Dozens of teenage environmental activists in Florida are battling a county commission over its plan to loosen protections for ecologically fragile wetlands and hasten the pace of development.
The group has banded together in person and on social media to oppose the proposal by politicians in Manatee county. They say the proposal places greed for construction dollars above the need to protect native flora and fauna for future generations.
Many of the teenagers will be present in the commission chamber in Bradenton on Thursday morning, making a last-ditch plea for members to reject in a final vote the move to “amend” the minimum required buffer distance between wetlands and development from 50ft to just 15ft.
“I’ve been watching all the things that I love about our nature slowly disappearing, even just over the past five years,” said Brice Claypoole, 15, founder of the group Kids for Clean Water, and author with his 13-year-old sister Coco of a letter to the commission, signed by more than 100 tweens and teens, protesting the proposal.
“If I want to have these things around for my future in this county, if we want them for future generations, then we need to protect them now or there’s not going to be anything left.”
Claypoole plans to present to the commission a series of videos made by his fellow youth activists highlighting the environmental impact of shrinking buffer areas. One video features a Lego character extolling the water filtration benefits of wetlands, and quoting the Michael Jackson lyric: “If you want to make the world a better place, look at yourself and then make a change.”
The 10th grader believes the commission, consisting of self-declared “conservative Republicans”, will repeat the 6-1 margin of its first vote. He said the members at that August commission meeting listened to five hours of county residents and environmental experts speaking “100% against it” then voted to progress the measure anyway, against even the recommendation of its own planning committee.
But he said his group, a diverse coalition of young sailors, swimmers, paddle boarders, nature enthusiasts and lovers of the outdoors, is looking beyond Thursday.
“We’ll try to get people educated and to vote for commissioners who will serve the people rather than serving special interests, and who can make decisions with our community in mind rather than short-term profits,” he said.
“I very much hope the commissioners’ reckless disregard for public input throughout this process will help to get people out there to vote in real representatives.”
In a media statement, Manatee county insisted erosion of the wetlands buffer will not affect the environment or water quality, and the move was simply an effort to curb “overregulation” and bring the county into line with state standards, which recommends only a minimum 15ft buffer zone.
“The proposed amendment, if approved, would eliminate redundancy and duplication in the permitting of wetland impacts, and development near or around wetlands and surface water, which are already protected under existing state and federal regulations,” the statement said.
“By aligning with numerous other counties and municipalities in Florida, the board’s primary objective is to gain efficiency while still achieving the same environmental results, ultimately benefiting the taxpayers of Manatee county.”
The commission’s stance cuts no ice with Abbey Tyrna, the executive director Suncoast Waterkeeper, a non-profit group that has also campaigned against the wetlands buffer reduction.
“I’ve asked several times for all the information the commissioners had to make a decision and have not been given anything concrete, just things like ‘we’ll save money,’ or ‘there’s science to support the reduction,’” she said.
“Well, where will we save money? Because I don’t know. And where is the science, can you send it to me? Nothing like that has happened.”
Tyrna, a veteran researcher with a doctorate in the effects of development on wetlands, gave a detailed presentation to the August commission meeting about the harm that a reduced buffer would cause. She said she was disappointed the members appeared to disregard it, and testimony from others who pointed out that lax regulations contributed to the 2021 Piney Point environmental disaster in Manatee county, when millions of toxic wastewater leaked from an abandoned fertilizer plant.
But, she said, she was heartened by the activism of the teenagers, which she believes can reach beyond the arguments presented by adults.
“At first I didn’t recognize how impactful youths’ voices can be when speaking out on an issue, but now I’ve seen Brice in action, he is extremely impactful with his words and has been a terrific asset. It’s been great to watch him do what he feels so passionate about,” she said.
“We’re a charity and can’t engage in the politics of it, that’s not really our space, but Brice and the Kids for Clean Water can do that. It’s terrific they devote their free time trying to make our community a better place.”
This article was amended on 6 October 2023. Kids for Clean Water are opposing a county commission, not a city commission as the headline and story previously stated.
