The Friends of Camp Helen State Park Board of Directors all have the same passion for protecting natural resources and wildlife, while also preserving the history of Lake Powell and Camp Helen State Park.
So, naturally, in February 2022, when they were contacted by the Ward Family, they jumped at the opportunity to meet with them and discuss ideas for purchasing land for conservation. The park manager was also included in the initial meeting.
The Wards had recently purchased a couple of parcels on the North side of Lake Powell between Watersound Origins and Wild Heron and planned on purchasing more if the Friends of Camp Helen would sponsor this project. With the park manager and park services on board to extend the boundaries of Camp Helen State Park to include this project, everyone eagerly agreed to dedicate any extra time and energy protecting the largest coastal dune lake in the Northern Hemisphere, Lake Powell.
After several conversations and lunch meetings, Courtney Harper, Executive Director formed a committee to have monthly meetings with the Wards on their progress.
By Spring of 2023 when the application for due to state lands, the Ward Family had purchased 17 parcels of land totaling 103 acres. Naming the project Lake Powell North, the Friends of Camp Helen submitted an intensive application to the Acquisition and Recreation Council for this project.
In June, Ms. Harper presented the project to the ARC in Tallahassee where it was unanimously voted through to the next round, which included a site survey.
The site survey was conducted in July. Several board members accompanied DEP on the site survey and several Lake Powell residents donated their time and gasoline to transport the participants to the property by boats.
The site survey revealed interesting facts about the natural resources and wildlife, including FNAI Category 2 & 3 Wetlands as well as boundaries within the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
The next step in the process included a regional hearing at St. Andrews State Park in August. Representatives from several environmental groups gave public testimony supporting this project. These speeches are on record and will be considered during the ranking.
Last week, the FOCH sent Courtney back to Tallahassee for one final presentation, where she aggressively pointed out the threat of development on Lake Powell and surrounding areas.
Once again, the ARC voted unanimously to move the Lake Powell North project forward and officially placed it on the Florida Forever List for State Funding.
Now that it is officially on the list for funding, the next step is the ranking meeting in December, where public testimony will be taken. Florida Forever Projects are ranked in order of priority by the ARC and receive funding in that order.
The FOCH and the Wards would like to see this project in the #1 ranking!
Once the FOCH meets again to discuss details and strategy, they will keep everyone updated and informed in the “Save Lake Powell” group on Facebook.
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Harper says, “It is so surreal to see this finally coming to fruition and we are extremely proud of the hard work, dedication and heart that has gone into moving Lake Powell North towards the finish line. We are also thankful to the Wards for fighting off the developers and not giving up.”
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