The Florida Department of Environmental Protection unveiled its “Great Outdoors Initiative” on Monday, and almost immediately faced fierce opposition.
The plan calls for adding amenities at several state parks, including an 18-hole golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Stuart, and facilities including pickleball courts, cabins, and disc golf at parks in South Florida.
Oleta River State Park in North Miami and Mizell-Johnson State Park in Dania Beach are on the list to receive what the state considers upgrades, but critics are saying when it comes to the parks, less is more. After all, the Florida state parks slogan is “The Real Florida,” and their mission is to preserve natural beauty for all citizens to enjoy.
“In all of Miami-Dade County, it probably has the largest old-growth mangrove forest, it’s a crown jewel of our park system in northern Dade county,” said environmental scientist Bill Precht about Oleta River.
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Precht said any loss of green space in the parks is a loss for everyone.
“I would love to see our state parks become greener spaces, because one thing is, that’s why people go to these state parks,” Precht said.
At Oleta River, a haven for kayaking and mountain bikers, a park that is packed every weekend, the plan would build pickleball courts, a disc golf course, and ten additional cabins.
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“I would say, this is fantastic,” responded cyclist Ivan Zamora when I asked him if he would prefer to leave things as they are.
“I think there’s a lot of space that’s unused that we can definitely use and I think it’ll be really beneficial because I see a lot of families come over here, so I think they’re gonna love to play pickleball and it’s becoming more popular now. Myself, I like to play pickleball, so I’ll check it out if they have that,” said frequent park user Ava Havia, making the point that there’s enough space at Oleta River for all the facilities to coexist.
“I haven’t seen the plans but it doesn’t seem like a good match,” Precht said.
The Department of Environmental Protection tweeted that at Oleta, their plan keeps up with increasing demand for more outdoor activities.
At Mizell-Johnson State Park, the unspoiled beach is the main attraction. The state’s plan would add pickleball courts to underutilized parking lots.
Mario Oliveira told us he comes to the park to get away from the city.
“I play tennis, I also play pickleball, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to build pickleball courts in the middle of a state park here,” Oliveira said.
The state says pickleball courts there will benefit locals and visitors. Craig Barr said he goes to that park almost every week to enjoy nature.
“Yeah, exactly, come here, sit on the beach, look at the beautiful trees and stuff, hang out by the water, and I don’t want to listen to people play pickleball all day, either, you know?” Barr said, adding that pickleball courts near the beach would wreck the atmosphere.
“Definitely ruins the vibe, vibe kill for sure,” Barr said.
There’s already bipartisan pushback to the current plan, with state senators Jason Pizzo and Kathleen Passidomo signaling their opposition.
The governor’s office released a statement saying no final decisions have been made, but the goal of the plan is to make public lands accessible to everyone.
The public can speak out at 3 p.m. next Tuesday, with information sessions scheduled for each state park mentioned in the plan at the same time.
The event for Oleta River State Park is at the Kovens Center at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus. The session for Mizell-Johnson State Park will be at the Downtown Event Center at 416 NE 1st Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.
