In the Spring of 2021 we learned that the University of South Florida had put out a request for information (RFI) to developers for their ideas for the land that includes the USF Forest Preserve and the university’s golf course.
But students, faculty and the community pushed back.
Eventually, a year ago, the new president of USF, Rhea Law, said “we have ended the RFI process” and an advisory committee recommended management for the preserve.
Now on WMNF’s Tuesday Cafe, we get an update to find out what’s happening a year later.
We spoke with Christian Brown with the group Save USF Forest Preserve. He’s a Ph.D. Candidate and a teaching assistant in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida.
Brown told WMNF the new USF administration has ushered in a “friendly era” for the USF Forest Preserve. But he still thinks that work needs to be done to protect the land for the future.
Advocates have formed a nonprofit called Friends of University Natural Areas.
Listen to this show here:
WMNF’s Tuesday Café
Tuesday Café airs weekly on WMNF beginning at 10:06 a.m. ET.
You can listen live on 88.5 FM in Tampa Bay, on wmnf.org or on the WMNF Community Radio app.
You can listen anytime on demand on wmnf.org or by subscribing to the Tuesday Café podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
