Local Paper RE: Picayune State Forest

ATV riders may be allowed to return to Picayune Strand
By DIANNA SMITH, dlsmith@naplesnews.com
February 5, 2005

The battle for land in Southern Golden Gate Estates continues, but state Rep. Mike Davis believes he can help end it.

Davis, R-Naples, and state Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, have spent the past several months trying to create an agreement that would allow recreational riders in South Florida back into the Picayune Strand State Forest.

One has finally been reached between the state Division of Forestry and the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that would allow riders to return to the Picayune by mid-summer, Davis said.

They would have 1,500 to 3,000 acres, but would have to follow trail guidelines as well as guidelines for camping.

Davis said riders would have to pay $50 for a sticker that would allow them access to the trails. That sticker could also be used to get into Croom, another area for recreational riders in Hernando County in westcentral Florida.

"This will be compatible with the Everglades restoration effort," Davis said. "We're not going to have people going around in circles and tearing things up. This will be for off-road vehicles on what will be established trails."

The Picayune in eastern Collier County has been off-limits to recreational riders since the beginning of the year, when the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission moved the expiration date for permits to ride from June to January.

After several years, the state finally bought the land the riders call their playground because agencies want to restore the area and protect endangered species such as panthers. Officials have said recreational riders will hinder the restoration project and possibly could be harmful to endangered species.

But Davis said the division of forestry and the DEP have agreed to allow riders to return to the forest. Now, it needs the blessing of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, as well as state officials.

"This has really been a struggle," Davis said. "We've been working on this for many months now."

Since Jan. 3, recreational riders have held public meetings, written letters to local and state officials and even protested the state's decision to keep them out of the Picayune. The banning of riding in the Picayune has forced riders to travel to Ocala National Forest in Marion County in northcentral Florida, L-Cross X-treme in Glades County or to Croom.

The media attention encouraged Jim Kalvin, founder of a local boating rights and public access group called Standing Watch, to create the Florida Recreational Access Network, a Web site helpful to people throughout Florida who are trying to keep the land they use for recreation. This site will be catered to recreational riders, boaters and hunters.

"It's time for all the people to get together and say enough is enough," Kalvin said. "If you're recreating responsibly and legally, there's no way they should keep us out."

The Big Cypress Basin, the local division of the South Florida Water Management District, said last year it will find riders 640 acres to ride their off-road vehicles on by Oct. 31.

Davis said officials are close to getting the land.

He wouldn't reveal the location and would only say it's somewhere in Southwest Florida.

This piece of land would be a place "where people can be crazy in the mud if they want to," he said.

Davis said he is also speaking to state officials about creating an off-road vehicle park, like Croom, somewhere in South Florida.

Brian McMahon, a Golden Gate Estates resident who has been working closely with state representatives, said he's glad the state is finally recognizing that people in South Florida are upset.

"Public support for this project is dwindling. Not just on this coast, but everywhere," McMahon said of the restoration effort. "Sportsmen everywhere definitely know what's going on. Everybody is very concerned as to what the future will bring."