{"id":5313,"date":"2012-01-10T15:45:53","date_gmt":"2012-01-10T20:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.divetalking.com\/?p=5313"},"modified":"2012-01-10T15:45:53","modified_gmt":"2012-01-10T20:45:53","slug":"public-hearing-on-whether-or-not-to-open-the-edward-ball-wakulla-springs-state-park-to-cave-divers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.divetalking.com\/?p=5313","title":{"rendered":"Public hearing on whether or not to open the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park to cave divers"},"content":{"rendered":"

On January 19th,\u00a0 the Florida Park Service will be hosting a public hearing on whether or not to\u00a0 open the Edward Ball Wakulla\u00a0\u00a0 Springs State\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Park to cave divers (see the Media Advisory<\/a>). Currently, diving access to Wakulla\u00a0 Springs has only been through government permit, with few permits having been\u00a0 applied for and granted.\u00a0 As a result, access to Wakulla Springs has\u00a0 largely been closed to technical divers irrespective of training\u00a0 organization or qualifications. If potential future access is of interest\u00a0 to you, than we urge you to attend the hearing in support of opening Wakulla\u00a0 Springs to properly trained and certified technical cave divers, as well as\u00a0 submitting your opinions in writing prior to the meeting (the address for\u00a0 written submissions is included in the below Media Advisory).<\/p>\n

If you are\u00a0 unable to attend the hearing, written opinions from you and other\u00a0 interested divers are very important for providing the Park Service with the\u00a0 broad views and interests of the diving community. Be certain to send\u00a0 written comments to them before the 19 January meeting. The address is: The Division of Recreation and Parks\u2019 Office of\u00a0 Park Planning, 3900 Commonwealth\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Blvd, Mailstation 525, Tallahassee, FL 32399<\/p>\n

We recommend your written\u00a0 comments be positive in tone and include the following key points:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The industry\u2019s technical diving organizations, who\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 offer cave diving training, have each developed accepted and proven\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 comprehensive training courses. They have demonstrated their\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 obligation\/responsibility to diver safety.<\/li>\n
  2. As a state facility, Wakulla Springs should be\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 accessible to all qualified divers without favoritism to or control by one\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 training organization, institution or entity.<\/li>\n
  3. Appropriate conservation measures can and should be\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 instituted as an important component in providing access and in order to\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 protect and conserve the site.<\/li>\n
  4. The State of Florida\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 has allowed properly qualified divers access to a number of challenging\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and similar environments for decades. As such, the State has demonstrated\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 a history of recognizing and acknowledging the training competency of cave\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 divers in the general public and the overall safety record of cave divers\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 using State-owned sites.<\/li>\n
  5. Divers have historically demonstrated a strong sense of\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 conservation activism due to their personal experiences. Allowing access\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 to Wakulla Springs will generally widen public support for the ongoing\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 protection of, and funding for, the Park.<\/li>\n
  6. Opening access with the nominal diving fees\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 applied by similar parks will provide an additional source of revenue to\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 support the Park infrastructure<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \n

    CRAWFORDVILLE<\/strong> – The Department of Environmental Protection\u2019s Florida Park Service will host a public workshop on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012 to hear from the public regarding the proposed inclusion of recreational cave diving at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park.<\/p>\n

    The Florida Park Service is examining proposals to provide recreational cave diving in Wakulla Spring. In an effort to solicit the views of the local community, the park\u2019s citizen support organization and other park stakeholders, public comment will be taken before formally proposing the addition of cave diving in Wakulla Spring. Interested parties unable to attend the public workshop on Jan. 19 may send written comments to the Division of Recreation and Parks\u2019 Office of Park Planning, 3900 Commonwealth Blvd, Mailstation 525, Tallahassee, FL 32399.<\/p>\n

    Featuring of one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world, Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park is home to an abundance of wildlife, including alligators, turtles, deer, and birds.<\/p>\n

    The public workshop will be held:<\/p>\n

    Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012<\/h3>\n

    7 p.m.<\/h3>\n

    Wakulla County Agriculture Extension Office<\/h3>\n

    The Arena<\/h3>\n

    84 Cedar Avenue<\/h3>\n

    Crawfordville, Florida<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On January 19th,\u00a0 the Florida Park Service will be hosting a public hearing on whether or not to\u00a0 open the Edward Ball Wakulla\u00a0\u00a0 Springs State\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Park to cave divers (see the Media Advisory). Currently, diving access to Wakulla\u00a0 Springs has only been through government permit, with few permits having been\u00a0 applied for and granted.\u00a0 As a result, access to Wakulla Springs has\u00a0 largely been closed to technical divers irrespective of training\u00a0 organization or qualifications. If potential future access is of interest\u00a0 to you, than we urge you to attend the hearing in support of opening Wakulla\u00a0 Springs to properly trained and certified technical cave divers, as well as\u00a0 submitting your opinions in writing prior to the meeting (the address for\u00a0 written submissions is included in the below Media Advisory).
    \nIf you are\u00a0 unable to attend the hearing, written opinions from you and other\u00a0 interested divers are very important for providing the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,23,32,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cave","category-events","category-reference","category-report"],"yoast_head":"\nPublic hearing on whether or not to open the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park to cave divers - Divetalking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Divetalking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.divetalking.com\/?p=5313\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Public hearing on whether or not to open the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park to cave divers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Divetalking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.divetalking.com\/?p=5313\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Divetalking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Divetalking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-10T20:45:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/?p=5313#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/?p=5313\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/02d5721103fd9d171fcc8cfb74d80947\"},\"headline\":\"Public hearing on whether or not to open the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park to cave divers\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-01-10T20:45:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/?p=5313\"},\"wordCount\":590,\"articleSection\":[\"Cave\",\"Events\",\"Reference\",\"Report\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/?p=5313\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.divetalking.com\\\/?p=5313\",\"name\":\"Public hearing on whether or not to open the Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park to cave divers - 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