THANK YOU SO MUCH for signing the petition to stop the cattle lease in Myakka River State Park. You are the vanguards that stand between Governor Scott, Jon Steverson and our state parks. As you are aware, this is just Tallahassee’s opening gambit in their evolving campaign to open our state parks for private resource extraction. The man behind all this is the interim Secretary of DEP, Jon Steverson. He’s been on the job only 6.5 months, but has made it very clear he wants to redefine the goal our award-winning state parks – switching from conservation and recreation to anything goes “multiple use” which can include cell phone towers, well-fields, cattle leases, hunting, and who knows what else. Mr. Steverson seems to be immune to public opinion, but he is not immune to the directives of the Governor and Cabinet. The Cabinet meets June 23rd, and, even if they accept him as permanent DEP head, they can signal what he is expected to do. They could let Mr. Steverson know that needs to back off on Myakka cows or raise questions about his multiple use agenda. The Cabinet discussion will be determined by the information the cabinet members get from their aides and we believe most of the aides are not aware of the state park multiple use controversy. It will be helpful if they learn about our specific concerns at Myakka as well as our concerns for all of the state parks before they brief their bosses prior to the cabinet meeting on the 23rd. Please take a moment to call an aide’s office and explain what is at stake. For more information see: https://www.facebook.com/groups/466974013475960/ http://jono08.blogspot.com/2015/05/dep-misrepresents-existing-cattle.html http://tbo.com/list/news-opinion-editorials/editorial-dont-put-state-parks-out-to-bid-20150614/?fb_comment_id=fbc_1043326822374329_1043547815685563_1043547815685563 - f3dcaef8caa094 Governor Rick Scott: Monica Russell Director of Cabinet Affairs (850) 717-9239 http://www.flgov.com/contact-gov-scott/email-the-governor/ Attorney General Pam Bondi: Rob Johnson Office of Cabinet Affairs Director 850-245-0155 Pam.Bondi@myfloridalegal.com Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater: Robert Tornillo, Cabinet Affairs Director OR Chelsi Henry, Senior Cabinet Aide 850-413-3106 Jeff.Atwater@MyFloridaCFO.com Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam: Brooke McKnight Cabinet Affairs Director 850-410-6747 Email addresses Florida Governor and Cabinet: Adam.Putnam@FreshFromFlorida.com. Don’t Mess with My Akka! And, when you get a chance, send the petition link to as many of your contacts as possible through email, Facebook, or Twitter. We've been averaging 300 signatories a day, but it has slowed down today and we'll need thousands before we are done. Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/pnbuzxj