By Leah Burdick
Florida agencies have postponed the meeting of developmental plans in state parks.
The development of golf courses, pickleball courts, disc golf courses, and cabins would impact nine Florida state parks.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) unveiled these plans last week and had enormous backlash.
The plans were quietly released on the FDEP website on Monday, Aug. 19.
In the press release, the FDEP called it the Great Outdoors Initiative. It says the initiative “will work to expand public access, increase outdoor activities and provide new lodging options across Florida’s state parks.”
Throughout the press release, it has information about the economic impact of Florida state parks attracting visitors — more money coming in.
Elected officials in the state legislature, cabinet members, and Congress are against the plans.
With backlash on the governmental side, residents of Florida have banded together to protest at local state parks.
Max Chesnes is an environmental reporter for the Tampa Bay Times and has been following this story and informing the public on updates.
Chesnes said he received anonymous documentation about development plans, and a few days later, the FDEP released them without notifying the public.
He said the plans involved nine state parks across Florida, including Honeymoon Island, which is the only state park in Pinellas County and is home to one of the last virgin pine forests in Florida.
“Honeymoon is the state’s most visited state park. There are over a million people that visit each year,” said Chesnes.
He said the documents showed four pickleball courts, or 7,200 square feet of paved pickleball courts, for this state park.
Honeymoon Island is located in Dunedin, and over 200 protesters gathered outside the entrance fighting the cause.
The protest lasted three days. There were speeches, chanting, songs, and signs to save Honeymoon Island and other environmental parks.
Chesnes attended the protests and saw more than just residents there. “The Sierra Club was there, the Florida Native Plant Society, an Audubon society, a couple of state representatives, and [city of Dunedin] Commissioner Jeff Gow.”
Kira Barrera, the Suncoast Sierra Club’s conservation chair, was one of the protesters at the state park.
According to an article by WMNF Radio, Barrera said, “This is not about enhancing our parks or increasing access. This is about turning them into profit-driven ventures at the expense of our environment.”
Barrera said that they have fought off past developments in 2011 and were successful.
The protests did not end at Honeymoon Island. For the past few days, there have been protests in Stuart County, Miami, and St. Augustine.
After days of backlash all over social media and the protests, there was a press conference in Polk County.
At the conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would “rather not spend any money” on the plan.
He said that the plans were not final and not approved by him.
“They are not going to do anything for the rest of the year,” said Chesnes. “When they bring this proposal back it will be more public-facing and the process will be more transparent.”
At this time, the developmental plans have been halted by DeSantis.