You are literally one in nine thousand. Not figuratively, literally. About 27 million people enjoy Florida state parks each year. As you know these parks are threatened by a major policy changes being advanced by DEP Interim Secretary Jon Steverson. This Wednesday August 5th we have an opportunity to affect Mr. Steverson’s agenda, but we only have contact information for about 2,900 people like yourself who have expressed concern about things like adding cows in Myakka River State Park. When you do that math that works out to 1:9,310. The Florida Cabinet had decided that Mr. Steverson would be interviewed for the permanent position in September, but abruptly switched that date to this Wednesday August 5, 2015. There are no other candidates, so we should expect his position to be made permanent, but we are hoping his policy direction can be challenged and changed. It is worth a shot. Here’s what you need to do: Write to the Cabinet Aides. You will be speaking for 9,309 other people that love Florida State Parks, but whom we can’t reach in time. Use the attached link to reach all the Cabinet aides. For the SUBJECT try something like: Interim Secretary Steverson's State Park policy changes deserve scrutiny and debate. Then cut the language you'll find on the link and add newer, more current, content. You’ll find a sample message below the dashed line, but you can modify or draft your own before hitting SEND Please reflect the fact that it is not Mr. Steverson, per se, that you are objecting to, but his policies. We are challenging the policies not the person. And before you hit SEND, copy your message and the link into an email to your email list and ask them to act. You might copy your local paper as well. --------------------------------------------------------- Before making Jon Steverson head of Florida DEP, the members of the Florida Cabinet need to consider the implications of opening state parks to resource extraction such as hunting, timbering, cattle grazing etc. Ideally this would involve deferring this decision until September, when it was previously scheduled. This would allow time for more consideration since this agenda item appeared on very short notice, which is preventing the public from participating. Unlike lands controlled by the Department of Agriculture and by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida's State Parks were acquired for their intrinsic natural values. Only the Florida Park Service is charged by state statute “to acquire typical portions of the original domain of the state which will be accessible to all of the people, and of such character as to emblemize the state’s natural values; conserve these natural values for all time.” Introducing extractive activities is contrary to this mission and begs the question of why the new approach is superior to the proven success of the current approach. When the Cabinet meets on August 5th to confirm the head of our Department of Environmental Protection, please review the mission of our state park system and ask Mr. Steverson to initiate a public discussion about the future of our parks, to provide meaningful opportunities for public testimony on park unit management plans, and to give serious consideration to tweeks in park fee structure that would increase revenue without burdening the public or negatively impacting park resources.