Orange, Osceola boards rebuff Split Oak Forest defenders' last-ditch pleas
Forest advocates insist Orange County has grounds to oppose the highway, even though it sits solely in the Osceola County portion of the preserve. County lawyers say they don't.
Without a lawsuit to stop it, the Central Florida Expressway Authority seems set on its preferred route to run a 1.3-mile leg of the Osceola County Parkway through the forest. CFX already has planted stakes outlining the path, and on Monday Osceola County commissioners approved the plan.
The Orange and Osceola meetings marked the apparent, anti-climactic conclusion of one of Central Florida's biggest environmental battles in recent years, one that pitted environmentalists against state road builders and the developers whose land will be served by the project.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approved the highway cut-through in a closely-watched vote almost exactly a year ago, but the Save Split Oak contingent vowed not to give up the fight.
Toll road approved to cut through Split Oak Forest
Nearly two dozen supporters of the forest turned out Tuesday to plead with Orange County to intercede.
They argued that Osceola County's deal with CFX violates the original pact signed in the 1990's by Orange and Osceola counties to buy the 1,689-acre forest, now considered vital habitat for gopher tortoises and other endangered species.
But Orange County Attorney Jeff Newton says the county has no say because CFX will use land only in Osceola.
'This board and the citizens and voters of Orange County could not vote to restrict or regulate any lands in Osceola County,' he explained to a crowd in Orange County Commission chambers. 'They don't have the jurisdiction to do so.'
Orange County owns 1,004 acres of the forest. Osceola owns the other 685.
Orange County Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad wanted the county — either through Newton's office or outside counsel — to seek an injunction to stop the project, insisting the entire forest would be harmed by the intrusion across Osceola's segment.
'It's not just about what happens on Osceola's part of the forest,' she said.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said the board has thoroughly vetted the issue through a series of meetings and agreements last year.
'I do believe Orange County has taken appropriate action to protect the portion of Split Oak that Orange County owns,' he said.
In their Monday meeting, Osceola County commissioners approved the agreement with CFX without discussion.
The 11-page document spells out Osceola's duty to release its conservation easement to the road builders.
Only a few people attended the meeting. Two held signs that read 'hands off our nature.'
'I just think this is horrible so I had to come,' said Linda Chastain, who sat in the second row of the commission chambers. 'I heard about this being on Osceola's agenda last minute so I had to rush over here.'
She attended Orange County's meeting, too, occasionally waving a multi-colored sign that read, 'PROTECT NATURE SERIOUSLY…IT'S UP TO YOU!'
But even Semrad — elected last year after promising to continue the fight — could muster little hope by the meeting's end. She listed possible legal issues the county could pursue but added, 'Or is it time for us to just say to the people, 'We've got no shot here. You've lost.' '
shudak@orlandosentinel.com
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Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Miami Herald
Who runs Alligator Alcatraz? DeSantis and Trump administrations respond in court
Challenged by attorneys and pressed for answers by federal judges in Miami, the DeSantis and Trump administrations have released documents that they say establish the state's legal authority to hold hundreds of immigrant detainees for the federal government at a detention camp deep in the Everglades. The state and federal governments asserted in court and in legal filings submitted late Thursday that agreements authorizing officers in state agencies to perform certain federal immigration enforcement functions — such as detention — govern operations at the unprecedented complex known as Alligator Alcatraz. One of those 287(g) agreements, with the Florida Department of Corrections, was amended on Wednesday to say that corrections officers could detain immigrants outside state prisons at ICE-approved facilities — and applied retroactively to cover the six weeks the facility has been open. The state's attorney, Nicholas Meros, pointed to agreements with nine state agencies — including the Florida Department of Lottery, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement — to show why the DeSantis administration is able to 'detain and supervise the detention of illegal aliens' at Alligator Alcatraz. All nine agencies 'are performing detention duties at the facility,' Meros wrote in a court filing Thursday. It is unclear how many of the agencies' officers are currently deputized and working at the site. The governments' answers come as immigration attorneys and environmental groups have questioned the legality of the detention center, which appears to operate differently than other facilities run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Most immigration detention centers are run by the federal government or on its behalf, through contracts with private companies or state and municipal authorities. Alligator Alcatraz is run by the state, with limited access to federal immigration courts, according to attorneys and legal documents. In two separate lawsuits filed in federal court in Miami, lawyers and judges last month demanded the DeSantis and Trump administrations produce legal agreement between the state and federal governments related to the detention camp's operations. Thursday's filings offered the first glimpse at their explanation. Notably, there was no agreement with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which has overseen the construction and operation of the site since its inception. There was also no evidence of an Intergovernmental Service Agreement, which typically authorizes state or municipal officials to help ICE manage detention facilities. Paul Schwiep, a lawyer who is representing environmental groups in a lawsuit over the site's operations, argued in a court hearing Thursday that the site itself should have a 287(g) agreement or an intergovernmental agreement in order to have authority over detainees. 'Either the state is operating this detention center under color of federal authority, or they are operating a completely rogue facility that is unregulated and unlawful,' Schwiep said. The state's argument To establish legal custody of detainees sent to Alligator Alcatraz, the state is relying partly on a document signed with the Florida Department of Corrections one day before the judge's Aug. 7 deadline to provide copies of any agreement explaining the state and federal governments' relationship to the site. The document — an amendment to the state agency's 287(g) agreement from 2020 — says the state's corrections department 'may provide detention services for ICE-approved, state-operated detention facilities, other than the Department's correctional facilities, that maintain, on ICE's behalf, custody of aliens detained pursuant to the federal immigration laws.' Prior to being amended, the agency's 2020 agreement only covered correctional facilities within the Department of Corrections. The document, signed on Aug. 5 and 6, now covers 'persons providing detention services operating under the supervision of the Department' dating back to the start of June, the month in which the Florida Division of Emergency Management seized an airfield from Miami-Dade County and began building the country's newest immigration detention center. The Department of Corrections is the only agency with a 287(g) agreement involving correctional facilities. The state agency did not respond to a request seeking comment on how many deputized correctional officers were currently staffing the makeshift detention camp. In court filings, the Division of Emergency Management, the Florida State Guard and two private contractors — Critical Response Strategies and GardaWorld Security Services Inc. — were identified as the entities responsible for carrying out detention operations at the detention camp. The State Guard, which is a civilian military force under the governor's command, is the only one with a 287(g) agreement with the federal government, though it was not part of the responses to the court order. Questions in Court Lawyers representing the Trump administration provided different documents on Thursday in response to demands to explain how Alligator Alcatraz operates. During a court hearing on Thursday in a lawsuit over the environmental impact of the detention center, federal lawyers said the 287(g) agreement between the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and ICE established the authority to run the facility. Marissa Piropato, an attorney representing the Department of Homeland Security, said the federal government had no final say over actions at Alligator Alcatraz — where it was built, how it was built or how many detainees are held there. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams asked whether there were any federal officials who visited the site at all. Piropato said there are ICE agents who go every so often, but they do not supervise the facility on a daily basis. Williams pointed out that legally, immigration detention facilities must be run by trained immigration personnel. She asked who those personnel would be, if not federal agents. Piropato said it would be through officials who entered into 287(g) agreements. When asked to specify, she said that the FDLE agreement was the one that applied to Alligator Alcatraz in particular. At the time, federal lawyers had submitted the FDLE 287(g) document as their evidence of an agreement. The position made it into Williams' order on Thursday halting construction at the site for two weeks. State lawyers, however, submitted Florida Highway Patrol's 287(g) document. FHP was not brought up during the hearing. When attorneys for the state and federal government responded to an order in a separate lawsuit to provide legal agreements establishing the operation of the site, they submitted nine 287(g) agreements. FDLE did not respond to a request seeking comment. A staging facility In a little over a month, more than 1,000 immigrant detainees have been held at the Florida immigration detention center, which the DeSantis administration erected in eight days on an airfield in the Everglades. It was billed as a 'one-stop shop' for detention and deportations — and DeSantis has falsely said that site is only holding immigrants whom a judge has ordered removed from the country. Juan Lopez Vega, the deputy field office director for ICE in Miami, said in a sworn declaration submitted on Thursday that detainees who end up at the site are 'at various stages of immigration processing.' He said that while ICE may make decisions regarding transfers, Florida 'retains ultimate decision authority as to who is detained in the facility.' The detention camp, Lopez Vega added, is meant to provide short-term housing while ICE figures out where to place immigrant detainees on a long-term basis, to start or to continue their removal proceedings, or to start the process of deporting them. The statement was filed in response to a lawsuit that stems from immigration attorneys facing struggles with legal access. In the lawsuit, lawyers maintain that immigrants held at the site are unable to challenge their detention because there is no federal immigration court overseeing their cases there. On Thursday, Lopez Vega said in court filings that detainees can file a request for a bond hearing 'with the immigration court with jurisdiction over their removal proceedings or an immigration court with the jurisdiction over the place of their detention.' But immigration lawyers say immigrant detainees are held at Alligator Alcatraz without access to immigration court. Lopez Vega said that if a detainee had already requested a bond hearing with the immigration court at Krome, then they would be transported to the immigration court there. However, for weeks lawyers had said that Krome was not scheduling bond hearings for detainees detained at Alligator Alcatraz and some had been canceled.
CBS News
24-07-2025
- CBS News
State wildlife officials to approve rules for Florida's first bear hunt in 10 years: "A more structured format"
State wildlife officials next month could approve rules for a three-week bear hunt in December that would have "a more structured format" than a hunt halted a decade ago after a limit was quickly reached on bears that could be killed. The proposed rules, which will be considered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission during a meeting Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 in Havana, would include a lottery-style permitting process and up to 187 bears being killed in four areas of the state. The rules also would include guidelines to encourage hunters to kill male bears. George Warthen, the commission's chief conservation officer, said the proposed hunt — the state's first since 2015 — is an additional method to manage bears as they coexist with humans. "When we look at game species across North America, there's not a single game species that has gone extinct or come close through regulated hunting," Warthen said. "Instead, we see more money, more attention and a lot more benefits for that animal. And this can be a tough conversation to have. And so the why, for Florida, becomes we're one of the only states that is not participating in regulated bear hunting in states that have abundant bear populations." Bear hunting has long been a controversial issue in Florida, with opponents saying that killing bears for sport won't reduce human-bear interactions. They also say the commission should expand the use of non-lethal options, such as bear-proof trash containers, to help keep bears from being drawn to residences and businesses and should increase land-conservation efforts. But calls to hold a hunt have been growing. The 2015 hunt ended after two days, when 305 bears were killed in what was expected to be a weeklong endeavor. The state had an estimated 4,050 bears in 2015, considered the most recent figures by the commission. Bears were on a state list of threatened species from 1974 to 2012, until a state biological status review determined they were no longer at high risk of extinction. During the past 50 years, the state has recorded 42 incidents in which wild bears have made physical contact with people, with the first recorded fatal bear attack occurring in May, when an 89-year-old Collier County man and his dog were killed. The commission on May 21 voted 4-1 to support a draft proposal for the December hunt. Commission Vice Chairman Steven Hudson voted against the proposal, suggesting that non-Floridians should be prohibited from getting permits and raising concerns about allowing people to hunt bears at feeding stations. A notable change in this year's proposals involves permits. In 2015, permits were open to anyone willing to pay and participate until a quota for bills killed was reached. "This new proposal only gives out a specific number of tags that meet that (187-bear) quota, to a finite number of hunters, who can then take one bear," Warthen said. "That's a big change, so that people feel that we see … a more structured format that allocates a permit per hunter, so people can see that and it gives hunters more time." The proposed permit-drawing process would be open to anyone who pays a $5 entry fee. It would not limit the number of times a person could enter, but people whose names are drawn would only be able to purchase a single permit. Also, non-Floridians would be limited to 10 percent of the permits, which would cost them $300. Permits would be priced at $100 for Floridians. Chuck O'Neal of the environmental group Speak Up Wekiva has suggested opponents of the hunt enter the drawing to reduce the number of bears killed. "If every Floridian entered the lottery, only 1.87 bears --- rounded to 2 --- would be killed because only 1 percent of Florida citizens actually hunt," O'Neal posted on Facebook. Warthen said not reaching the December quota could lead to a boost in permits for future hunts. The 187-bear quota is based on a formula that takes into account female bears being killed. "It's highly unlikely and probable that the harvest will be all female or that all hunters will harvest a bear," Warthen said. "What we'll see is a very conservative approach that allows for continued growth within bear populations in Florida, but at a more managed rate." The hunt is projected to be limited to 68 bears in the Apalachicola region west of Tallahassee; 46 in areas west of Jacksonville; 18 in an area north of Orlando; and 55 in the Big Cypress region southwest of Lake Okeechobee. Warthen said hunting around feeding stations is expected to allow hunters to be more selective. "We're skewing this harvest, or having the rules set so it encourages more male bears harvested," Warthen said. "This would allow that hunter their time, to make sure that it's not a female with cubs, which would also be prohibited." Hunters would not be allowed to use dogs to pursue bears in December, but that would change in subsequent seasons. "It's very important that those dogs are properly trained and there's time to do that," Warthen said.
Miami Herald
19-07-2025
- Miami Herald
Florida's new ‘Boater Freedom Act' could be boon for illegal poachers, critics say
A measure prohibiting vessel searches that stem from safety inspections on the water is among a slew of laws to be enacted in Florida this week. It halts a long-running practice in which state and local marine law enforcement could stop boaters and board their vessels without probable cause. Gov. Ron DeSantis says long-standing vessel searches have 'unnecessarily created friction' between boaters and law enforcement. The governor signed the bill, which he has dubbed the Boater Freedom Act, at a May news conference in Panama City Beach. 'If you're walking down the street, law enforcement can't just go up to you and stop you and search you,' DeSantis said. 'But, yet, on the water, that really isn't the case.' Opponents of the measure say it takes away a major tool for enforcing fishing rules and deterring poachers — random cooler searches. They worry that fish populations carefully monitored by state biologists could subsequently dwindle. DeSantis and state Sen. Jay Trumbull, a Panama City Republican who sponsored the bill, have said they expect a different outcome. They predict law enforcement will be free to spend more time and resources going after the few bad actors who are boating recklessly and endangering others on the water. 'It's about trusting the vast majority of Floridians who are doing the right thing and letting law enforcement officers focus on those who are truly violating the law,' Trumbull said at the same news conference. 'We're not removing oversight. We're reinforcing fairness.' 'Bag limits are irrelevant' under law For Matt DePaolis, the environmental policy director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation in Southwest Florida, the new law favors boaters' rights over protection of the state's marine ecosystem. 'It's a real worry that it will be much easier to get away with poaching now, because it is very difficult to catch someone in the act,' DePaolis said. 'Having the ability to go and do a quick check seemed like an important enforcement mechanism.' The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a state agency tasked with managing fish populations by setting catch limits and season lengths, is also responsible for upholding those rules through its law enforcement arm. The agency has endorsed DeSantis' initiative and is expected to issue guidance on the new law. Capt. Matthew DallaRosa, a supervisor for the wildlife agency's Tampa Bay area branch, said he isn't concerned that the law will impede officers' ability to enforce marine rules. 'We've always conducted regulatory inspections,' DallaRosa said. 'We've adjusted to a million changes. I don't see any significant impact.' DePaolis said he would expect the wildlife agency to reduce bag limits if biologists observe a decline in populations. 'If they feel confident that they're able to correctly manage fishery stocks even with this bill, that's great,' he said. 'But I would still be worried that this is an important tool in managing healthy fisheries and stopping poaching that is now being taken away.' Alan S. Richard, a former captain for the wildlife commission and maritime law adjunct professor at Florida State University, recalled one safety inspection he conducted in 1984. He was relieving another officer from his post when he saw a boat spot their patrol vessel and sharply turn away, cutting across the flats where it could have easily run aground. That maneuver wasn't illegal, but it was suspicious, Richard said. He stopped the boater and waited for backup to arrive. Under the deck, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found 486 pounds of cocaine. 'That just wouldn't have happened under this new law,' he said. Richard called the measure an 'abomination' and said he expects it will be repealed in a future legislative session after lawmakers realize their mistake. He was careful not to speculate on how the wildlife agency and county courts will interpret the law but said it would make officers' jobs more difficult — whether that be upholding public safety, busting drug runners or catching poachers. The law undermines the state's conservation efforts, Richard added. 'Bag limits are irrelevant if you can't stop a boat and check them,' he said. Private lawyers who defend those accused of fishing violations expect to see fewer charges filed and even fewer that stick. 'We've had clients where ... they've caught something they shouldn't,' said Ranger Jackson, a Pinellas criminal defense attorney. 'And if this law was in effect, that wouldn't have gotten off the ground.' But Jackson said fears that the law gives boaters 'carte blanche' to catch 'whatever illegal fish you want' are unfounded. 'If you're violating law, if your registration isn't up to date, if you're violating the wake zones, if you're anchored to something that you're not supposed to be, then you can still run into problems,' he said. The search law also seems to apply only to enforcement on the water. It's likely that wildlife officers would keep the power to conduct random searches on boaters returning to public boat ramps as well as those fishing from shore, Jackson said. 'There's guardrails that are in effect,' he said. Springs, seagrass threatened Environmental groups have taken issue with other parts of the law, including language that raises the bar for creating protection zones for springs that impose restrictions on speed, anchoring, mooring, beaching and grounding boats. Under previous rules, the wildlife agency must prove recreational boat use is harming a sensitive spring area to limit boating there. The law will make it so the agency must now prove there is 'significant harm' and that boating is the main cause of that damage. It has already cast a chilling effect over consideration of a protection zone at one north Florida spring after the wildlife agency pulled its proposal in the wake of the legislation. Other parts of the law preempt local governments from banning 'the sale or use' of gas-powered boats. DeSantis cited a California rule — blocked by the Senate in May — that seeks to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. DePaolis, the environmental policy director, said he's worried the law could be stretched to do away with boat engine restrictions on environmentally sensitive land like manatee zones, seagrass beds and bird rookeries. 'If you're saying now that you can't differentiate between energy sources, then it seems like you can't make a canoe or kayak or paddle or sailing-only area,' he said. 'So now it's really going to restrict the ability of recreation.' It's the vague language of the bill and its uncertain implications for fisheries and conservation that gives DePaolis pause. 'Boating is about freedom. Florida is about freedom. It's great to not have to worry about the cops breathing down your neck,' he said. 'But at the same time, our environment is a shared resource, and we have tools to manage it. Until we are managing it effectively, we need to be able to utilize those tools.'
