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Controversy brews over Fort DeSoto Park film production
Tampa filmmaker Todd Wiseman Jr. has been shooting the limited series A Land Remembered in Hillsborough and Pasco counties for several weeks. A proposed move into Pinellas County, however, may have hit a snag.
A Land Remembered is an adaptation of the historical fiction by Patrick D. Smith, following three generations of the MacIvey family, who relocate from Georgia to homestead in the Florida wilderness. The book follows the MacIveys from the 1860s to the 1960s.
Filmmaker Todd Wiseman Jr. Photo provided.
Wiseman’s proposal for a Pinellas shoot was submitted March 28 to the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Film Commission. It asks permission to film on location at Fort DeSoto Park’s remote east beach in early May.
Scenes are for a flashback episode to the 16th century arrival of Florida’s earliest pioneers. “Supplies – grain, tools, and livestock – are off-loaded and staged as the settlers prepare to push inland into the wilderness,” reads the proposal. “Spanish soldiers and settlers ready themselves for the perilous journey just as a band of Calusa warriors strides into camp, setting the stage for a fierce struggle over who will claim this land.”
Cattle, oxen, horses and pigs will be introduced, as well as rough-hewn animal pens and small human domiciles.
When local environmentalists caught wind of the Fort DeSoto proposal, they cried foul.
“We cannot have a hoof running on this beach,” said Lorraine Margeson, a longtime environmental activist and shorebird nesting monitor. “There’s no way to do this without having some sort of environmental impact.
“Sea turtle nesting season starts May 1. Guess what? You’re going to need an FDE (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) permit to do anything at Fort DeSoto Park.
“We’re going to flood the County Commission with emails, so whatever little thing he thinks he’s going to do is getting shut down. Because the parks can’t start doing this stuff.”
Wiseman said he’s extremely sensitive to environmental concerns. “I think people are jumping the gun a little bit,” he explained. “They just need to let me do the show. It’s going to be amazing, and absolutely not something that disrupts the environment.”
The company is currently shooting on a “homestead” constructed on a private ranch in Pasco. “There are several beach options,” Wiseman added, “because there are a lot of sensitivities this time of year. There’s nothing set in stone.”
A spokesman for the Film Commission would only confirm that the proposal was “under review.” A meeting between the filmmakers, park representatives and environmentalists is scheduled for Monday.
A Land Remembered is financed with a $500,000 state grant, along with a matching grant from Visit Tampa, and other donors. Wiseman intends to complete the first season (four episodes) before shopping the project for distribution.
“If it’s going to disrupt things, we’re just not going to film there,” offered Wiseman. “Because our operation is so logistically focused, we have to have multiple inquiries open.
“If we film there, which I would love to, it will very minimally impactful.”
Fort DeSoto Park, he said, would benefit from its exposure in a TV series. “It’s harder to protect something that you don’t know about, that you can’t see. I think Fort DeSoto is an example of a place that has all this natural beauty that should be protected. And I think this would be in service of that.”
Not good enough, according to Margeson. “If he brings one horse running around the beach in there, one, two cattle, we’ll be screaming,” she said. “Because that is a pristine property.
“I just can’t believe that someone would come to the most popular park in the county … we are at the height of season. So we already have shorebird nests, all over the park. There’s not a place he can go where he might not trample a gopher tortoise burrow.”
Elizabeth Mann
April 14, 2026at8:53 am
I say full steam ahead get those cameras rolling!
This author has taken the time to throughly research Florida history and crafted what he learned into a powerful depiction of the land and the hearty pioneers that made it home.
Unfortunately not enough people are going to read and be moved by the ending lament to save what’s left of Florida’s undeveloped land. But tell this story in cinematic majesty and maybe it’ll provoke a much needed revolt to stop further development.
Have faith in the land it is resilient as long as you don’t pour concrete on it. And all of it creatures find the way home.
Mary Van
April 12, 2026at11:32 am
I agree. Beaches like Ft DeSoto are fragile and support many species. Loved the book but not this choice for filming, especially that more remote site.
Christian Sarver
April 12, 2026at7:08 am
The people complaining about this are probably the same ones that recently moved to Florida and are now part of the problem. Stop moving to Florida! You don’t even begin to understand this state but you’ll gladly destroy it. Land remembered is actually a true Florida book. If you moved here to escape your own crappy state maybe go to back and fix your crappy state 1st before ruining ours!
Lisa Grady
April 13, 2026at8:24 am
Amen!!! I personally know Todd and his family who are responsible native Floridians. Our family is still headed by our matriarch who is 99 years old and helped her Dad who brought the State of Florida herd to Bradenton to offload. She lived this scene !!! And guess what? There were turtles, and shorebirds and animals in a much more natural habitat THAT STILL EXIST! It’s not harming the environment the influx transplanted liberal tree huggers like yourself are what’s destroying our environment.
Todd, if this site has too many damn Yankees ruining the project just move along. Our aunts property down at Englewood is on a beach adjacent to Boca Grande. A developer bought their fishery and unfortunately clear cut a lot of this pristine property. But it’s still a traditional Florida habitat. The fishery that was there for many years is just across the water from little Pine Island that was also owned by her family. It would make a great site as it’s been vacant since they sold. Lots of room for shooting and cattle. Good luck w the damn Yankees.
Mona Hawkins
April 11, 2026at5:50 pm
He’ll probably end up shooting elsewhere. But I’m excited about this project! I loved the book.
Matthew Baldwin
April 13, 2026at8:46 am
I love this book. Change how I look at Florida. I love movies and telling stories is incredibly important. Especially Florida’s since people have no idea about how rich the history is here.
Whatever damage the horses do on the beach, it will be washed away in high tide. So the people making that opinion are wrong.
The only thing I didn’t like is the director saying “people will know about ft. De Soto”, he clearly has never went to FDS over the weekend in season. The line is 2 miles long.
I think I the perfect amount of people know about FDS. I’d love tos we this film made and love to see them figure it out.
Linwood Gilbert
April 11, 2026at5:18 pm
There are many places that allow horses on the beach. And cows and pigs. And they make hoof prints, then next high tide the prints are gone. The film makers can identify and keep them away from any bird nests, which are usually in the dunes, and turtles are not there yet. Let’s follow that family of 15 at their family reunion, with kids with shovels and buckets, and compare that damage to the horses. But go back to your latte, looking out the window of your condo, feeling you have saved the last vintage of nature from horses. Yes, it will have an impact. Everything does. But only for a few days.
Richard Courson
April 11, 2026at7:52 pm
Well said Linwood! Ditto.
Karen Garcia
April 11, 2026at4:45 pm
For the director to say there would be no adverse environmental impact seems disingenuous. He’s painting a very rosy picture of and displays a complete lack of knowledge about cattle and the destruction they cause. I understand why he would want to use the park, it’s stunning and unspoiled but I don’t think it should happen.
timothy kerrison
April 11, 2026at3:17 pm
If AI is so great let him use that to make his movie!
Beth Reynolds
April 11, 2026at1:48 pm
The film maker clearly does not understand that Fort DeSoto does not need anyone else to know about it. It is insanely busy, full of people. Shorebirds are nesting, sea turtles will be onshore soon, last thing this park needs is the disruption of large animals destroying the beach.
will zook
April 11, 2026at1:15 pm
I agree . This is not the place for hogs horses and who knows what else to be running around . Im an animal lover myself , born and raised on a farm . I visit here once and year and dearly love it here . Really think this would be a bad idea