Biophilia Center says " Thanks" for the offer but "No Thanks"

I, too, hated the crawling bugs but agree the Biophilia Center is a great boon to the county and our local school system.

Wow! So the Biophelia Center is a boon to the county and the school system? For such a right wing county, a 50,000 acre subsidized "plantation" belonging to a super rich dude that generates no revenue and brings in no tourists, I can't figure that one out. And are our high school graduates so much more well educated than other kids in the country because of it? A bunch of folks are drinking some strange kool aid.

So now the Biophelia Center is looked upon as a necessary extension of the schools? I don't agree. As a parent I think we need some better teachers. We had some wonderful teachers a few years ago and now we have some new ones who, IMO, aren't making the cut. I got a pretty good education without the Biophelia Center.

So now the Biophelia Center is looked upon as a necessary extension of the schools? I don't agree. As a parent I think we need some better teachers. We had some wonderful teachers a few years ago and now we have some new ones who, IMO, aren't making the cut. I got a pretty good education without the Biophelia Center.

I say this only in jest... its Biophilia not Biophelia. Oh and all I did was googled it.

I don't think it is a necessary extension of the schools, but I do think it is a good educational resource to learn about native plants and animals.

I learned a lot from field trips when I was in school and continue to learn from them as an adult.

So now the Biophelia Center is looked upon as a necessary extension of the schools? I don't agree. As a parent I think we need some better teachers. We had some wonderful teachers a few years ago and now we have some new ones who, IMO, aren't making the cut. I got a pretty good education without the Biophelia Center.

I don't think anyone said biophilia is a necessary extension but many of us appreciate the additional education experience the center provides to our schools. Off campus learning, hands on and in a natural environment is very rare for students these days. I wish there was much more available to all grades at biophilia and also other opportunities to learn about environmental and other sciences.

I say this only in jest... its Biophilia not Biophelia. Oh and all I did was googled it.

I guess I didn't learn to spell in school. Maybe I didn't get such a good education.

Seriously - the Biophilia Center is awesome. SOme people are just opposed to everything. I bet the same people who poo poo are the same ones who want to stop government spending on everything and nothing at the same time.

Grow up people - not everything is a conspiracy. We have to protect and encourage the good stuff.

Maybe the plantation will get some BP money. You have to love it when billionaires beg for money.

I am in favor of animals and plants.

Sadly, I just discovered this thread.

It's a sad day when access to something as good as the Biophilia Center has to be curtailed. I've been there many times and found it an enriching experience every time.

I've got no problem whatsoever with it getting a tax break. We, as a county, recently voted to allow the BCC to grant tax breaks, at their own discretion, to private businesses that they think will help the local economy. Meanwhile conservation and education are a bad thing?

Biophilia Center = tax break for one very rich dude.

Biophilia Center = tax break for one very rich dude.

All depends on what the rich dude is doing with their good fortune. I kind of like the ones that use their good fortune to benefit others, instead of just benefiting themselves. So much better than the rich dudes parking their money outside of the US or or their US businesses using foreign manufacturing. At least this rich dude's tax break is a good thing for the Walton County kids, residents, and visitors. Can you make the same claim?

Mr. Davis has done a tremendous favor to the people of this county by creating an environment where they can go and learn about the native ecology. To turn that into a negative and then put him down for not "buy(ing) up some of that beachfront property" is incredibly asinine. To whom he did or did not donate HIS money too is neither here nor there on this issue. He owns the damn thing, bought with his "millions of dollars". If he chooses to run it, without the assistance of the local government, then who gives a damn. Designate away M.C.!!

Now let's have a standing O for Walton county's premier tree hugger. BTW, does he even live in Walton County?

Now let's have a standing O for Walton county's premier tree hugger. BTW, does he even live in Walton County?

Btw, are you a concerned citizen or just against trees?

Regardless of what happens with the Biophilia center in the future, I will always remember the wonderful staff and the amazing animals they introduced me to. Gopher Tortoise, snake, Mississippi Kite, an owl.....

I consider any money we've spent subsidising the center well spent. That is something I rarely say about TDC and county expenditures.

Are 50,000 acres of tax exempt, privately owned land really needed for such an "educational" facility?

Are 50,000 acres of tax exempt, privately owned land really needed for such an "educational" facility?

Yes! If it is preserved, then absolutely! Please visit their site to find out what their mission is and why: conservation, education, research and preservation/restoration, ecosystems, animals, nature trails, wide open spaces and natural environments for learning and so much more.. Fascinating project right here in our area. How fortunate are we? http://www.eowilsoncenter.org/about-us/

Here's a link to more on the conservation acreage itself: www.nokuse.org

The center is very cool and if kids can learn I'm all for it. Some adults are hopeless.

Getting away from the naysayers - they'll always be with us - does anybody know why the Biophilia Center turned down the county? Suspecting that there were strings attached...

Getting away from the naysayers - they'll always be with us - does anybody know why the Biophilia Center turned down the county? Suspecting that there were strings attached...

Public information requests were made of the Biophilia Center for its records on how the TDC funds were used. Principal for the Bio Center maintained it was not subject to the Public Records Act, then tried to exact a non-disclosure agreement. No records were produced. Then the letters from Biophilia withdrawing requests for TDC money were issued. Perhaps someone with authority thought doing so would obviate the statutory requirements for retention and disclosure. If so, that someone is mistaken. Perhaps there was another reason. You decide.

I will miss taking my kids and others to the Biophilia Center. I went with my daughter's class the first time, then started going when they opened to the public on weekends. The minimum staff to open the center is relatively large since the center and its grounds are so spacious, so while I imagine the TDC funds helped out considerably, they probably did not cover all the expenses. I doubt too that the exemption from property tax produces any revenue, since it is tax relief and not cash. I assume that Nokuse receives grants and other monies to cover the expenses of maintaining the acreage, buildings and other structures. The tax break is a but a token for the benefit given by the county, in return it benefits the people of the county, the state and the country.

Tax exemption for things preserved for the public good is meant to encourage exactly that, i.e. donors to preserve the land for the benefit of all. With such harsh criticism as I have read on this thread, I would be surprised if any future person in a position to give such a wonderful gift to the people of Walton County, would NOT do so after such a demonstration of ungratefulness. Which may give insight as to why Biophilia refused the funds and will no longer be an ecotourism destination.

No one made him set aside 50,000 acres. No one made him open it to the public. No one made him invite students to visit and learn. No one made him allow public hiking trails through his land. I do not really know much about the person that made these gifts. The person who could have sold off the land or stripped it of timber, or plowed it in to a golf course, to choose instead to tie up that valuable land into perpetual conservation. I do, however, know what my daughter and her class learned from their week spent there, and that is value beyond money. I also know that the weekends where I took friends and family there were special.


I am going to miss that place.

Very nice Bdarg!