TALLAHASSEE — Environmental groups are opposing the possibility of more lodging, pickleball and golf courses in state parks. Late Wednesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection released information pointing to alleged “confusion” about the plan.
“Our efforts to improve public access, recreation and housing benefit everyone,” the department said as part of a series of online posts. “Public input is welcome and always appreciated.”
The plan, called the Great Outdoors Initiative, was announced Monday in a news release that offered few details but expressed a desire to expand public access to state parks. A day later, the department announced eight meetings that will be held simultaneously on Tuesday to review management plans for nine parks from Miami-Dade County to the Panhandle.
The plan could lead to new lodges, cabins, pickleball, disc golf and golf courses being built in parks. Groups such as 1000 Friends of Florida, Friends of the Everglades and Vote Water urged their members to contact lawmakers, Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials to oppose the plan.
As an example, they targeted the possibility of establishing a golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County.
“The Jonathan Dickinson plan – in our backyard – is among the dumbest ideas we have ever heard,” Vote Water said in an email. “The impacts on clean water could be immense; the impacts on wildlife habitat could be even worse.”
1000 Friends of Florida said state parks offer passive outdoor recreation opportunities, including “camping, hiking, bird watching and canoeing.”
“They are not competition for golf courses or other private recreational facilities that exist throughout the state,” said 1000 Friends of Florida.
In 2011, environmental groups and local residents successfully fought off a bill that would have allowed legendary golfer and golf course designer Jack Nicklaus to build courses in state parks. Jonathan Dickinson State Park was one of the targets.
The department’s contributions on Wednesday evening addressed the plans for each individual park:
— Regarding Jonathan Dickinson State Park, the agency said: “We are considering adding golf to the park – one of the most popular sports in our country – in a way that minimizes impacts on habitat and utilizes already disturbed areas.”
The work would “utilize existing developed land” that would run alongside the Florida East Coast Railway, which runs through the park, to the park’s eastern boundary along U.S. 1.
“All facilities will be designed and developed in harmony with the surrounding natural environment and will meet or exceed DEP/University of Florida IFAS Best Management Practices or Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program standards,” the department said, citing the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and a program that certifies golf courses for environmental certifications.
— At Oleta River State Park in Miami-Dade County, ten additional cabins south of the existing cabins, four pickleball courts and a disc golf course are planned.
— Up to four pickleball courts are planned near a beach access at Honeymoon Island State Park in Pinellas County. A post from the agency said the area “has already been remodeled and could easily be converted into pickleball courts.”
— For Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County, “we are looking at ways to offer more overnight accommodations, similar to the popular Wakulla Springs Lodge and other lodges in national parks.” The goal is to go beyond camping and build a lodge with up to 350 rooms that would be located in “functional proximity to the beach access area.”
— “To provide visitors with another overnight option on the Emerald Coast,” the department’s plan for Camp Helen State Park in Bay County calls for 10 cabins and a “glamping” area. Glamping is essentially a combination of the words “glamorous” and “camping.”
— Four pickleball courts are to be built on an “underused paved area” at Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Broward County.
— At Grayton Beach State Park in Walton County, up to 10 cabins are planned within an existing cabin area that the department says is “constantly booked.”
— At Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, also in Walton County, plans include a lodge with up to 350 rooms southwest of an existing campground, four pickleball courts and a disc golf course in an “underused” area.
— Hillsborough River State Park in Hillsborough County would get a disc golf course and up to four pickleball courts, which would be located next to a swimming and bathhouse complex.
