TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A bill to restrict Florida from building sports facilities and large lodges on state parks is now a law.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 209 Thursday, which the state legislature passed unanimously.

The uproar came last year after the Florida Department of Environmental Protection issued a news release about the “Great Outdoors Initiative” and later used social media posts to briefly outline plans for nine parks.

Perhaps the biggest target of opponents was a proposal to add three golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County, which is in Harrell’s district. Other parts of the initiative that drew heavy criticism included proposals to construct lodges with up to 350 rooms at Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County and Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Walton County.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration paused the proposal after the uproar, but State Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, and Rep. John Snyder, R-Stuart, filed bills to block the possibility of such development in the future.

“I think we were all dismayed last summer when suddenly out of nowhere these plans were revealed to pave over our state parks with pickleball courts and golf courses and hotels and lodges,” Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, said at one committee meeting. “You (Harrell) are right when you say that is not the purpose of our state parks.”

Instead, state officials will be required to focus on “conservation-based recreational uses” in state parks and preserves, such as camping, cycling, hiking, birding, fishing, or nature study.

The law allows for the construction of cabins with maximum capacities of six people at state parks, rather than hotels and lodges.

It also requires state officials to provide a report to the governor and the legislature regarding parks with amenities or areas that need upgrades or repairs, along with detailed spending at the parks and plans to address any specific needs.

That report is due by Dec. 1.

The new law itself takes effect July 1.

Information from News Service of Florida was used in this report.

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Sports Business Journal announced tonight that the Florida Panthers have been named ‘Sports Team of the Year’ at the 18th Annual Sports Business Awards in New York City. This award was judged from an eligibility period of March 1, 2024 through Feb. 28, 2025.

The Sports Business Awards celebrate excellence in the business of sports and factor all facets of the team’s operations both on and off the ice. The Panthers were nominated for ‘Team of the Year’ in 2023, with tonight’s recognition marking the first win for the organization. The other nominees for Sports Team of the Year were the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA), Indiana Fever (WNBA), Inter Miami CF (MLS), Los Angeles Dodgers (MLB), USA Gymnastics & Washington Commanders (NFL).

“The Florida Panthers are honored to be named ‘Sports Team of the Year’, a humbling acknowledgement of how far our team has come under the passionate and steadfast leadership of the Viola family,” said Panthers President & CEO Matt Caldwell. “We are grateful to Sports Business Journal for this tremendous recognition that represents the unwavering and unified commitment of our players, coaches, staff members and ownership to success both on and off the ice.”

Off the ice, the Panthers sold out of season tickets for the first time in franchise history and generated a $125+ million impact on the local economy through the last two Stanley Cup Playoff runs. The club secured a new media rightsholder partnership with Scripps Sports increasing access to Panthers hockey to more than 2.6 million households for free, doubling viewership in the first year.

The organization amended and extended the Arena Operating Agreement for the County-owned facility Amerant Bank Arena committing to Broward County long-term, opened their new practice facility Baptist Health IcePlex and reopened a revitalized War Memorial Auditorium concert venue in Fort Lauderdale now operating four venues in Broward County from the Everglades to the beaches.

On the ice led, by President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito and Head Coach Paul Maurice, the Panthers won their first-ever Stanley Cup championship in their 30th anniversary season and have made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons, including back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances (2023 & 2024). Florida signed several significant players to long-term, cost-effective contract extensions throughout the year including defensemen Gustav Forsling and Dmitry Kulikov, and star forwards Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe and Anton Lundell and are currently competing in their third consecutive conference final.

For a full list of winners from the Sports Business Awards, please visit SportsBusinessJournal.com.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission is taking another step towards reinstating an annual black bear hunt.

The commission is meeting Wednesday, May 21, in Ocala to consider rules for a 23-day bear hunt in December and an annual hunt from October through December starting in 2026.

The goal is to remove 187 bears from an estimated population of 4,000.

Supporters hail the hunt as an opportunity for hunters to help with population control, while opponents say it’s unnecessary and inhumane.

The last black bear hunt happened in 2015, but was mired in controversy and shut down on the second day after 295 bears of the 320 limit had been killed.

The meeting comes weeks after an 89-year-old man and his dog were killed in a black bear attack in Jerome. It was the first fatal bear mauling on record in Florida.

FWC commissioners have moved the bear hunt up on the agenda, and discussion is taking place in the morning hours.

The FWC staff is currently doing a presentation on the hunt, the quota and the overall bear population.

Other cities in the southeastern United States — Alabama, Mississippi and Texas have viable bear populations where hunting is not allowed, FWC staff showed.

Other states with viable populations do allow hunting.

Fewer than 1% of Floridians have a hunting license to legally hunt any animal, and several public polls have shown that the hunt is wildly unpopular.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission chambers are full today, with dozens of people prepared to speak on the proposed bear hunt.

One side of the crowd is dressed in typical business and casual clothing while the other side is dressed in camouflage patterns.

Commissioners will take the first vote this afternoon on the bear hunt, which, if approved, would take place in December.

Public comment today is limited to two hours, although commissioners could restructure the agenda.

According to a draft proposal, the state would allow hunters to feed bears, kill them near the hand-outs, use packs of dogs and skip check stations.

Florida bear hunt permit cost

The proposal that will be considered in Ocala divides the state into seven “Bear Management Units” and declares any area with more than 200 bears a “Bear Harvest Zone” – there is no cap on how many bears can be taken from one BMU. 

Hunting permits would be issued through a random drawing and cost $100 for a Florida resident and $300 for anyone else; 187 permits would be issued this year. 

Bear encounters on the rise in Florida

Per FWC, nuisance bear calls climbed from 2,000 in 2016 to more than 6,000 in 2024.   

“As the bear population grows and development occurs, we are probably going to see more bears move into developed areas. So that’s one reason we want to try to manage bear population growth,” FWC’s director of hunting and game management Morgan Richardson said.

Florida’s saw first fatal bear attack on record in May 2025

An elderly man and his dog were killed in a black bear attack in the unincorporated Collier County community of Jerome, Florida, on May 5.

Witnesses called police when they saw a bear maul the man’s dog.

Robert Markel, 89, was found dead on the property, about 100 yards from the dog.

A necropsy of three bears killed by FWC near the scene found Markel’s partial remains in the body of a 263-pound male. Additionally, the bear’s DNA was found on Markel’s body, in his home and on the dog’s body.

Contributing: Amy Bennett Williams, Naples Daily News; James Call, Tallahassee Democrat