The DeSantis administration has proposed introducing golf courses, pickleball courts, and large-scale hotels in several state parks, prompting local opposition. A petition against a golf complex at Jonathan Dickinson State Park has already garnered over 60,000 signatures.
The Department of Environmental Protection has listed the parks included in the proposal: Anastasia State Park, Camp Helen State Park, Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, Grayton Beach State Park, Hillsborough River State Park, Honeymoon Island State Park, and Jonathan Dickinson State Park. The proposed developments include facilities like 350-room hotels and golf complexes.
According to an article published by My Journal Courier, Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, emphasized the importance of state parks, stating, “State parks are the last strongholds for wildlife in rapidly urbanizing communities in Florida.”
She also highlighted their significance for wildlife and as places where people can experience Florida’s natural heritage. “The solution is not to try to cram as many people into a park as we can ….The solution is to create more state parks,” Wraithmel explained.
The DeSantis administration defends the plan as a way to enhance public access to these lands. Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Governor DeSantis, said, “Teddy Roosevelt believed that public parks were for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and we agree with him. But it’s high time we made public lands more accessible to the public.”
Eric Draper, a former head of the Florida Park Service, highlighted the unique value of parks like Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, emphasizing it as one of the last undeveloped stretches of Florida’s Gulf Coast, where visitors can experience miles of unspoiled beaches.
“You can stand on the beach, you look right, you look left, and you just see a lot of condos and developments and houses. But this is one place that you can stand and look for three miles and not see any development,” Draper explained.
