State Rep. Lauren Melo wants you to know she loves wild Florida.

Growing up, the Naples Republican used to hunt quail and learned to drive a “three on the tree” gear shifter in the wide-open spaces. As she told the House Commerce Committee last week, she cherishes our state’s rural regions.

But she’s happy to pave over them for a buck.

Because Melo’s heartwarming paean to the countryside left out one key detail: She recently took $10,000 from one of the biggest landowners in Florida, a New York City investment firm that stands to profit immensely if Melo’s “Blue Ribbon Projects” bill, House Bill 299, is signed into law.

As reported earlier this year by Jason Garcia, firms linked to NYC investment firm Ruane Cunniff have purchased some 80,000 acres, “amassing giant tracts of largely rural land near Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Panama City.”

But if they want to develop that land, they need a little help. That’s where Melo and Sen. Stan McClain, sponsor of SB 354, the Senate’s “Blue Ribbon Projects” bill, come in.

Turns out one of those firms linked to Ruane Cunniff is called “Jax Palakta Farms LLC.” And Jax Palatka Farms just happened to give $10,000 to Melo’s “Friends of Lauren Melo” political action committee, and another $10,000 to McClain’s PAC, “Liberty for Florida.”

The donation to Melo’s PAC was received Nov. 3 — the same day she filed her legislation. What a coincidence! McClain filed his bill Nov. 4 and got his money Dec. 15.

For the record, Jax Palatka Farms also gave a generous $100,000 to Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and “invested” in a few other political causes as well, giving over $265,000 last year.

These are just a few drops in the “dirty money” tidal wave that engulfs Tallahassee each year, but we thought it was telling. “Blue Ribbon Projects” — developments of 10,000 acres and up that “conserve” 60 percent (perhaps by using it for tennis courts or retention ponds) — could be dropped almost anywhere. Local zoning rules and future land-use designations become irrelevant as long as a project checks the boxes laid out in the legislation. And meaningful public input is sidelined. Although the bill was amended to require two public hearings, county officials are obligated to approve any project that meets the statutory criteria — meaning the hearings are only for show.

Thing is, “Blue Ribbon Projects” are almost certainly going to destroy the wild Florida Melo supposedly cherishes. At the Commerce Committee hearing last week, Melo went on about how her rural district — District 82, comprising parts of Hendry and Collier counties — is seeing more and more gated communities and luxury condos, “which I don’t believe should be in my district.”

Where does she think these “Blue Ribbon Projects” are going to be built? Hint: There’s no room for them in Miami or Orlando or Jacksonville or the other built-up areas of Florida. The only place you find 10,000 acres or more of contiguous land is in places like Melo’s district.

And the traffic, the added pressure for additional development and more will change the very nature of those communities.

Melo is facing no challenge at the ballot box this year; no primary opponent, and as of now no one’s filed to run against her in the November general election.

Basically, she can do what she wants. But why she’d want to destroy something she supposedly cherishes is beyond us.