FNPS comments on Gadsden County proposed land use change in Rhododendron chapmanii protection zone

FLORIDA NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY
PO Box 278
Melbourne, FL 32902-0278










July 10, 2024

Gadsen County Planning Commission
9 East Jefferson Street
Quincy, Florida 32353-1799

Subject: Mainline Contracting Small Scale Future Land Use Map Amendment (SSPA 2023-02) and Likelihood of Impacts to Chapman’s Rhododendron

Dear Gadsden County Planning Commission:

The Florida Native Plant Society is committed to the conservation of Florida’s native plants and native plant communities. The proposal to allow mining on the Mainline Contracting parcel may pose a very serious threat to one of Florida’s most imperiled and distinctive native plant species. Chapman’s Rhododendron (Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii) is listed as Endangered by both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Department of Agriculture due to its dire level of imperilment, which is partly a function of its extremely narrow geographic range.

The proposed change to Gadsden County’s Future Land Use Map would allow sand mining within a portion of the Hosford Chapman’s Rhododendron Protection Zone Florida Forever project area (Protection Zone). The Protection Zone land conservation project is intended to “preserve habitat for one of only two core populations of the uniquely rare Chapman’s Rhododendron, a federally listed plant that is endemic to only three Panhandle counties of Florida (Gulf, Gadsden and Liberty counties).” The project is designed to protect habitat for the species through the purchase of conservation easements, which would allow the land to remain in private ownership while accommodating economically viable land uses that simultaneously account for the conservation of Chapman’s Rhododendron.

The Florida Natural Areas Inventory has determined that Chapman’s Rhododendron is likely to be present at the site; however, the area has never been surveyed systematically to determine whether it is actually present. Very few occurrences of this narrowly distributed species remain, and protecting the few that do remain will be essential to preserving the species’ genetic

diversity and ensuring its future survival. The hydrologic impacts of sand mining, including especially any localized declines in groundwater levels, would be especially damaging to any nearby occurrences of Chapman’s Rhododendron.



FNPS concedes we are entering the review process for this proposed land use change at a very late stage. We hope the Planning Commission will recognize the significance of the likely presence of Chapman’s Rhododendron on the subject parcel, and its value as a unique and distinctive symbol of Gadsden County’s natural heritage.

We appreciate your consideration of our concerns and are available to assist you in developing strategies to conserve Chapman’s Rhododendron in Gadsden County.

Sincerely,




Eugene Kelly, Chair of Policy and Legislation
Florida Native Plant Society


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