Meetings on ‘great outdoors’ initiative including 2 public parks in South Florida to be rescheduled

NORTH MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A state parks development proposal, including two in South Florida, was causing so much outrage officials decided to postpone eight public meetings A state parks development proposal including two in South Florida was causing so much outrage officials chose to postpone public meetings scheduled for Tuesday.

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 and areas for pickleball, disc golf, golf, and paddling.

The last initiative, which was less controversial, offered 50% discounts for annual passes and free entry on Memorial Day. The new proposal includes developments 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.

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“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 on Friday 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 is bipartisan opposition.

Some Florida Republicans and environmentalists from The Florida Wildlife Federation, The Youth Environmental Alliance, 1000 Friends of Florida, Friends of the Everglades, and Vote Water were among the most vocal 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.

The group of Republicans standing against the proposal includes 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 had planned to host eight public meetings from 3 to 4 p.m., on Tuesday, but announced on Friday that these would be rescheduled. Gabriel Gareis. who was at the Oleta River State Park on Saturday, said state parks need to be protected.

“I like the green space, the green area, and destroying trees is not good for the environment, so my point of view is mainly from the environment,” Gareis said.

The meeting to discuss adding 10 cabins, four pickleball courts, and a disc golf course at Oleta River State Park was planned 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 was at the Downtown Event Center, at 416 NW First St., in Fort Lauderdale.

It remained unclear on Saturday if the locations were going to change too, after officials announced on X Friday that “meeting dates will be announced soon, with meetings expected the week of Sept. 2.”

Friday’s report