A controversial proposal to revamp some of Florida's state parks with lodging, pickleball courts and a golf course has been put on hold after protests from environmental groups.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the proposal, which was made public last week, won't be moving forward anytime soon.
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"This was something that was leaked, it was not approved by me, I never saw that. They're going back to the drawing board," DeSantis said when asked about the proposal at a news conference Wednesday. "A lot of that stuff was just half-baked, it was not ready for prime time and it was intentionally leaked out to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative."
The plan, dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” was announced in a news release from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Aug. 19. It called for adding lodges, cabins, pickleball, disc golf and golf at some parks.
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The plan for golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County was scrapped even before the governor’s statements Wednesday. The main proponent of the development, a nonprofit called Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, backed out of the plan over the weekend.
DeSantis' press secretary, Jeremy Redfern, had touted the proposal as a needed effort to expand recreational opportunities in the state.
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“Teddy Roosevelt believed that public parks were for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and we agree with him. No administration has done more than we have to conserve Florida’s natural resources, grow conservation lands, and keep our environment pristine," Redfern said in a statement to The Associated Press last week. "But it’s high time we made public lands more accessible to the public.”
But DeSantis, in breaking his public silence on the issue Wednesday, distanced himself from the proposal.
"Here's the thing, I'd rather not spend any money on this, right. If people don't want improvements then don't do it and so that'll be something that citizens can be able to do, they're not doing anything this year, they're gonna back and basically listen to folks," DeSantis said. "If there does need to be improvements, we're not gonna take away any green space, we have an existing footprint…If we do nothing then that's fine with me."
Hundreds of protestors gathered at state parks and at DEP headquarters in Tallahassee on Tuesday to voice their opposition to the plans. About 150 people gathered at a rally outside Honeymoon Island State Park along the central Gulf coast, where the plan envisioned pickleball courts to be constructed near its unspoiled white sand beaches. Many demonstrators carried signs with slogans such as "Save Don’t Pave" and "Parks Over Profit."
“We are grateful that the Governor heard Floridians and their convictions that the natural resources of state parks are top priority,” said Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida.
Two South Florida parks had been included in the plans. At Oleta River State Park in Miami-Dade, the plan was for 10 additional cabins south of existing cabins, four pickleball courts and a disc golf course. For Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Broward, four pickleball courts would be added on “underutilized paved area."
DeSantis touted his environmental record, which has included adding over a quarter of a million acres to conservation land.
"This was done intentionally, given to a very left-wing group to try to create a narrative that somehow the state parks are gonna become a big parking lot or something like that, that's obviously a phony narrative and was never true to begin with," DeSantis said.
