWF included, in its testimony, a letter of opposition to the Comp. Plan amendments as well as one written by Jenny Brock, NWF Board Member and Member of the FWF House of Delegates. Brock pointed out that construction of dirty coal plants in Taylor County would jeopardize the great hunting and fishing opportunities present there. "The Commission seems to be willing to overlook a valuable industry already in place" said Brock.
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