Letter to help prevent recreational diving @ Wakulla Springs State Park

[skip]

I don't know the woman personally, but she has a clear bias against divers. There is an attachment that went with that letter, and she mentions that it was fortunate in the past, that divers had been injured during slow park periods because the air ambulances would have disrupted park activities otherwise.... I'm paraphrasing, but not embellishing.....

It may be beneficial to talk with the woman in person, get her perspective and gently attempt a compromise with her. bringing opposition to your side, or at least putting a reasonable face on, goes a long way toward conflict resolution. Authorities are impressed when two factions reach an agreement/compromise.

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[SuPrBuGmAn]

Skip - there was cave diving representation at the Friends of Wakulla CSO meeting. Responses were negative, but atleast mostly polite it seems.

[Benderr]

Skip, someone else is handling that aspect of our project. From what I heard though, many folks on the other side are not willing to compromise, mostly because they feel like they don't have to compromise with us, or anyone else. It seems from my second-hand observations that they're not listening to our side (they HEAR what we say, but don't really LISTEN). There are some neutral folks sitting on the fence, and we ARE talking to them. There are some legitimate concerns, and I think everyone in the dive community are willing to compromise on those particular issues.

Honestly, I think we'll get more traction with state representatives, especially if we don't get into a "wetsuit warming" match with the other side. We want to respectfully set the bosses straight, without being negative towards the other group and we want to focus on how both groups can benefit from our (diver) inclusion. That's why the suggested form letter centers mostly on the economic impacts diving can bring to the table, as we don't need 100 different divers giving the state a lecture on trimix diving or manatee conservation.

That's why it's important to get other interested divers (and bulletin boards) involved in the letter writing. Every letter the State folks see, shows them that someone is interested in spending money at a state park, and ultimately, I think money will be what the decision will come down to.