Who is responsible, you ask?

Let’s follow the money.

CREDIT: (This is a reprint from https://www.facebook.com/darkmoneymc )

On May 26, 2023, former SFWMD governing board member, Mitch Hutchcraft, closed an impressive $93,399,300 sale to Florida Power and Light (FPL) via his Tesoro Groves LTD Partnership. See attached document of the sale with Hutchcraft’s signature as VP of Tesoro Groves/ KR [King Ranch] FL Operations, LLC.

From my calculations per the county appraiser’s website map, the sale was for 16 parcels totaling just over 8,000 acres of agricultural land at 16800 SW Kanner Hwy in Indiantown.

And now we know why FPL spent so much money- they are expecting to make a helluva profit. Currently, 5722+/- acres of the purchased land is being planned as an AI center and already received unanimous approval of the first round of plans to rezone the property in February from the Indiantown Village Council. The final round of votes will be this Thursday, April 30th at 6:00 pm.

So why did such a large sale go under the radar without any announcements from local media? Perhaps they wanted to keep the public as ignorant for as long as possible so that we wouldn’t have time to fight back? Perhaps a conflict of interest or two?

We all know FPL is no stranger to allegations of conflicts of interest and well, neither is Mr. Hutchcraft.

Hutchcraft sat on the South Florida Water Management District governing board from May 2013 to March 2017 which has oversight on Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry, Glades, Highlands, Okeechobee, Osceola, and Polk Counties. SFWMD oversees many projects and developments having to do with FPL, as well as tax cuts like the one Hutchcraft voted for in 2016 that benefited FPL.

A report in July 2014 by Tampa Bay Times’ explained how Mitch Hutchcraft got appointed to the SFWMD governing board:

“A month after Gov. Rick Scott took a secret hunting trip to the King Ranch in Texas last year, he faced a big decision.

A seat had come open on the board that oversees Florida’s efforts on the multibillion-dollar project to repair damage to the Everglades caused by agriculture. To fill that position, Scott picked a corporate executive named Mitchel A. ‘Mitch’ Hutchcraft.

Hutchcraft’s major qualification for a seat on the board of South Florida Water Management District: He is the vice president in charge of the King Ranch’s Florida agricultural acreage.”

The Times went on, “Scott’s announcement of Hutchcraft’s appointment in March 2013 made no mention of what the governor’s staff called a fundraising trip the month before. Scott’s trip wasn’t listed anywhere on his official calendar, nor is there any mention of King Ranch donations from that period in his campaign finance reports.

Aside from Rick Scott, it was also reported, “Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and several current and former leaders of the Florida House took secret trips to the famed Texas ranch that were financed, at least in part, by the sugar industry. Those confirming that they went refused to provide details about the trips.”

Link to article will be posted in comment section.

I find it interesting that the second part of the Tesoro Groves property that is not up for rezoning this Thursday (and thus avoids most scrutiny) abuts a similarly large property owned by none other than Florida Crystals under their shell company, St. Lucie River Land Company (LTD).

According to the Martin County Supervisor of Elections site under committee information, the “Your Friends & Neighbors in Martin

County PAC” received a contribution of $10,000 from Consolidated Citrus (Hutchcraft & Co.) on August 8, 2008 and Florida Crystals also made two separate contributions of $15,000 each under their St. Lucie River Land Company, Ltd. shell company the same month. Perhaps a coincidence or were they planting a seed?

THE MAN BEHIND THE PLAN

Mitch Hutchcraft’s Linkedin profile says that his King Ranch position put him in charge of “land acquisition, protection of assets from changing regulations, long term value enhancement of real estate assets, public policy, and operational enhancement through real estate projects.”

See attached documentation from year 2016 that shows Hutchcraft was the Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee for SFWMD as well as the Vice Chair of SFWMD Project and Lands Committee during his tenure of 2013-2017.

TCPalm reported in January 2016 about a dubious tax break that FPL and other large corporations received from the SFWMD while Hutchcraft was on the board:

“The state was poised to collect $21 million without raising taxes, money that could have restored the Everglades and Indian River Lagoon. Then the South Florida Water Management District board unexpectedly reversed its decision, the agency’s top two executives resigned and Gov. Rick Scott’s former chief attorney took over.

The dramatic change raised a question: Who had the most to gain financially?”

Well, “the South Florida Water Management District’s 15 top taxpayers, for example, will save a combined $1.2 million annually, according to a Treasure Coast Newspapers investigation. The biggest winner is Florida Power & Light Co., which will save an estimated $531,550 annually.”

TCPalm noted that Rick Scott “appointed all nine of the water district’s board members. Five of the six who initially voted to maintain the tax rate later flipped and agreed to cut it 7.6 percent to $35.51 for every $100,000 in valuation.

One of them was Kevin Powers, Martin and St. Lucie counties’ representative, who made the original motion to maintain the tax rate. Powers said no companies lobbied him, but would not say whether Scott was involved in the tax cut or administrative changes.”

And “when asked why he changed his vote, Mitch Hutchcraft said his position was the same, he ‘just changed the route’ on how the district gets funding. He said he wants the state to pay for projects that are priorities for the whole state, not just the South Florida district.”

Link to article will be posted in the comment section.

Mitch Hutchcraft’s presence was noted by TreasureCoast.com during the January 6, 2017 Martin County Legislative Delegation Meeting, where two local bills were introduced. “Both Hobe Sound and Indiantown were represented to request that they be incorporated. If both bills pass then voters in each town can vote in November to incorporate.” We all know how that turned out and in favor of whom.

Alas, TreasureCoast noted, “interesting person in the back of the room was Mitch Hutchcraft. Mr Hutchcraft is the Vice President of Kings Ranch and also on the governing board of SFWMD.

He is the person with the plaid shirt. In fact I recognize all these faces from SFWMD. As soon as Mr Powers was done with his presentation they all left. Look at the body language!”

Also there in support of the incorporation, Brian Powers of Indiantown Realty (brother and business partner of Kevin Powers) was quoted, “There are things we can do better ourselves.”

See attached photos of them at the meeting. Link to that article will also be posted in the comment section.

Kevin Powers is a longtime buddy of Hutchcraft and served on the SFWMD alongside him for years. Powers was one of only two people noted by Hometown News that spoke in support at Indiantown’s last meeting for FP&L’s AI data center rezoning.

Hometown News mentioned, “Indiantown real estate broker Kevin Powers and Chamber of Commerce member Donna Carmen [sic] praised FP&L’s longtime partnership with the village and urged approval of the land use change, the council voted unanimously in favor.”

You might also recognize Donna Carman’s name as she was exposed by the Department of Justice in January of 2020 when they reported in their media release that, “beginning as early as August 21, 2014, Carman began siphoning funds from Indiantown Nonprofit Housing, Inc. (‘Indiantown’), a Florida not-for-profit corporation, for her own personal use, including repairs and upgrades made to a rental property she owned in Martin County, and unauthorized purchases on Indiantown’s American Express credit card.”

The DOJ further alleged, “as the Executive Director, Carman was authorized to use an American Express credit card bearing her name and issued to Indiantown for business-related purchases.”

“In total, Carman embezzled and converted to her own use at least $50,000.00 from Indiantown between January 2013 and September 2015” which she pled guilty to and received probation for.

Beware of people like this in the crowd supporting these kinds of corporate developments and projects.

Back to following the money with Tesoro Groves:

On February 16, 2018, FPL purchased the property at 20610 SW Farm Rd from Hutchcraft & Tesoro Groves LTD Partnership for $5.2 million which is the 37-acre parcel that sits across the street from their most recent 2023 purchase from Hutchcraft for $93 million.

That’s almost $100 million in sales just from FPL for Hutchcraft and Co. during a 5-year period. Impressive, yet not noted. Anywhere.

It would also be remiss not to mention Hutchcraft’s $25 million sale and development of Sunrise Grove f/k/a AgTec and the 2020 acquisition of the AgTec/Turner Groves property by SFWMD for $5 million, which they called “critical.” How convenient for their former board member who had only left just 3 years prior.

Hutchcraft’s Linkedin claims he left King Ranch for a “brief retirement” around June of 2024, around when he also started at ALICO Inc as Executive Vice President of Real Estate.

For those of you unfamiliar with ALICO, they own “approximately 54,500 acres of real estate located in seven counties throughout Florida” according to their website.

Also according to the website announcing their joining of forces in 2024, “for almost 8 years, Mr. Hutchcraft led King Ranch’s legal, entitlement, and strategic planning activities on the property now known as ‘Kingston’.

Under a strategic affiliation with a chosen developer, Kingston is a noteworthy real estate development that is expected to be built on more than 6,600 acres, including 3,330 acres of land designated for restoration or preservation as part of a comprehensive environmental strategy to improve connected habitat, wetland quality, and historic water flows.

That proposed development is expected to include 10,000 dwelling units, 240 hotel units, and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial use. Kingston is located along Corkscrew Road in Lee County, Florida and is near Alico’s Corkscrew Grove” in Collier county which was approved this morning by Collier County commissioners.

I find it coincidental Hutchcraft happened to oversee both Lee and Collier counties while he was on the SFWMD board. The SFWMD website listed the following Professional, Business and Service Affiliations for Hurchcraft’s governing board profile:

– Member, Lee County Local Planning Agency

– Member, Martin County Enterprise Zone Development Agency

– Former Member, Lee County Conservation Land Acquisition and Stewardship Advisory Committee

Many articles and Facebook posts/comments decry these 2 developments (Kingston and Corkscrew Grove) because they encroach on essential wildlife territory, specifically that of the critically endangered Florida panther.

According to the FWC website, out of the 18 documented panther deaths for the year of 2025, 7 were the result of vehicle collisions in Collier county and 1 was the result of a vehicle collision in Lee county. So far this year 3 out of 5 documented panther deaths have also been for result of vehicle collisions in Collier county.

Regarding the Kingston development in Lee County, WGCU News reported it “will be among the largest residential and commercial developments in Southwest Florida’s history at 10.3 square miles. That’s about the same size as eight of New York City’s Central Park.”

The Everglades Law Center provided a Litigation Update- Kingston on February 6, 2026:

“Today, Everglades Law Center, on behalf of the National Audubon Society (Audubon), filed a reply brief related to our request for a preliminary injunction in our challenge of the Kingston Project.

Just before the end of the year, on December 23, 2025, Audubon filed a motion seeking a preliminary injunction to temporarily stay the effectiveness of the issued permit while our litigation is pending. Our motion also requested a hearing to fully brief the court on the critical need for injunctive relief.

The developer began construction in late 2025 in the southernmost portion of the project site, an area directly adjacent to and upstream of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. A preliminary injunction would halt this construction during the course of the case. While not a permanent block of the project, this would prevent irreparable harm to the Sanctuary and the region’s ecosystems and wildlife while our case moves forward.

As of March 2026, ELC and Audubon are waiting for a ruling on our preliminary injunction motion.

Construction continues on the Kingston site, risking irreparable harm to the Sanctuary and the region. Regardless of the outcome of the preliminary injunction motion, we will continue fighting to protect and preserve South Florida’s ecosystems.”

Link to the update will be posted in the comment section.

The Kingston lawsuit alleges the development violates the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act.

According to Gulshore Businesses’ reporting,

“Keith Laakkonen, director of the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, said negative impacts already have been noticeable.

‘We are already seeing the effects to water and wildlife at Corkscrew,’ Laakkonen said in a prepared statement. ‘We are optimistic about our underlying challenge to the federal permits of the project, which continues to work its way through the court.

Audubon has enlisted the attorneys of the Everglades Law Center to challenge the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers issuance of a Clean Water Act permit for this poorly designed project.’”

See attached screenshot of today’s South Florida Wildlands Association post with caption:

“Some shots of the 1,500-acre Corkscrew Grove East site as it is right now – before the addition of 4,500 new homes, hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail and civic buildings, parking for about 9,000 vehicles (average is two per household), and 25 acres of multi-family homes.”

Other conflicts to ponder:

See attached documentation that shows Hutchcraft is part of the group that founded Martin Land and Water Stewardship, Inc. in April of 2015 while Hutchcraft was on the SFWMD governing board.

Martin Land and Water Stewardship is now known as One Martin, a local nonprofit of which Hutchcraft was a board member for years starting from its inception in 2015. FPL has been a sponsor of since at least 2019 and Martin County BOCC has also been a sponsor.

According to SAVE – Martin County, Florida’s reporting, “One Martin was taking money for events before One Martin technically existed.”

They only filed their DBA in September of 2022. Yet somehow the Martin County Board of County Commissioners and FPL were able to “sponsor” One Martin in 2019 when “they technically did not exist, at least not according to the Sunbiz or the Dept of Agriculture.”

One Martin is now a 501(c)(4) ‘social welfare’ organization. SAVE claims, “Their designation is questionable as they actively take positions on developments being proposed for approval and voice their support which is often in support of those who are their paying members.”

According to the One Martin website, “Mitch has previously served on the Indiantown Enterprise Zone Advisory Board” which was two years prior to his appointment by Rick Scott to the SFWMD in 2013. Around the same time, a Facebook post from AgTec in August of 2011 congratulates Hutchcraft on the appointment and states “so many great things are happening in Indiantown.”

How YOU can stand up for Indiantown this Thursday:

1. Show up to the meeting and make public comment, arrive before 6:00 pm to the Indiantown Village Hall Temporarily located at:

the Bob Souza Center – 15655 SW Osceola Street – Indiantown, FL 34956

2. Sign this petition:

https://www.change.org/…/protect-south-florida-s-water…

3. Share this post. Spread the word.