We are very happy to report that your support helped saved our historic dune and maritime hammock! Last Friday, December 8 in Tallahassee a hearing was held in front of the Acquisition and Restoration Council (the body which oversees and makes recommendations regarding the Florida State Parks) to determine whether or not the 5.4 acre parcel of Anastasia State Park across from the Amphitheater should be de-classified as conservation land in order to allow the city of Saint Augustine to potentially remove the dune and most of the trees there to build a fire station. The City of St Augustine (including the Mayor, the City Manager, the Fire Chief and former City officials) appeared at the meeting and testified in favor of the removal of the conservation designation. After an approximately two hour hearing where several members of the community appeared and testified in favor of preserving the State Park and maintaining the hammock/dune (among other things they pointed out that the Anastasia State Parks land management plan called for the conservation “in perpetuity” of conservation lands, and prohibited the further fragmentation of the maritime hammock), and others called in to provide further opposition testimony, the council voted 4 to 3 to maintain the conservation designation of this property. Accordingly, the fire station will not be built and in order for any future projects to be undertaken on the property, another hearing at ARC would have to occur and public comment would be allowed to address whether or not the parcel should continue to maintain its conservation designation. As a note, every 10 years the state parks are required to update their land management plans and the management plan for the Anastasia. State Park is due to be updated in 2 1/2 years. We’d like your help then to help ensure that the entirety of the Anastasia State Park, including this parcel, continue to retain their conservation designation and are not diminished. Thank you for your support on this project and we hope you continue to enjoy the use of not only the Anastasia, State Park, but the Florida parks in general.