Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s pulling the plug on a state Department of Environmental Protection plan to build golf courses, hotels and other amenities in Florida’s much-loved state parks. The bipartisan outrage that greeted the plan could become legislation to prevent another such episode – and to move the parks forward.
Protests erupted across the state when the public learned of DEP’s plan.
“We’re here to send a clear message on behalf of the 30 million visitors to our state parks, Floridians, Republicans, Democrats, Independents and everyone in between, respectfully, to our governor and FDEP and the developers: ‘Keep your greedy, grubby hands out of our state parks,’” Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe told a cheering crowd in Tallahassee.
Twenty-four hours later, Gov. DeSantis disavowed DEP’s proposals at a press conference. “Here’s the thing: I’d rather not spend any money on this, right? I mean, if people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it.”
DeSantis says the plan was leaked to a "left-wing group." The story was broken by the Tampa Bay Times. DEP posted its plan online while announcing a public comment period for people to weigh in.
The protests occurred at the time DEP had initially designated as its public comment period-- between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Tuesday, August 27th. They would have been held at the same time at each of the nine affected parks, so that no one could speak at more than one. The move was blasted by state officeholders, with U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Stuart, calling it “absolutely ridiculous.” The collective outrage was as bipartisan a response as Florida has seen in years.
Audubon Florida Executive Director Julie Wraithmell says she wasn’t surprised.
“The environment has always been a bipartisan issue in Florida because the environment is our economy,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you’re on, nobody wants green water, and everyone wants a beautiful beach and abundant wildlife in our forests and recreational opportunities for our families and our children.”
Wraithmell also believes people on both sides of the aisle were troubled by the process.
“I could imagine being a decision-maker and being a little frustrated with the way that it rolled out, and not having some awareness personally before having to consider the proposals publicly,” she said.
Eric Draper was the director of Florida’s state parks for four years. He says DEP skirted the legal process for approving changes to the parks and that the rallies wouldn’t have happened otherwise. But now, he says, the outraged response could be the basis for more funding to address the backlog of needs in the parks.
“This is the only issue I can remember that united Republicans and Democrats and Independents,” Draper said. "No matter what your political beliefs are, you think this is a bad idea. And no matter what your political beliefs are, you love Florida parks, and you would agree that we should invest more in our state parks.”
For instance, Draper says Floridians should make sure park staffers are adequately paid and housed. He says some of those staffers live in substandard housing at the parks where they work.
“Florida state parks have a billion-dollar backlog of unfunded repairs,” he said.
Now Draper has taken his list to state Sen. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, whose district completely contains Jonathan Dickinson State Park–one of the parks where the state proposed altering the terrain to build golf courses. Harrell has strong ties to the park and says she’s grateful to everyone who raised a voice in its defense.
“But I was concerned that this might happen again, and that this outcry might not be enough to forestall it totally, completely,” she said. “So, I said, 'How do we make sure that this could not happen again?'”
Although others will be watching carefully to protect the parks, Harrell wants something in law.
“So, that’s what my mission is, to make sure we craft legislation, very carefully, to outline the function and purpose of a state park,” she said. “And for me, it is to preserve this natural environment, to preserve our historical sites for the future, for our grandchildren – I’ve got eight of them. I want them to come and enjoy it just like my kids did.”
While it isn’t yet clear what precipitated the state’s plans, the conservative outlet The Capitolist points to a law that went into effect July 1st. It allows proposals to skip the competitive bidding process. But Harrell says she doesn’t think the new law was a factor.
“We will look at it carefully as we craft legislation to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” she wrote in a text.
Harrell agrees with Draper that the bill should include funding for the parks. She points to money from the state’s gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe as a potential funding source. That law specifies that state revenue from gambling should be used for the environment.
