Golf and pickleball planned in Florida’s state parks
A new initiative could bring new developments to Florida’s state parks.
Fox – 13 News
Governor Ron DeSantis is putting his administration’s plans to build golf courses, pickleball courts and lodges in some state parks on hold, at least until next year.
At an event in Polk County on Wednesday, he said he has asked Department of Environmental Protection officials to revise the proposal, which was released last week and sparked a storm of bipartisan opposition.
“I didn’t approve it, I never saw it. They’re going back to the drawing board,” DeSantis told reporters. “I’d rather not spend any money on it. If people don’t want improvements, they won’t do it. This will be something the citizens can do.”
“They’re not going to do anything this year. They’re going to go back and basically listen to people.”
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a press release last week indicating that its Great Outdoors Initiative this year will include the creation of more “campsites, cabins and lodges” in the parks, as well as expanded “recreational opportunities” such as pickleball, golf, disc golf and paddleboarding.
But the following day, details of the proposal, which includes plans to build a 350-room lodge, 18-hole and 9-hole golf courses and pickleball courts on the grounds of a state park, leaked out, sparking a storm of outrage across the political spectrum.
“A lot of it was half-baked and not prime-time. It was intentionally leaked to a left-wing group to create a narrative,” DeSantis said.
Leading Republicans, including U.S. Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, criticized the plan and spoke out against it. U.S. Representative Brian Mast said the plan would only be implemented “over my dead body.”
Democrats and environmental groups also sharply criticized the proposal. Protesters gathered in several national parks to demonstrate their disapproval.
DEP officials stressed that their proposal is aimed at expanding access to the parks, many of which are seeing increasing demand for overnight accommodations. On August 21, the DEP said on the social media site X that there was “A LOT of confusion” about its plan when it laid out the details at various parks.
The plans for Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County attracted the most attention and outrage.
“At Jonathan Dickinson State Park, we are considering adding golf to the park—one of our nation’s most popular sports—in a way that minimizes impacts to habitat and utilizes already disturbed areas,” the DEP said.
However, widespread opposition to the plans prompted the DEP to postpone public meetings about the changes in individual parks.
But on Sunday, a previously unknown charity, the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, said it had submitted the plan for the golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park but was withdrawing the proposal due to public protests.
The organization is incorporated in Delaware and has two registered lobbyists: Ryan Matthews, the former interim head of the DEP in 2017, and Joseph Salzverg. Both work at the law firm GrayRobinson.
The rest of the proposal is now on hold.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more details…
