Recently Florida Governor Ron Desantis and his Florida Department of Environmental Protection created the “Great Outdoors Initiative” for Florida State Parks. It contained development proposals for projects in state parks including golf courses, 350 room resorts, pickleball courts, and disc golf courses.
After hundreds of thousands of citizens, from around Florida and around the country, spoke out against the Great Outdoors Initiative and threats to Florida’s State Parks from golf courses and resorts, the state of Florida had to retreat. That happened because of you.
They were hoping the people would miss this until it was too late to oppose it. They did not even consult the Park Staff who manage the nine parks targeted! Luckily, this effort to develop Florida’s State Parks leaked to the media, and a firestorm of controversy ensued. The Florida DEP employee, James Gaddis, who became a whistleblower and leaked the proposals to protect state parks was fired. He is one of the heroes in this whole debacle.
The other heroes are the conservation groups, reporters, citizens, and elected officials who expanded this into one of the most significant conservation issues in Florida, in years!
After overwhelming and unrelenting opposition, Governor Desantis and Florida DEP announced that Florida ‘will be going back to the drawing board’ and revising their plan to develop state parks. The problem is that the very drawing board they will use is the same one that created the first proposal. And while the proposal for golf courses seems to have been withdrawn, nothing is official or permanent yet.
One of the most outrageous aspects of this disaster for Governor Desantis and Florida DEP was the backroom secrecy and questionable tactics that led up to it. Members of Florida’s Congressional Delegation are now calling for investigations to uncover the true way this unfolded.
Bad ideas never die in Florida, they just slink away and wait for another round of officials to dust them off and try again. A similar attempt to develop Florida State Parks occurred in 2011. A similar attempt could happen again. Florida DEP has discussed bringing back some version of this proposal next year. That is four months from now. We must keep paying attention and speaking.
So, for the moment rejoice! The people spoke up loudly and clearly for wildlife and were heard. What you did mattered. That is a wonderful feeling. Now let us commit to the long-term effort to ensure that these types of threats to Florida’s state parks are forever relegated to the dustbin of history.
While we are waiting and watching, visit one of Florida’s state parks and immerse yourself in what is at stake. Grayton Beach State Park offers some of the best beaches in Florida. You can still enjoy it as it is. Topsail Hill Preserve State Park offers what might be the most beautiful beach anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico. See it now before the 350 room resort that Governor Desantis and Florida DEP proposed (and which is still in their Great Outdoors Initiative and on that annoying drawing board).
Get out there and enjoy Florida State Parks soon. Get some mud, sand, or sun on you. Catch a fish, watch some birds, and enjoy a manatee sighting. Make a Florida State Park memory with your family. Celebrate a little good news for wildlife.
Then stay tuned to NWF’s Action Alerts, updates, and blog posts. Let us make sure, with continued focus and action, that the Florida DEP drawing board they work on for Governor Desantis never produces something this bad ever again.
Sadly, in reality, it is a horrible idea for Florida and our parks. Conservation, outdoor recreation, and community groups from around the state have rallied in deep opposition to this initiative. The National Wildlife Federation is working with partners and allies across Florida to oppose this destructive effort, and so should you.
What is the Great Outdoors Initiative?
The Great Outdoors Initiative targets nine state parks for varying degrees of new development. The projects range from golf courses to 350-room resorts. Smaller proposals will alter the mission of the parks and displace natural areas, and this is just the beginning. This is not what are state parks are for or why we love them.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park would lose habitat and open space for golf courses. Anastatia State Park would lose maritime hammock habitat for a 350-room resort, as would Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. Grayton Beach State Park would lose valuable coastal open space for pickleball courts and a disc golf course. And Honeymoon Island State Park, described by FDEP itself as “one of Florida’s best-loved state parks,” would lose coastal open space for pickleball courts.
State parks are for enjoying nature
At the heart of this issue is that public lands, purchased for conservation or nature–based passive recreation, should not be turned into amusement centers with golf courses, resorts, and the like. Florida already has golf courses, recreational sports areas and resorts in abundance, but these special landscapes are unique and irreplaceable—and they should remain that way. We should be setting more land aside for nature to thrive, not taking acres of wildlife habitat away.
Wild places in our parks provide critical habitat for threatened and endangered species. Parks provide tremendous ecosystem benefits in terms of essential habitats, reducing nutrient pollution into coastal waters, clean air, clean water, flood control, springs protection and climate resiliency. These benefits are far more important than increased gate receipts.
Parks connect future generations to nature. The economic benefits from wildlife viewing, fishing, paddling, camping, hiking and overall attendance are significant. Some of the parks targeted are already major revenue parks in Florida. This FDEP proposal is a bad idea that cuts to the core of why we set aside these wild places for people and wildlife in the first place.
I recently took a trip to Caladesi Island State Park, the sister park to Honeymoon Island State Park—no golf courses, no resorts, no disc golf and no pickleball courts. Just wildlife, trails, beaches, open space, and nature. It was and is perfect.
Florida’s state parks are the birthright of all Floridians, owned and managed in public trust by agencies like FDEP. They connect Floridians to our natural heritage. They are places our children will inherit as they become the next generation of Floridians who explore and enjoy public lands. Our legacy to them should not be golf courses and resorts.
Go out and see for yourself! Visit a Florida state park. Bring your snorkel, fishing pole, canoe, hiking boots, camera, backpack or tent. Pack up the family, pick a park and watch the wonders of nature together. Share that space with Florida wildlife.
But leave the golf clubs at home.
The thought of losing these special places tugs at my heart. As I sift through hundreds of photos capturing countless memories of special moments that I have spent in our parks, I am reminded just how important they have been, and continue to be, in my family’s lives.
Help Protect Our Parks!
Please share your own photos of your favorite moments at Washington’s State Parks so we can remind our leaders what’s really at stake!
How to Submit Your Photos:
Attach your photos to an email, put the name of the State Park in the subject line, and add a short description in the text body. Email your photos to sun63water@photos.flickr.com.
Upload your photo to the Pacific Regional Center’s Facebook page with a short description, and tag with #wastateparks.Requirements:
Please only send us photos that belong to you, and note that by sending us photos, you give us permission to post them on our website (with attribution).
What’s at Stake
What’s at stake if our Washington State Parks were to close? The way I look at it, people and wildlife have a lot to lose. These stories and photos help me to remember that Washington State Parks are our legacy to our children and to their children, to our future:
The fourth oldest park system in the country, Washington has 117 parks and 700 historic structures. These natural places are a delight to explore and learn about the history of our region and about nature and wildlife. With so many great state parks just a short road trip away, you are sure to find the perfect weekend destination.
Picnics and family gatherings, annual camping trips, wildlife and tranquil natural settings away from the city and immersed in nature is what you will find at State Parks.
Our Parks: Where We Go to Play
There are so many beaches, hikes, mountains and natural places in our State Parks to walk and explore! You may discover marine debris from faraway places. Build elaborate drift wood forts, scoop up seashells, and pocket colored sea glass and shiny pebbles. Skip rocks on calm water, first one then three and sometimes five skips, and fly kites in a vast blue sky next to weathered war-time bunkers, where harmonicas make a sweet sound resonating off dark silent walls.
Play football, ride bikes and tend to scuffed knees and scraped hands. Hike along paths lined with tall trees that sway in the wind, and see bushes filled with birds eating berries, and bees buzzing in the heat of the day. Discover a deer hidden in the tall grass.
These treasured times, out in nature on our public lands, in our State Parks, cannot be taken for granted or forgotten. They are a place of discovery and learning about our natural world, they teach us to understand and respect our history and our land. They are a place for personal growth and of treasured moments with family and friends.
State Parks in Trouble
Over the past four years, the State Park Commission’s budget has suffered an 88% reduction in general fund support. In 2011, the Washington Legislature created the Discover Pass to replace general fund tax money, but not enough passes are being sold to make up for the deep budget cuts. This means there are not enough funds to cover the cost of operating and maintaining state-managed recreation lands.
It’s not too late to stand up for our State Parks! Here’s how you can help make sure these special places continue to protect wildlife and inspire the next generation of conservationists:
- Send us your photos of you visiting Washington’s State Parks, and we will share them with legislators to remind them of what’s really at stake (see instructions at top of page).
- Urge your state legislators to support critical funding to protect Washington’s state parks.
- Get your Discover Pass! This vehicle-access pass allows you to enjoy millions of acres of Washington state-managed recreation lands – including parks, wildlife areas, trails, natural and wilderness areas, heritage areas and water-access points.
The new Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder app is your free virtual guidebook to every U.S. federal and state park as well as more than 50,000 local parks. It’s a quick an easy way to find parks near you with the activities you want to do.
Help Wildlife When You Download
What’s even better? For every app downloaded now through Labor Day, Ford Motor Company will make a donation to one of four non-profit organizations, one being National Wildlife Federation!
Discover parks with hidden campgrounds, the best fishing spots, scenic overlooks or bird-watching paradises. Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder makes it easy to find great places for a scenic drives, to discover historic sites, go camping and so much more.
Simply select your favorite activities or where you want to go (or both), and this unique mobile app will instantly generate a personalized list of recommendations.
New features of the app include the ability to:
- Check in to parks;
- Add comments and pictures;
- Post to Facebook and Twitter; and
- Share your experiences at any park you visit.
Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder is available for both Apple and Android devices, and all the same information is available at OhRanger.com.
Scan this QR code or visit OhRanger.com to download the app. The app is available for your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or Android device.
After you download the app, vote for National Wildlife Federation and Ford Motor Company will make a donation to help NWF protect wildlife.