Big Cypress
by Kelly J Farrell
A 350-foot-tall communications tower is planned for Big Cypress National Preserve, with the Collier County Board of Commissioners set to review the proposal in a public hearing on March 25 at 9 am.
The National Park Service plans to demolish the existing communications tower at U.S. 41 and State Road 29 in Carnestown, located on federal land. In response, officials propose constructing a new 350-foot tower a few miles east at Ochopee Fire Station 66.
Photos by Kelly J Farrell: A sign in Big Cypress National Preserve at the proposed site of a 350-foot communications tower gives notice of public hearings. The Collier County Planning Commission approved the conditional use permit to construct a 350-foot communications tower in Ochopee during their meeting Feb 6 in Naples. The public is invited to comment at the Board of Collier County Commissioners meeting scheduled 9 am. Tuesday, March 25.
Several local and state government officials have said the new tower is needed for emergency services due to the federal government’s demolition of the old one.
David Shealy, of Skunk Ape Headquarters in Ochopee, questions whether the new tower is necessary given existing infrastructure. “Everyone supports emergency services, but they already have a tower at Carnestown,” he said.Several local and state government officials have said the new tower is needed for emergency services due to the federal government’s demolition of the old one.
David Shealy, of Skunk Ape Headquarters in Ochopee, questions whether the new tower is necessary given existing infrastructure. “Everyone supports emergency services, but they already have a tower at Carnestown,” he said.
The new tower is planned to be built adjacent to the Shealy family’s property, which includes ecotours and the Trail Lakes Campgrounds, as well as the roadside attraction voted No. 2 in America and No. 1 in Florida by USA Today readers—the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters.
Photos by Kelly J Farrell: Ochopee Fire Station 66, part of Greater Naples Fire Rescue, is the proposed site of a new 350-foot communications tower following National Park Service plans to demolish the existing tower at U.S. 41 and State Road 29 in Carnestown.
Shealy also pointed out that there is an existing tower at Monument Lake, as well as one in the center of Everglades City. “If the Park Service needs a tower for emergency services, I’m sure that they’re able to do that on their own land,” he said.
According to the National Association of REALTORS, such towers decrease property values by 7 to 8 percent.
Although the Shealys have not made that concern public, Jack Shealy, a musician and grandson of the Ochopee Fire Department’s founder, pointed out that the 1977 deed restricts the fire station land to fire protection uses.
The Shealys’ neighbors at the time, the Davisons, donated the property to the county in 1977 for the establishment of the Ochopee Fire Department. Jack Shealy’s grandfather of the same name, Jack Shealy, founded the department. He was a longtime volunteer and held fish fries as fundraisers, his grandson said.
“This conveyance is made for the purpose of providing property to be used for fire protection and associated uses, and if the premises fail to be used for such purposes, or are ever used for any other purpose, then the land shall immediately revert to the Grantor, her heirs or assigns,” signed Ester Davison, on the Warranty Deed, dated February 15, 1977.
Shealy started a petition on Change.org, which can be found by searching “tower” on the site. (Change.org/p/stop-the-construction-of-the-350-foot-cell-tower-in-big-cypress-national-preserve).
In addition to legal concerns, many of the approximately 1,500 people who signed the petition cited environmental, health, and aesthetic issues. There are also concerns about the tower’s impact on migratory birds and other wildlife in the area and ecotourism.
County Attorney Derek Perry had advised the Collier County Planning Commission that it was legally sufficient to move forward with the tower’s construction on the Ochopee fire site, leading the Planning Board to approve the conditional use permit unanimously (8-0) on Feb 6.
