DeSantis admin wants to put golf courses, pickleball courts and more in Florida state parks

Florida’s environmental agency unveiled major development proposals at nine state parks Wednesday in a sweeping initiative that could redefine Gov. Ron DeSantis’ conservation record and put sensitive, already imperiled habitat further at risk.

The project ideas that may lead to the most severe habitat loss include a golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park on Florida’s Atlantic coast, which would require the removal of the iconic Hobe Mountain observation tower on protected scrub habitat and the homes of park staff members, among other park facilities, according to state documents.

The DeSantis administration also wants to build 350-room park lodges at both Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine and Topsail Hill Preserve State Park on Santa Rosa Beach, according to documents uploaded to the state’s website. The list goes on: The plans call for constructing up to four pickleball courts each at seven state parks, a disc golf course at five state parks and a suite of new cabins at three parks.

In Tampa Bay, plans call for up to four pickleball courts at both Honeymoon Island State Park and Hillsborough River State Park, with the addition of a disc golf course at the latter, the draft records show.

The state agency is giving the public six days to digest the park plans before it hosts simultaneous, apparently in-person-only meetings across the state. All meetings are scheduled for Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Agendas obtained by the Tampa Bay Times from the parks Tallahassee office are scarce in detail, but show there will be a brief presentation followed by a public comment period.

As word of the proposed plans spread late Tuesday, a firestorm of public outcry bubbled to the surface. Protesters stood outside of Jonathan Dickinson with “stop the golf courses” signs and environmental advocacy groups mobilized their audiences with email blasts, social media posts and videos.

Eric Draper, who served as the director of Florida’s state parks between 2017 and 2021, said it appears the state’s environmental agency is skirting the legal process and the parks system’s own internal operations manual for updating park management plans.

“This appears to be something that has been planned in secret, and it doesn’t appear to have involved the hundreds, if not thousands, of people who are volunteers in the parks, the citizen support organizations, or the many people who have been involved in helping to create and develop Florida’s award-winning park system,” Draper said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times.

Before the environmental agency formally introduced its proposed changes, staff should have convened a citizens advisory committee made up of other state agencies and people who are working at state parks, Draper said. That advisory committee should have then met and held a public hearing.

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“This seems like a process that is deliberately intended to avoid public participation. The whole spirit of the law is to encourage public participation,” Draper said.

What are the changes?

These are the proposed changes at nine Florida state parks, according to state documents:

• Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Public golf courses and other facilities, including the removal of the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower, an existing park entrance, staff residences and more.

A park lodge with 350-room capacity, up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

• Topsail Hill Preserve State Park

A park lodge with 350-room capacity, up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

Up to 10 cabins, a beach access restroom, up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

• Hillsborough River State Park

Up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

• Honeymoon Island State Park

Up to four pickleball courts.

Up to 10 cabins or glamping space, up to four pickleball courts, a disc golf course.

• Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park

Up to four pickleball courts.

Up to 10 cabins or a glamping area.

State to hold public meetings

Park staff at several locations that were contacted by the Times earlier in the week said they hadn’t heard of any proposed changes. When reached by phone Monday afternoon, for instance, the park manager at Honeymoon Island, Don Bergeron, said he hadn’t heard anything about pickleball courts and was unaware of any planned proposal to build them on Honeymoon Island State Park.

“It’s not going to have a pickleball court,” he said. Reached by phone again on Wednesday morning, after the state unveiled its plans, Bergeron said he had just learned of the proposal but didn’t want to comment further.

Florida state law says management plans for individual state parks need to be updated at least every 10 years, but a majority of the parks with proposed changes have up-to-date management plans. Two state parks, Honeymoon Island and Oleta River, had their management plans updated as recently as 2022, state records show. The state wants to build pickleball courts at both parks.

It’s not the first time there’s been a proposal to build a golf course in Jonathan Dickinson State Park. In 2011, lawmakers introduced legislation that would have let famed golfer Jack Nicklaus build golf courses in state parks. In a bill written by then-state Rep. Patrick Rooney Jr., Jonathan Dickinson was named as one of the parks required to get a course, the Times reported at the time. Public outcry led lawmakers to withdraw their plans a week after they were introduced.

DeSantis is well known in political circles to love golf and received a $28,000 golf simulator from a wealthy donor.

“State parks are supposed to be the real Florida. God help us if the real Florida becomes pickleball courts and golf courses,” said Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida. She said she’s heartened by the groundswell of support rallying behind opposition to the plan. “Those people are what makes living in Florida the amazing experience that it is.”

Below are the locations for each state park proposal meeting scheduled for Aug. 27:

• Hillsborough River State Park, Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Ave., Tampa, Community Room D
• Honeymoon Island State Park, The District, 11141 U.S. 19 N., Suite 204, Clearwater
• Oleta River State Park, Florida International University, Biscayne Bay campus, Kovens Conference Center, Room 114, 3000 NE 151 Street North, Miami.
• Jonathan Dickinson State Park, The Flagler of Stuart, 201 SW Flagler Ave., River Room, Stuart
• Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, Downtown Event Center, 416 NE First St., Fort Lauderdale, Lecture Hall, Building C, second floor (Enter at Main Entrance B — clearly marked on the outside of the building.)
• Anastasia State Park, First Coast Technical College, The Character Counts Conference Center, Building C, 2980 Collins Ave., St. Augustine
• Camp Helen State Park, Lyndell Conference Center, 423 Lyndell Lane, Panama City Beach
• Topsail Hill Preserve State Park and Grayton Beach State Park, Watercolor Inn & Resort, Watercolor LakeHouse, 34 Goldenrod Circle, Santa Rosa Beach