UPDATE: 8.29 Florida State Parks are Safe. For now.

Your vocal support for our state parks worked! After eight days of public outrage, Governor DeSantis finally said Wednesday that a controversial proposal by his administration to develop golf courses, pickleball courts and hotels at state parks is “going back to the drawing board.”

This backtracking could not have been accomplished without the rapid and overwhelming response from the public, community groups, Florida businesses, and bipartisan unity from state elected officials who opposed these plans.

Thank you for your efforts! We will continue to watch and mak sure the Great Outdoors Initiative is completely dead.

Read more from the Associated Press here.

ACTION ALERT: 8.26 Florida State Parks are Under Attack

On August 20, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) announced the Great Outdoors Initiative, which would subject nine of our precious state parks to development of commercial hotels, golf courses, and sports fields and courts. FDEP planned to collect public comment on these plans for one hour at eight simultaneous meetings just one week later, on August 27. Then late in the day of August 23, FDEP announced that all of the previously scheduled public meetings were being postponed due to “overwhelming interest” in their plan. Don't let gopher tortoise borrows and scrub jay trees be replaced by golf courses and pickleball courts!

What you can do to protest:

1. Click Here and Sign the Sierra Club of Florida Petition
2. Complete the FDEP survey
3. Voice your opinion in writing and/or by calling:

• Governor (Ron DeSantis) 850-717-9337
• Secretary of FDEP (Shawn Hamilton) 850-245-2118
• Your representatives in the statehouse. Find your representative here. 

Below is more information from the LWV of Florida Natural Resources Committee

RE: Proposed Amendments to Unit Management Plans for Nine State Parks

The Florida League of Women Voters is very concerned about the nine proposed amendments to existing unit management plans for the following Florida State Parks:

1. Jonathan Dickinson State Park (Martin County)
2. Anastasia State Park (St. Johns County)
3. Topsail Hill Preserve State Park (Walton County)
4. Camp Helen State Park (Bay County)
5. Grayton Beach State Park (Walton County)
6. Hillsborough River State Park (Hillsborough County)
7. Honeymoon Island State Park (Pinellas County)
8. Dr. Von Mizell – Eula Johnson State Park (Broward County)
9. Oleta River State Park (Miami-Dade County)

These proposed changes to the state parks that are visited and enjoyed throughout Florida would tarnish the natural landscape that is increasingly rare in our state (see below). The “Real Florida” is not comprised of golf courses, resorts, and pickleball courts. The state parks are, in some places, the only remaining vestiges of Florida's unique and varied ecosystems.

State parks protect Florida's most scenic landscapes, safeguarding resources not only for wildlife, but also for water quality, fire protection, flood control, drinking water supply, and more. Often, they protect some of the last, best remaining examples of rare habitats and views left in our rapidly urbanizing state. Many of these parks are already operating at peak visitation within communities that have ample lodging, golf courses, and pickleball courts.

Florida already has more golf courses than any other state. Golf courses use large amounts of nutrients and pesticides as part of their regular maintenance which will only serve to further pollute the water in our state parks. Pickleball courts create a noise pollution that is disturbing, especially in pristine natural settings and will disturb wildlife and other visitors. Needless to say, we don’t need to add accommodations for hundreds of additional visitors within these state parks, many of which are used to capacity.

Information leaked from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) suggests that public meetings will fast-track development plans for golf courses, hotels, pickleball courts, and more on top of vulnerable habitat in these nine state parks across Florida.

We are requesting that these proposed amendments to the unit management plans be removed from consideration because they are incompatible with the very reason we support our state parks.

Proposed Florida State Parks Changes

While plans for these proposals are rumored to already be well developed, DEP has not yet responded to requests to make them public. Nevertheless, verbal reports characterize the proposals as including:

Jonathan Dickinson State Park (Martin County):
- An 18-hole and 9-hole golf course in the Atlantic Ridge scrub community east of the Brightline rail track, encompassing roughly 550 acres
- An 18-hole golf course in the Atlantic Ridge scrub west of the Brightline rail track, encompassing roughly 500 acres

Anastasia State Park (St. Johns County):
- A park lodge with up to 350 rooms in the maritime hammock
- A disc golf course in the maritime hammock
- Pickleball courts in the maritime hammock

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park (Walton County):
- A park lodge with up to 350 rooms
- A disc golf course in the scrubby flatwoods south of the cabin area
- Pickleball courts

Camp Helen State Park (Bay County):
- New cabins and glamping

Grayton Beach State Park (Walton County):
- A new restroom at the beach access area near the cabins
- 10 new cabins
- A disc golf course
- Pickleball courts

Hillsborough River State Park (Hillsborough County):
- A disc golf course
- Pickleball courts

Honeymoon Island State Park (Pinellas County):
- Pickleball courts

Dr. Von Mizell – Eula Johnson State Park (Broward County):
- Pickleball courts

Oleta River State Park (Miami-Dade County):
- Disc golf course
- Pickleball courts