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People vs. state for water access

By BARBARA BEHRENDT
Published February 18, 2007

HOMOSASSA SPRINGS - James "the Bridge Man" Fitzgerald strides proudly through the thick palmettos and palm tree woods, showing off the cleared path that he and his lawn mower have built.

He feels fortunate.

The land belongs to the people of the state of Florida, and he has had the privilege of working for more than a decade to keep the paths clear for Homosassa's residents to enjoy their access to the Homosassa River.

The thing is, the property isn't exactly his to care for.

It belongs to the Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park.

And it provides shoreline access to Homosassa's historic swimming hole, the Homosassa Blue Waters.

Now the state has stepped in to say that the Blue Waters is "not a suitable place to swim," according to a letter written last week by Donald V. Forgione, the Bureau of Parks District 2 chief.

The letter is just the latest message to Fitzgerald and the residents of Homosassa that accessing the Blue Waters is not permitted from traditional paths. Fences previously cut by area residents have been mended. New signs are telling people not to trespass.

Fitzgerald is hopping mad.

"I've lived here a long time. Ever since I can remember, ever since anyone can remember, that is the only place where people go to swim in Homosassa," Fitzgerald said.

"You can encourage them not to go in there, but you can't stop them. They'll just go through the fence, or they'll go over the fence.

"The more you tick a bunch of drunk rednecks off, the more damage you're going to have done."

Park manager Art Yerian has seen plenty of damage done, all right. Vandals have scrawled obscene messages on the bridge. The fence has been cut open.

After a party around Labor Day last year, Yerian examined the state property on the western side of the Fishbowl Drive bridge.

What he found was a trash heap of beer cans and bottles, broken glass, clothing, a metal chair and even an old futon.

Ten large bags of garbage were hauled out of the woods after that get-together. About the same time, Yerian's assistant manager, Robert Dampman, wrote Fitzgerald a letter asking him to stop maintaining the trails.

"When it first started to be in use, I expect it was kept reasonably clean and had only minor use," Dampman wrote. "However, now that the dumping has started, we are compelled to be better stewards of this property and ask that its use be discontinued."

The plan, Dampman said, is to allow the park's property on the west side of the bridge to "revert back to a natural state."

Standing on the west side of the property at the waterline late last week, Fitzgerald gazed at the uncleared wild side maintained across the Blue Waters by the state.

His side, he said, was cleared and made ready for swimmers, including a little concrete pad poured in the crook of some tree roots to allow young children to sit by the waterside.

"Our side of the bridge looks better than their side of the bridge," he said.

He knows the woods, he knows which trees were felled in which storms and he knows which tree serves as the "ladies room" for partygoers.

He shows off the far point of the property where a rope swing hangs over what serves during the winter season as a manatee sanctuary. In the water below, two small manatees are resting far out of reach of wetsuit-clad swimmers.

Fitzgerald lives directly across Fishbowl Drive from the state's property and the trail system he established. A trucker, he has over the years tried to pick up trash whenever the property hosted a big party.

He was gone last Labor Day weekend and never made it back to clean up before the state did.

"There must have been one hell of a party," he said.

People always park on his property to get to the river. They park anywhere to be able to get to the water, he said.

He doesn't mind. He even tells the children in the area to hide their bikes when they're back in the woods so no one will complain that they are trespassing.

Fitzgerald even tells people they are trespassing, "but everyone does it."

For him, it's a matter of principle.

"How do you get to the water?" he said. "You can't put your toe into the Homosassa River unless it's off your boat or off your property.

"What about the rest of us in Homosassa?"

But state park officials must deal with the realities of the situation. Locals are partying on their property, leaving it trashed afterward and opening the state up to plenty of liability.

"We haven't closed anything" that wasn't already protected park property, Yerian said. "That peninsula the park owns and folks have been cutting the fence, climbing in and trashing the area so bad. ... We had to stop it before someone gets hurt."

In Forgione's letter to Fitzgerald last week, he pointed out that the property doesn't have parking or restrooms, that people must brave crossing Fishbowl Drive to get to it, and that the litter and vandalism have been ongoing problems.

"Finally, in addition to the above, watercraft traffic in that portion of the river means it would not support a swimming area that is consistent with Florida State Park standards," he wrote.

Forgione also noted that it is the state's responsibility "to protect our visitors and the land and water we manage."

Fitzgerald asks, "What about the people that live here?"

He worries that no one seems to care that the time-honored tradition of the swimming hole at Blue Waters is fading.

"What's wrong with people?" he said. "I really wish we could just turn it around and go back in time."

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at 564-3621 or behrendt@sptimes.com.

[Last modified February 17, 2007, 18:13:06]