DeSantis says park plans need another look

Trying to quell a bipartisan uproar, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that “half-baked” plans to bring golf courses, resort-style lodges and pickleball courts to state parks will be revamped.

DeSantis said the Department of Environmental Protection will gather more public input before it could move forward with what is dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative.”

“Here’s the thing, I’d rather not spend any money on this, right?” DeSantis said during an appearance at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Operations Center in Winter Haven. “I mean, if people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it. And so, that’ll be something that citizens could be able to do.”

DeSantis added that he didn’t expect plans to advance this year from the department.

“They’re going to go back and basically listen to folks,” DeSantis said. “A lot of that stuff was just half-baked, and it was not ready for prime time when it was.”

Critics of the initiative were pleased, but cautious, about DeSantis’ statements.

Friends of the Everglades put out a news release saying, “Our state parks are safe — for now.”

“We won’t rest easy until the so-called Great Outdoors Initiative is completely dead,” said Eve Samples, executive director of Friends of the Everglades.

Vote Water, also among the environmental groups leading the charge against the proposal, said that, while the proposal hasn’t been completely halted, DeSantis “blinked.”

The uproar started after the department this month issued a news release announcing the 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.

DeSantis on Wednesday contended that plans were “leaked” to create a “narrative.”

“It was not approved by me,” DeSantis said. “I never saw that.”

The Department of Environmental Protection’s news release about the plans was titled, “DEP Announces 2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative to Increase Public Access, Recreation and Lodging at Florida State Parks.”

“Today’s announcement reinforces the DeSantis Administration’s record support for conserving our natural landscapes and commitment to ensuring every Floridian can visit and recreate at Florida’s state parks,” the news release, dated Aug. 19, said.

A series of meetings had been planned this week across the state. But they were postponed Friday after opposition grew quickly from environmental groups, residents and Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

State lawmakers in 2011 also briefly targeted Jonathan Dickinson State Park for a golf course before a similar uproar scuttled legislation.

Tuskegee Dunes Foundation, a little-known organization linked to the new Jonathan Dickinson golf proposal, announced over the weekend it was pulling its plans as “we did not understand the local community landscape and appreciate the clarity.”

The foundation, registered as a corporation in Delaware, lists an Oklahoma address shared with the non-profit veterans group Folds of Honor.

DeSantis met with Folds of Honor founder and CEO Dan Rooney on August 10 and said Wednesday the group could still consider rehabilitating an existing “rundown or abandoned” golf course in the region as a way to help military members and first responders.

DeSantis also defended the golf course proposal at Jonathan Dickinson, saying it was being “misrepresented” as taking away unsoiled land from the 11,500-acre park, which was once a military base.

“There were almost 1,000 buildings on that base back in the day. There’s still some of the remnants of it,” DeSantis said.

The Jonathan Dickinson land was used for secret radar training during World War II. Called Camp Murphy, the facility was closed in 1944, turned over to the state in 1947 and became a state park in 1950. Few aspects of the camp remain visible to park visitors.

Also drawing heavy bipartisan criticism were 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. The Topsail Hill plans also included four pickleball courts and a disc golf course in an “underutilized” area.

Additional cabins, pickleball courts or disc golf were also proposed for Oleta River State Park in Miami-Dade County, Honeymoon Island State Park in Pinellas County, Camp Helen State Park in Bay County, Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Broward County, Grayton Beach State Park in Walton County and Hillsborough River State Park in Hillsborough County.

WINK News contributed to this article. Watch our breaking coverage at noon with Claire Galt: