Myakka River State Park needs you now (actually this coming Thursday, March 2nd) Your involvement so far has helped keep cows out of both Myakka River State Park and out of the update of the delayed Park’s Draft Unit Management Plan. But your participation is needed to fend off other attempts to extract natural resources from the park in the name of “secondary management purposes”. GET THIS: The draft plan proposes timber harvesting, fuel and stump harvesting, and palm frond harvesting as a revenue sources. On page 7 it claims these uses are compatible with the park’s primary purposes. They are not. And while cows are “off the table”, hunting inside Myakka Park has not been ruled out! So you are needed starting at 5:00 pm on Thursday March 2nd at the Suncoast Community Church, which is 2.5 miles east of the Interstate on Highway 72 at 8000 Hawkins Road. DEP presentation starts at 5:30. If you can’t get there at 5:00, show up any time before 7:00 pm We need a big turnout to impress on DEP that we are serious about protecting Myakka River State Park. Showing up (the numbers game) is crucial – you don’t need to speak if you don’t want too, but there will be a court reporter present to take testimony, which is even better. I’ll send talking points in another email. The Draft Myakka River State Park Unit Management Plan can be found at: https://goo.gl/wqX7Oz     (large pdf file) And despite some severe problems, the UMP has lots of great info about the park – habitat map, history, etc. If you can, plan to do two things: 1) Bring a friend—that will double our impact. 2) Cut a small palm frond and bring it with you -- I will explain why in a subsequent email.  Sending a strong message March 2nd will help stave off comparable consumptive extraction schemes in other parks. Here are some other proposals in the draft Unit Management Plan that may concern you include: • Allowing 6% invasive species in a globally imperiled dry prairie habitat. Page 30 • Building a new interpretative center at the Upper Myakka Lake concession area which is frequently a parking nightmare Page 121 • Proposing a new Eco-Lodge and Conference Center in the Wilderness Area with no business plan (and shown as a $4 million dollar project) Pages 125, 126 • No analysis of aesthetic standards for views from the Wild and Scenic River or the Park Drive. • No trend analysis of the last ten years (which would reveal increasing visitation and a decline in staffing levels. Proposals to widen fire lanes. Page 90 •The only proposals for increasing park revenue are from sale of the public’s natural resources. • Optimum boundaries that include lands already otherwise protected. Pages 128-130. More sources of updates and info: Facebook’s Florida Parks in Peril group https://goo.gl/uNycV8 FDEP Public MRSP Unit Management Plan Meeting Notice: https://goo.gl/6Ygo86 PLEASE PLAN TO MAKE THE SCENE – MYAKKA NEEDS YOU Jono Miller