Riding a dream

Two Florida businessmen are proposing a $100-million white-water park on the former Cross Florida Barge Canal.

By JOSH ZIMMER

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 30, 2000

INGLIS -- David Jenkins, director of conservation and public policy for the American Canoe Association, is a frequent traveler to the wild mountain rivers of North Carolina and West Virginia.

A few years ago, the white-water aficionado noticed an amusing story about the status of his beloved hobby in the (very flat) state of Florida.

The topic "was a guy who put a waterfall in his back yard," he said. "That was the closest thing to white water you could find."

Suddenly, though, Jenkins is paying more attention to Florida. The reason comes down to two self-confident professionals from the Orlando area who are proposing a $100-million white-water park on the former Cross Florida Barge Canal.

Busch Gardens, Disney World and other amusement parks all offer glitzy, thrill-a-minute water rides. This proposal, combining a competition kayak run and a longer raft run, would imprint the more down-to-earth excitement of white-water sports on a state better known for beaches and swamps.

The developers, Chuluota biologist Steven Rich and Orlando kayak store owner Lawrence Rhodes, say the facility could attract 1-million visitors each year and generate $400-million to an area than includes the sleepy backwaters of Inglis and Yankeetown.

Some residents are profoundly worried about losing their peaceful community to mass tourism. They shared those sentiments at a lively, sometimes tense, public meeting last week in Inglis. In response, Rich and Rhodes promised to listen to their concerns but told residents they have found "the perfect place" for the park.

Rich and Rhodes, both 47, formed Rapid Pursuits Inc. in March to push the project. Although neither has ever developed a project themselves, they already are attracting widespread support and interest.

By a 5-2 vote last week, the state's Board of Trustees -- consisting of Gov. Jeb Bush and the elected Cabinet members -- gave the pair one year to show they could finance the $10-million competitive kayak run. If so, the trustees will consider leasing public greenways land for the project. The proposed site already is being considered as a possible venue for the 2012 Olympics by the Florida 2012 committee.

A $50-million raft run ending near the U.S. 19 bridge over the barge canal could follow, as well as another $40-million in site development for parking, bathrooms, a wastewater treatment plant and other infrastructure.

Other interests cannot hide their excitement at the prospect of a year-round facility for both competition and recreation. The Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Greenways and Trails, eager to show Bush and the Legislature it can make public lands pay for themselves, strongly endorsed the concept before the Board of Trustees.

The white-water sport industry is frothing at the possibilities for higher sales and better training.

Jim McFarlane, owner of McFarlane's Hi-Tech Hi-Touch Systems in Spring Hill, sells kayaks and runs tours to North Carolina. The presence of a year-round white-water facility would increase business 50 to 60 times, he cooly predicted last week.

Competitive kayakers must spend much of the year training in South America, McFarlane and others said. One of the main U.S. training sites, the Ocoee Whitewater Center in Tennessee, is open infrequently throughout the year and often depends on water releases from dams controlled by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

"It would be great to have a warm weather . . . training facility," said Jenkins, who also predicted flocks of visitors. "We have people who drive into the mountains of North Carolina several times every year just to find some white water. Those places, once you get into October and November, it gets too cold for most people."

The Nantahala River in North Carolina is reliably bone-chilling, he said. "It could be 90 degrees outside and that water will still be 55."

The way Rich and Rhodes tell the story, their ambitions grew exponentially from casual talk into full-fledged brainstorming.

It started in Rhodes' Casselberry kayak shop, where Rich is a customer, Rhodes said after the Inglis meeting. Both remarked on the absence of local white water while man-made kayaking facilities were opening up in such disparate places as Ireland and Colorado.

The American Canoe Association reports that man-made runs are in place or under construction in South Bend, Ind.; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Golden, Colo.; and Austin, Texas. They began exploring possible locations.

A high-ranking DEP land management official, Bob Ballard, agreed to meet them last year at the barge canal in an encouraging display of interest, Rhodes said. A couple of months later they formed their company.

Alongside Rich, Rhodes plays the enthusiastic pitchman. Rich is the details man who wears the embattled look of the environmental activist he is reputed to be.

Rhodes could not be reached for comment on this story. Rich has anxiously put himself and his reputation before the firing squads of public opinion. DEP wants eco-tourism along the 80,000-acre greenway, and he says he is the ideal person for the pitch.

In the past, Rich has managed environmental mitigation projects for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. He currently runs a business that seeks suitable buyers of private land near public preservation areas. The business appeals to developers who must offset the effect of their projects, he said.

In addition, Rich said he continues to devote himself to local environmental causes near Orlando, such as the protection of Lake Jesup and the Econlockhatchee River.

"I'm basically an eco-terrorist," he told a crowd of 100 people in Inglis. "The reason they don't like me is I like bugs and critters. The last thing I would want to do is trash somebody's back yard."

Environmentalists from that area consider Rich a dedicated, successful advocate.

"Steve has given a lot of his time without compensation," and never backed down, said Carolyn Height of the Sierra Club. He was instrumental in convincing the St. Johns Water Management District from de-listing the Lake Jesup basin as a protected area, spending hours at administrative hearings.

"It's a really good thing for Jesup," she said.

Although Rich may have the green credentials, not every environmentalist is convinced the project is a good idea.

The 500-acre property that may someday attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to this sleepy backwater sits on important Florida Black Bear habitat, according to Mary Barnwell, a land management specialist for the Southwest Florida Water Management District. Barnwell, who is working on a long-term recovery plan for the animal, said evidence suggests bears would travel between the Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge and Goethe State Forest near Dunnellon.

She expressed those concerns in a letter last week to Office of Greenways and Trails director Debbie Parrish. The Florida black bear is a state threatened species.

"The key is we're trying to get bears to move along the Withlacoochee River; we're trying to get them across the barge canal," Barnwell said. "I guess we're trying to restore connections. Putting in things like the white-water park, you're actually creating more gaps."

Others doubt that area of the barge canal is central to the bear's survival. The more logical corridor for the animals would be along the west coast where tens of thousands of acres from Hernando County north already are set aside for conservation, said greenways land management specialist Mickey Thomason.

The fact is, he said, even the coastal area in Citrus is fragmented with active mines and private lands.

"You have a lot of things impeding besides the white-water project," said Thomason, who cited figures showing revenues cover only one-fourth of the division's expenses. "A white-water facility is actually a lot more compatible than some other things done in the past. We've generally gotten direction from the governor's office and the Legislature to try to generate revenues to offset our costs . . . to the extent we can without damaging the resources."

Even project enthusiasts are anxious to see where Rapid Pursuits gets the money. The project got a major boost from the Board of Trustees last year, despite opposition from Bush, who walked over to the conceptual map and criticized the proposal for not being more specific. Attorney General Bob Butterworth agreed.

But Rich said they were hamstrung until they could show potential investors a site. Individuals and companies with millions at their disposal are anxious to see the project succeed, he said.

State approval "was paramount," he said.

One possible investor Rich is willing to mention is Dagger Canoe Kayak Corp., a major equipment dealer and sponsor of Olympic paddling events. Regional sales representative Todd Bishop said he learned about the project while talking a while back with Rhodes, who is a customer.

"We're always really interested in stuff like this," Bishop said.

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