ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A controversial proposal to exchange 600 acres of protected land in St. Johns County’s Guana Preserve for conservation land elsewhere has sparked strong opposition from local residents and environmental advocates.
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The proposed swap would transfer hundreds of acres near Ponte Vedra Beach to a developer in exchange for 3,000 acres of conservation land spread across four Florida counties.
“Like I’ve been punched in the gut,” Nicole Crosby said, president and co-founder of Save Guana, describing her reaction to learning about the proposal. Crosby’s organization has spent seven years fighting to preserve land in and around the preserve.
The current controversy extends beyond the immediate land swap proposal. Conservationists previously fought to protect 100 acres of private property known as the Outpost, which borders the preserve. According to land swap application documents, the developer seeking the exchange owns property adjacent to the preserve, potentially including the Outpost property that was sold several years ago.
“Conservation means conservation,” Crosby emphasized. “We were fighting for 100 acres of conservation land known as the Outpost. Now we’re fighting for the land surrounding it, that is the Guana Preserve.”
Many residents learned about the proposed exchange through social media and neighbors, with some expressing surprise at the scale of the potential changes to the preserved land.
Rachel, a local resident who frequents the preserve, voiced concerns about wildlife displacement.
“I’m really concerned about the wildlife, to be honest with you. That’s my biggest concern, just because it’s taking their habitat away,” she said. “We don’t have any green space basically left. So I would like to see it stay.”
Another resident, Gage, who recently learned about the proposal, stressed the importance of preservation.
“With as much development as there is... we’ve got to preserve as much as we can,” he said. “Guana is beautiful, as much nature as we got left here in a smaller area of Ponte Vedra, I got to preserve what we got.”
A state committee is scheduled to decide on the land swap request on Wednesday. While opposition to the proposal appears strong, the outcome remains uncertain.
Crosby expressed cautious optimism about the upcoming decision.
“I’m confident that the state will ultimately make the right decision. Although I don’t know if it will happen on Wednesday or if it will happen after Wednesday,” she said. “This whole proposal is so egregious that I simply cannot imagine that it would come to fruition.”
The proposal raises broader questions about conservation priorities in Florida, where rapid development continues to put pressure on remaining natural spaces. The decision could set a precedent for future conservation land exchanges throughout the state.
