NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The Florida Department of Environmental Protection recently announced a new “Great Outdoors Initiative” to “expand public access, increase outdoor activities, and provide new lodging options” at state public parks.
The proposal includes more campsites, cabins, and lodges on park property, and more areas for pickleball, disc golf, golf, and paddling. The last initiative offered 50% discounts for annual passes and free entry on Memorial Day.
There are plans for changes at nine parks including two in South Florida: The Oleta River State Park in Miami-Dade County and Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Broward County.
“Some of the things may be OK, like the pickleball and the frisbee golf. I am not sure about hotels and golf courses,” said Sharon Soud, who was visiting Oleta River State Park in North Miami Beach.
According to the state’s DEP, the public system includes 175 parks, trails, and historic sites across over 815,000 acres and 100 miles of coastline. These create more than 50,000 jobs and have an estimated annual economic impact of $3.6 billion. Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to increase investment, but there are Floridians who strongly oppose the proposal.
Environmentalists from The Florida Wildlife Federation, The Youth Environmental Alliance, 1000 Friends of Florida, Friends of the Everglades, and Vote Water are among the opponents.
“It is devastating for me to hear, specifically the construction, when you look around here we have so many different native species around us,” said Shannon Stratman, of the Youth Environmental Alliance.
Topsail Hill Preserve and Grayton Beach in Santa Rosa Beach, Camp Helen in Panama City Beach, Jonathan Dickinson in Hobe Sound, Anastasia in St. Augustine, Honeymoon Island in Dunedin, and Hillsborough River in Thonotosassa are also included in the initiative.
There were Republicans against the proposal including U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who won the Republican primary on Tuesday; Florida Senate President Kathleen Passimodo; and Florida Sen. Jay Trumbull.
“Our state parks should not be in the business of competing with private enterprise,” Trumbull wrote on X.
Stratman said it’s important for the public to participate in the process. Officials plan to host eight public meetings from 3 to 4 p.m., on Tuesday.
The meeting to discuss adding 10 cabins, four pickleball courts, and a disc golf course at Oleta River State Park is at the Kovens Conference Center at Florida International University’s Biscayne Bay Campus, at 3000 NE 151 St., in North Miami.
The meeting to consider changes at the Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park is at the Downtown Event Center, at 416 NW First St., in Fort Lauderdale.
Here is a list of the locations of the other meetings:
- Topsail Hill Preserve and Grayton Beach: The Watercolor Inn & Resort, at 34 Goldenrod Circle, in Santa Rosa Beach.
- Camp Helen: The Lindell Conference Center, at 423 Lyndell Lane, in Panama City Beach.
- Jonathan Dickinson: The River Room at The Flagler of Stuart, 201 W. Flagler Ave., in Stuart.
- Anastasia: The Character Counts Conference Center in Building C of The First Coast Technical College, at 2980 Collins Ave., in St. Augustine.
- Honeymoon Island: Suite 404 of The District at 11141 U.S. Highway 19 N, in Clearwater.
- Hillsborough River: Community Room D at the Jimmie B. Keel Regional Library, at 2902 W. Bearss Ave., in Tampa.