Last year, Madison Blue Springs was crowned the best swimming hole in the United States by USA Today. Because of this, there is no doubt that traffic has increased at Madison Blue Springs and visitors from far and wide, along with loyal Madison County citizens, have come to enjoy all that Madison Blue Springs has to offer as summer approaches.
Because Madison Blue Springs has received increased popularity, there have been some proposed improvements by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). DEP's Florida Park Service is in the process of creating the Unit Management Plan for Madison Blue Springs State Park.
Citizens are invited to attend a public hearing on Thursday, June 9 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. to learn more about the proposed plans for the state park and to provide their comments. The hearing will be held at the Madison Senior Citizens Center, located at 1161 SW Harvey Greene Drive.
The following improvements are proposed for the Madison Blue Springs State Park management plan:
Reroute park entrance to provide better traffic flow and reduce hazards;
Remove restroom from entrance and reconstruct in upland picnic area;
Construct four new pavilions in picnic area;
Build a canoe/kayak launch;
Improve interpretation of natural communities on the nature trail;
Stabilize the spring-access path around the basin for safety and erosion control;
Add a ranger residence and relocate existing support facilities to upland.
Members of the public may review the public notice, agenda and draft plan at https://www.fldepnet.org/public-notices-access-view/8647. Copies may also be obtained by emailing Craig.Liney@dep.state.-fl.us or by calling (386) 362-2746. In addition to providing input at the public hearing, the public is invited to review and submit comments to the Division of Recreation and Parks at FL_StateParkPlanning@dep.state.fl.us until Friday, June 24.