Cheryl/Emerald Sinks- Site Access

[johnnyrichards]

The time has come to make a concerted effort to obtain site access to Cheryl and Emerald Sinks located in Wakulla Springs State Park just south of Tallahassee. For the past several years these sites have been closed for access to all but divers involved with the WKPP.

Cheryl and Emerald were both privately owned for many years, but have now been incorporated within Wakulla Springs State Park. These state-owned sites were purchased through the use of public funds and are supported by your tax dollars.

A cooperative effort was made by GUE (Jarrod Jablonski), IANTD (Tom Mount), NACD (Johnny Richards), NSS-CDS (Ken Hill) and TDI (Larry Green) to obtain access to Cheryl and Emerald Sinks. Despite the best efforts of the agency representatives, Park Management has refused to respond to this request for access. Not only did the Site Access Proposal provide for diver qualification, it also proposed a system by which access fees would be paid to Wakulla Park to assist in financially supporting this Park.

Whether you are a resident of Florida or not, your tax dollars assist in supporting this State Park. Sales, gasoline, use and property taxes are paid by each of us- we should receive the benefit of our payment of taxes. The exclusion of all but a relatively small group of divers from a state-owned site is unconscionable. Can you imagine the reaction if Peacock State Park were closed to all divers except those involved in a claimed "scientific research project"?

If you are a Florida resident, please write your State Representative and State Senator with copies to Governor Bush's office and Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Ms. Colleen Castille, Secretary, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, M.S. 49, Tallahassee, Florida 32399. You may locate the name and address of your elected officials at www.myflorida.com.

If you are not a Florida resident, please send a letter to Governor Jeb Bush, PL 05, The Capitol, 400 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001 with a copy to Ms. Castille.

Sample letters may be found at the NACD website- www.safecavediving.com.

There is nothing that will benefit us as a group any more than access to more caves sites. The recent re-opening of Hart Springs is proof that this can be done.

The time for exclusive access to a select group under the guise of scientific research should now come to an end.

Let's get these caves open and go diving!!!!!!!

Johnny Richards

[Ken Hill]

For nearly two years there has been a concerted effort to get these sites open. Johnny Richards has taken the lead and has my trust and the backing of the sources I can muster to help him.

Please do your part. Do it politely and do it professionally. Have a happy and a safe New Year. /Ken

[Herbie]

any and all involved in opening Cheryl/Emerald sinks or any other caves for that matter. We should rally on this issue , its one of the few the majority of us can agree on. John has sounded the battle cry , CAVE DIVERS of the WORLD UNITE and take over.

[Caver95]

I am in tallahassee, someone give me a call, I would love to help.
Nick

[Moonfuzzy]

After reading the NACD website and one of the letters it seems like the groups have really decided to play hardball with the park manager.

Can someone explain why? What other alternatives have been looked at? What did the submitted proposal look like?

This seems like a good way for us to get on somebody's bad side, and stay there (especially if she is around for a while after the dust settles). I'd like to know more before sending off letters.

[bigbaldberg]

while having congenial dialogue with the managment sounds nice, it's not the only way to obtain one's goals. the state keeps grabing private lands and supossedly for public use. ask any of the homeowners in stiltsville. without a little bite behind our gentle barking , our desires will not be met by the 400 lb gorrila we call the government. eagles nest, for all intensive purposes, was easy to gain access to. the state has taken over almost ever whole in the ground near wakkula for public use. do we not have a right as american/taxpayers/citizen to use public recreational land for recreation? so much of the discussion on this forum seems to shy away from exercising one's rights under the law and simply excepting whatever the allmighty government allows us to do. in summary, IT'S OUR RIGHT TO USE PUBLIC LAND FOR RECREATION. DEMAND YOUR RIGHTS. DON'T BE A MALODOROUS VAGINAL DRIPPING

[Genesis]

How about some FOIAs asking for the meeting minutes and documentation that the "Florida Sunshine" law was complied with up to this point?

FOIAs are a simple matter of a few stamps and letters drafted in a specific format, and they compel a state agency to respond (truthfully as well.)

[bigbaldberg]

yes, the "freedom of information act" would probably apply, if minutes were kept. that would require people to exercise rights as citizens. go for it

[resolute]

After reading the NACD website and one of the letters it seems like the groups have really decided to play hardball with the park manager.

Can someone explain why? What other alternatives have been looked at? What did the submitted proposal look like?

This seems like a good way for us to get on somebody's bad side, and stay there (especially if she is around for a while after the dust settles). I'd like to know more before sending off letters.

Sounds to me like the park manager NEEDS to have hardball played with them (in a professional/above board manner), if other methods have been unfruitful. As long as I have been around, this has not been done (that I have seen or heard) - if enough heat is applied in the right places and in an effective manner, hopefully this person who is effectively a "logjam" can be minimized within the equation. After all they are in a position of accountablity to the patrons of the State Parks (not just one group) and responsiveness is part of their job and should be DEMANDED (in a professional manner). Everyone needs to take this seriously and be very persistant. How can things be or get any worse than they are now for THE MAJORITY OF QUALIFIED CAVE DIVERS in that area? Think about it that way! There is nothing to lose for the general cave diving public and everything to gain. It is only the ones who are currently in the system that have anything to lose and that is why they have contantly used the same overblown fear tactics in their dialogue for years with the appropriate parties who have only heard what they have wanted them to hear.

Remember to also urge any other friends and relatives of yours who are Florida residents to also make their voices heard (educate them..) - grass roots actions get results with issues like this.. and numbers will only help the movement to gain access.

JB

[johnnyrichards]

Casey McKinlay's response on another forum takes the position that there is nothing exclusive about the WKPP. Among other qualifications, referral by a current WKPP member is required of which "there are almost 100".

ALMOST ONE HUNDRED????!!!!!! So, out of the approximately 10,000 cave divers worldwide, "almost 100" have exclsuive access to these sites?

Yes, it is time to do something other than talk.

Johnny Richards