Protesters line State Road A1A on Saturday, May 17, 2025, near the site of the proposed land swap in St. Johns County. | Noah Hertz, Jacksonville Today
Published on May 19, 2025 at 9:10 pm
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After bipartisan opposition arose to a proposed land swap deal that could have led to the development of conservation land near Ponte Vedra, the state of Florida says the plan is off the table.
A state panel was set on Wednesday to discuss exchanging 600 acres of sensitive conservation land in the Guana Wildlife Management Area for 3,000 acres of conservation lands scattered across Florida.
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“The applicant has informed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection of its decision to withdraw its land exchange request,” a spokesperson for the department told Jacksonville Today Monday night.
In a letter to the state, a representative for Upland LLC, the private company that proposed the controversial land swap, cited “public sentiment resulting from misinformation” as the reason the company withdrew its proposal.
The plan would have given the state more conservation land, a representative for Upland wrote.
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“To be clear, there was never any intention to develop the acquired land for commercial or community development purposes,” an attorney wrote to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. “Rather, the swap would have resulted in additional acres for Florida land conservation.”
The proposal became public last week when the agenda for a state panel listed the land swap as an item up for discussion this week. Opposition was swift — from hundreds of people who came out to protest the plan this weekend all the way up to President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, a Northeast Florida native.
With little information about who was behind the proposal or what the mysterious Upland LLC wanted to do with the conservation land, concerns bubbled about the potential for a housing development or golf course on the conservation land.
The proposal said “a majority of the wetland habitats will be avoided to ensure they are under conservation in perpetuity” but offered little else in the way of details.
State Rep. Kim Kendall, R-St. Augustine, was set to announce a plan of attack against the proposal Tuesday morning alongside St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline, St. Augustine Beach Mayor Dylan Rumrell and others.
Audubon Florida celebrated the proposal’s withdrawal on social media Monday night.
“You spoke out for critical conservation land and THEY HEARD YOU,” a post on the group’s X page said.
The letter by Upland’s attorney to the state DEP indicates future land swap proposals aren’t out of the question, though.
“The applicant remains committed to preserving Florida’s natural habitat and supporting the state’s conservation efforts,” the statement reads. “In that regard, we look forward to continued conversations on the preferred method of preserving Florida’s conservation lands and how we may contribute to that critical goal.”
