ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — The future of 600 acres of preserved, natural land along the First Coast is up for debate.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection will consider a land swap – 3,000 acres of private land to be preserved in exchange for 600 acres of the Guana River Wildlife Management Area in St. Johns County to be developed.

“It’s just such a beautiful place to ride,” said Jackie Morrison before starting a bike ride at the preserve.

Morrison says she makes the long drive from Avondale to the Guana River Wildlife Management Area regularly to go on 20+ mile long bike rides.

Part of the appeal is being in nature, but it’s not the main reason she makes the trip.

“Out here, you don’t have any cars impeding you,” said Morrison. “You’re not getting in anyone’s way. It’s a whole lot safer.”

Morrison is concerned about what would happen to her cycling route if 600 of the preserves 11,000 acres are swapped to a developer.

“If you have an area out here that you can come ride your bike and be safe, that outweighs the other 3000 acres someplace else,” said Morrison.

The Upland LLC is offering the State of Florida about 3,000 acres of private land broken into four parcels in the swap.

They include roughly 1,400 acres in Lafayette County, 250 acres in Volusia County, 1,200 acres in Osceola County and 220 acres in St. Johns County.

In Upland’s proposal, it argues the replacement parcels will offer a wider range of optimal habitat for native wildlife and public recreational use with 411% more conservation land.

The LLC added the majority of the wetland habitats at Guana River Wildlife Management Area will be avoided.

“I was probably involved in the acquisition of more than a million and a quarter acres of conservation lands,” said Former General Counsel for the old Department of Natural Resources Henry Dean. “This ranks right up there near the top of what I would consider, pristine natural areas.”

Dean was one of the ones who sealed the deal for the old Department of Natural Resources to buy Guana River Preserve for $48 million back in 1984.

Forty years later, he’s hoping to see that land stay in tact.

“I was working with Florida Governor Bob Graham,” said Dean. “He told me one time he thought the Guana River Preserve was the crown jewel of conservation lands in the state of Florida.”

The Upland LLC’s plan for the land isn’t included in the swap proposal a committee will vote on next week.

A DEP committee will vote to give the proposal a positive or negative recommendation next week before it heads to the governor and his cabinet to take a final vote on it.