State Park ideas withdrawn; input still needed on future plan

A state-wide Great Outdoors Initiative by Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which aims to add amenities like golf and pickleball to several Florida State Parks, does not affect our nearby state parks. 

At a press conference Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis pulled back from the proposals, which he called “half-baked and not ready for primetime,” and said that “doing nothing” was fine with him. 

“I’d rather not spend any money on this, so if people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it,” he said. One proposal that he said was intriguing a golf course project for Folds of Honor, the veteran charity. In that case, he suggested that groups interested in such projects take an existing “run-down and abandoned course” elsewhere.

“They are going back to listen to folks,” DeSantis said.

Local state parks include Stump Pass Beach, Don Pedro Island, Charlotte Harbor Preserve, Gasparilla Island and Cayo Costa. There are no plans for them as part of the scheme, which would increase the number of campsites, cabins and lodges at parks, as well as add pickleball, disc golf, golf and paddling. The closest parks that fall under the plan are Hillsborough River near Tampa and Honeymoon Island near Dunedin. Topsail Hill in the Panhandle would not only get pickleball and golf, but a 350-room lodge. 

Even before the formal comment period ended, some proposals, such as a golf course in Martin County atop a large dune overlooking Hobe Sound and Jupiter Island, have been withdrawn after protest.

Locally, Charlotte County Deputy County Administrator Emily Lewis serves as secretary of the Florida State Parks Foundation. She said that the Florida State Parks foundation has not taken an official position. The foundation, separate from the DEP, instead supports and raises money for the parks as a 501c3. They have put information on the website about the initiative, including contact information, in hopes that people from around the state will review the proposals and weigh in before the deadline for public comment on Sept. 2nd.

“We are trying to help encourage individuals to comment,” said Lewis.

The foundation website stated that it encouraged everyone who loves Florida’s state parks to participate in these public meetings, or to share their input via the DEP website or email.

The Great Outdoors Initiative came under an enormous bipartisan criticism, namely for its proposals for adding a golf course to Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, and a pickleball court to Honeymoon Island near Dunedin, although the former proposal has since been removed from the plan. In a release, the state said that the effort would “expand public access, increase outdoor activities and provide new lodging options across Florida’s state parks, reinforcing the state’s dedication to conservation, the outdoor recreation economy and a high quality of life for Floridians.”

The state has a separate capital wish list for its parks. On Gasparilla Island, recent efforts have included new bathrooms planned for the Sea Grape parking access area, and a beach renourishment effort at the south end of the island. The state also has a management plan, separate from Great Outdoors Initiative, that includes a comprehensive list of projects for dozens of parks, including historic building stabilization, exotic plant removal and interpretation and signage additions. These projects are quite non-controversial, and are more of a maintenance list.

Critics had worried about the list of projects, recalling a time during the governorship of Jeb Bush when he had sought to privatize state parks.

The state of Florida is one of the largest landowners in this region. Charlotte Harbor Preserve State Park, for example, includes 45,387 acres and 100 miles of shoreline.

Readers interested in the plans can review the proposal at the link: floridadep.gov/Parks/Public-Participation or visit the statement, with links to the public comment page, at floridastateparksfoundation.org