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[Vtach]

Like I said, there is waaaay more to this topic than meets the eye. Here is a post on The Deco Stop from the current WKPP project director and here is a link to the thread.




I suppose I could spend the better part of the evening crafting a lengthy response and outlining in detail all the issues but a brief statement will have to do. For the record, I do not speak on behalf of the State of Florida nor do I influence resource management policy on behalf of the WKPP. The State determines the priorities and my take on the current situation is they are more concerned at the moment with increasing nitrate levels at Wakulla Springs and increased dark water days due to poor stormwater management north of the park. Both are having a measurable economic and environmental impact. Species are disappearing from the park and glass bottom boats are not running. While I can appreciate the opinion of the cave diving Florida tax payer I have not seen many at the recent Tallahassee and Wakulla townhall meetings (addressing threats to the springs) nor did I see a big turnout from the cave diving community at the recent Walk for Wakulla Springs. I also believe that given the current research (meters, dye tracing, modeling) and the budgets allocated to this research the State is going to take a long, hard look at anything that could potentially place this research and the long term outlook of the resource at risk. A double fatality in Emerald Sink similar to the Eagle's Nest event this past summer could effectively shut things down and that is a real concern to the State, FSU, DEP, FGS, NWFWMD, etc. Not too long ago the WKPP had to recover an open water diver from Emerald Sink after his buddy decided it was a good idea to trespass on private property and drop 160ft to the bottom in 10ft visibility. This type of accident could have severe consequences today.

For the record, the WKPP is basically neutral on the recreational proposal given the State's current priorities and the fact that the WKPP is non-recreational in nature. The WKPP has specific protocols for operating in these environments and most significantly exceed current agency training not to mention the WKPP maintains STRICT access controls within the project unlike other recreational or guided sites. The WKPP is also focused on facilitating the current research with the hope that actions taken based on the data will clear these systems up and allow the project to continue more than 15 years of work. At some point down the road I suspect they will develop a recreational access policy and allocate the necessary budgets to hire rangers, build parking areas, steps and monitor activity but unless they can get a handle on the current issues impacting the springs I don't believe there will be anything clear enough to dive.

Regards,
Casey McKinlay
Project Director
Woodville Karst Plain Project