The whistleblower warned of the state agency’s layoff of Florida’s state parks

James Gaddis had just returned home Saturday afternoon when he found the eviction letter on the doorstep of his townhouse.

A former two-year employee of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection told the Tampa Bay Times that he was the one who provided information about the state’s plans to build golf courses, 350-room hotels, trickball courts and more at nine state parks, from Among the two parks in the state, he revealed. Tampa Bay Area

The agency now appears to be firing him, according to a copy of the letter shared with The Times.

Gaddis, 41, who was employed by the agency as a surveyor, said his actions were not political and that there were two main reasons: the hasty cover-up behind the park plans and the widespread destruction of the environment. which will be created if they are completed.

“This was a blatant disregard for critical and globally endangered habitat in these parks,” Gaddis said in an interview Monday morning. Gaddis said he is tasked with preparing the proposed concept land use maps, which depict golf courses and other improvements. Two proposals were particularly impressive to him: the Jonathan Dickinson State Park Golf Course, and the 350-room hotel at Anastasia State Park.

“It was a complete bulldozing of all that habitat,” Gaddis said. He remembers his hand hovering over a computer mouse, shaking with anger and frustration as he was told to rush his plans out of senior leadership. The secrecy was completely confusing and very frustrating. “No government organization should behave like this.”

According to Gaddis’ timeline, he was instructed at a Microsoft team meeting to begin working on rush proposals the week of July 29. The first map document he produced was dated August 1st. With increasing tensions in the office. In the park planning department, Gaddis began drafting a document outlining all plans for the parks by the weekend of August 17.

“The office was directed to relinquish/assume other duties and institute these reforms as soon as possible,” Gaddis wrote in his anonymous document. In his memo, he correctly warned that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection plans to schedule eight nearly simultaneous public hearings for Aug. 27. A few days later, on August 19, the document Gaddis says he wrote and other documents were shared with reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, which then broke the news of the proposed developments a day later.

Gaddis said the directive came directly from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, and that the governor’s deputy chief of staff, Cody Friel, was the liaison between Florida Department of Environmental Protection senior leadership and the governor’s office. Farrell and a spokeswoman for DeSantis did not respond to requests for comment.

The dismissal letter states: “Recently, the ministry became aware that you intentionally provided unauthorized and false information to the public. “At least one document was created, authored, and published by you without direction or permission.”

Gaddis is adamant that he worked alone and that no one else helped him. “I have taken responsibility for this alone,” he said.

He said the agency was able to trace the source of his document back to him, and he told a Florida Department of Environmental Protection lawyer last week that he prepared the document on a work laptop. He also told The Times that he produced the document while at home from his dining room table outside of work hours. Gaddis said as of Monday morning he was still working to get an attorney.

A state employee database showed Gaddis was first hired as a full-time state employee in 2012. He started with the Florida Department of Health Care Agency that year, but was transferred to the Environmental Agency in 2022, Gaddis said. His full-time salary is roughly $49,300, state data shows.

According to the dismissal letter, the state is firing Gaddis for “conduct unbecoming a public servant, violation of law or departmental rules, negligence and misconduct.” This letter refers to Florida’s state employment laws.

DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday that the Florida Department of Environmental Conservation is “going back to the drawing board” on state park plans and nothing else will happen for the rest of the year.

In his leaked memo, Gaddis said his office must submit all the documents to the panel of appointees who will vote on the land changes, Board of Reclamation and Reclamation in time for its presumptive approval in September. The agenda for the group’s Sept. 12 meeting does not indicate that state parks will be discussed. The agenda also says nothing about the secret land swap, first reported by the Times, that would trade more than 300 acres of state forest land to a Hernando County golf course company. This agreement still needs to be approved by the council.

Gaddis, single with an 11-year-old daughter, has set up a GoFundMe while she looks for a new job. As of Tuesday morning, the campaign had raised more than $26,000.

In the dismissal letter given to Gaddis, it is said that the information he gave to the public was false. But Gaddis not only correctly predicted that his agency would try to fast-track public hearings, but also correctly outlined proposed changes to nine state parks that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection confirmed in social media posts days later. did

While Gov. DeSantis tried to distance himself from the plans, saying they were “half-baked,” his own spokespeople defended the proposals to reporters and online. Spokesman Jeremy Redfern previously told The Times it was “time to make public lands more accessible to the public,” and spokesman Brian Griffin wrote on social media that it was an “exciting new initiative.”

Additionally, Florida Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Alex Cochetta defended the plans in an email to The Times, saying the agency’s social media posts “pointed out inaccuracies” in the newspaper’s “narrative” (this post It was the first official confirmation. The Times report hours ago).

In a statement Monday night regarding Gaddis’ termination, Cochetta said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection does not comment on personnel matters.

The termination letter was signed by Mara Gambineri, deputy secretary of the agency’s Lands and Recreation Division.

Online, Gaddis is revered as a hero by state park enthusiasts and environmentalists alike, as links to his donation campaign spread across the Internet.

“Thank you for putting our state parks and all of the incredible species and habitats before yourself and your financial security,” wrote Jessica Namath, chair of the Tequesta Environmental Advisory Committee and leader of the online fight against golf course construction at Jonathan Dickinson. You gave.” State park

“You are a legend in my book,” he continued.