By Dr. Robert Norman, Certified Dermatologist
In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.
John Muir
On the morning of Saturday, September 17, 2022, I was honored to be part of the Lower Green Swamp Trail Dedication in Memory of Kent Bailey, our Sierra Club leader and environmental activist. Kent was honored for his leadership and achievement in the preservation of the Lower Green Swamp Nature Preserve, formerly known as Cone Ranch, which is now the largest Hillsborough County environmental preserve. The Lower Green Swamp Nature Preserve is a 12,800-acre tract located at the northeast corner of Hillsborough County.
Here is the short version of a long, arduous story. Despite many obstacles raised by private interests, Kent’s efforts were finally rewarded by the transfer of this property into the County’s Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP). The efforts resulted in the preservation of native plants and wildlife habitat and corridors, and management.
For more details, read on. Back in 2009 Kent Bailey discovered that a group of six people had approached Hillsborough County about buying “Cone Ranch” which was then owned by the Hillsborough County utility department. The proposed purchasers offered to buy the land from the county and were planning to subdivide the property into six homesteads of 2000 acres each to use as private hunting preserves for the new owners. After Kent discovered the secret of the private hunting preserve plan, his outrage prompted him to reach out to others and form a collection of concerned citizens to save Cone Ranch.
Kent knew this was critical to protect because of its natural watershed which sits near the headwaters of the Hillsborough River, the prime source of drinking water for the city of Tampa. One of the morning’s speakers during the dedication mentioned that the drinking water for the people of Hillsborough County is filtered here in this nature preserve after billions of gallons fall yearly on this fertile land and a portion eventually ends up in the Hillsborough River.
Enough public outcry was generated by Kent and his band of concerned citizens that the Board of County Commissioners appointed a study group to investigate the best way to handle the situation. The “Cone Ranch Advisory Panel” received input from the public and from the developers who wanted to purchase the property.
Conflicting information was provided to the panel as to whether the property could be transferred to ELAPP (the Environmental Lands Acquisition Protection Program) without ELAPP paying for the land, although the county already owned it. Kent Bailey and the other citizen activists including current Commissioner Mariella Smith questioned the need for a sale and pointed the group in the direction of preservation.
From there the situation got even more convoluted. There was a statement that it could violate provisions of a bond issue that the utility department had in place and some stories that the land had been pledged as collateral for the bonds. But Kent’s research turned up the fact that the county had pledged the accounts receivable from its utility accounts as collateral for the bonds and that the land itself was never part of the bond issue collateral. As one speaker noted, it was “smoke and mirrors and baloney.”
In addition, it was stated that an appraisal of the land was required, which could have cost anywhere from $150,000 to $1 million, prior to transferring the property to ELAPP. Kent and others persuaded the County Commissioners that this was totally not necessary.
The final decision was made at a County Commission meeting. Kent had rallied a crowd of concerned citizens who filled the County Commission Chambers, urging the commissioners to approve the transfer of the land so it could be forever preserved. In a 6-1 vote, the county commission approved the transfer to ELAPP, at no cost, in final confirmation of months of tireless work spearheaded by Kent Bailey.
Included in the dedication were members of Kent’s family, including two of his lovely daughters and a granddaughter; the granddaughter is now enrolled at USF in environmental science. One of the morning’s speakers told all of us to look across the road from where we were standing. Directly across from the Preserve was land that looked similar to the Lower Green Swamp Nature Preserve where we stood. The speaker noted that the land across the road had been sold to developers to build 27,000 homes.
The dedication now stands as a testament to the countless hours of work that Kent Bailey and like-minded citizen activists utilized to forever preserve this land for future generations. We owe Kent Bailey and others our gratitude for their foresight and perseverance. It was stated that it was appropriate that the red trail will bear Kent’s name since his face used to redden whenever he spoke passionately about stopping that “backroom deal” from happening to this beautiful land.
Having the land preserved had immediate rewards. Many of the morning attendees were offered the chance to walk the red trail and appeared to enjoy the journey. I was recovering from a back surgery and was unable to take the full walk, but I did venture onto the wild land and found many wonderful creatures that I photographed and took notes on. After being mainly inside for weeks, I was thrilled to take a short hike and explore. I was smiling and filled with the joy that only nature can provide. I prayed that Kent was looking down at all of us and smiling also.
Thank you to the relentless commitment of Kent Bailey and all others who helped save this land. Specials thanks to Mariella Smith, Pamela Joe Hatley, Pat Kemp, Gary Gibbons, Rocky Milburn, and the Bailey family. I appreciate all those who helped prepared the dedication and added to the content of this article.
Where can you find an amazing place like the Lower Green Swamp Nature Preserve?
Get out and enjoy The Great Florida Outdoors!
Dr. Norman is an advanced master naturalist graduate of the FMNP program from UF and a board-certified dermatologist based in Tampa and Riverview. He can be reached at 813-880-7546.
61 books (series editor of 13) ● 300+ articles ● 25 videos and films
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Tampa Bay Medical Hero Award (2008)
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