Outrage grows over proposed state park development

A proposal by Florida governor Ron DeSantis’ Department of Environmental Protection to partially develop nine state parks has run into emphatic opposition from environmentalists, the public and state lawmakers.

Honeymoon Island State Park is on Pinellas County’s gulf coast, near Dunedin. The barrier island consists of approximately 20 acres with four miles of primitive shorefront. Its palmetto and slash pine uplands are home to ospreys, eagles and other birds, as well as endangered gopher tortoises, and numerous shorebirds nest in the dunes and on the beach sands.

According to the DEP, the goal of the agency’s “Great Outdoors Initiative” is “to update state park plans to allow for increased public access, while employing the same best practices utilized by DEP and park systems across the country.”

Last week, DeSantis’ press secretary Jeremy Redfern issued the following statement:

“The Department of Environmental Protection and the Division of Parks are looking at recommendations for ways to enhance Florida’s parks to make them more visitor-friendly. There will be multiple phases of public discussion to evaluate stakeholders’ feedback. The agency’s initial recommendations are based on public input and proposals – from pickleball to golf to additional bike trails and camping access; the proposals vary and may not all be approved. Finally, recommendations will be evaluated, and no final decisions will be made until the public comment and review process has been completed.

“Teddy Roosevelt believed that public parks were for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and we agree with him. No administration has done more than we have to conserve Florida’s natural resources, grow conservation lands, and keep our environment pristine. But it’s high time we made public lands more accessible to the public.”

The proposal for Honeymoon Island reads, in part: Construction of up to four pickleball courts is recommended adjacent to the upper portion of the park’s South Beach Access Area where existing amenities and an abundance of parking may complement and support the proposed new recreation experience.

Utilizing an area of altered upland on the northeast side of the existing parking spaces, the proposed court will occupy approximately 7,200 square feet. This location is easily accessible for all day-use visitors and takes advantage of existing parking, restrooms, and services and merchandise provided in the nearby concession building.

Protesters at Honeymoon Island State Park Aug. 25. Photo by Krista Miller.

Krista Miller, a resident of Dunedin, started a “Protect Honeymoon Island State Park” Facebook group Aug. 21. Within four days, her group had 3,000 members. It is, she explained, “a way to promote awareness. I’m on Facebook, and I might have 300 friends. And each of them might have 300 friends. So it’s an effective way to spread information.

“Of course, I’m concerned for every state park, because I’ve lived in many places. But this is in my back yard.”

Miller was an organizer of a “sign wave” protest Sunday at the entrance to the park. More than 75 people, she said, braved the afternoon heat to share their outrage over the state’s proposal.

“Our state parks are award-winning,” she said. “But if they wanted to use the money to fix up our state parks, they could fix the restrooms, they could hire more park rangers, they could do lots of things. Starting with asking for people’s actual input, not just shoving things down people’s throats.”

DEP scheduled a series of public meetings Aug. 27 – all on the same day, all across the state, without virtual options – to hear what residents had to say about the proposals.

Citing “overwhelming interest” from the public, the meeting were postponed until the week of Sept. 2. A DEP spokesperson told the Catalyst Monday that new dates had not been decided upon.

The originally-scheduled public discourse about Honeymoon Island was to have taken place in a small county facility in Clearwater.

Miller believes the state is going to need a bigger room. “They would need the Tropicana Field stadium right now,” she said. “There are people really fired up about this. At the very least, they need a basketball gym.”

Ryan Smart, executive director of the environmental watchdog group the Florida Springs Council, said that going back to 2011 and then-governor Rick Scott, he and other conservationists have been fighting the state’s repeated attempts to sell wild Florida to the highest bidder.

Even Smart was taken aback by the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” and how little time the public was given to voice concerns.

“I think this is part of a much larger attack on our public lands in general,” Smart said. “But this is so far the most atrocious specific proposal that we have seen.”

Proposed developments at other state parks include golf courses, disc golf courses and resort hotels.

“Our state parks are our crown jewels. You don’t get to be a state park for no reason. Florida has lots of conservation land, all of which is valuable and none of which should be developed. But they’re going after the most precious places that we have.”

There is, he stressed, “no shortage of beachfront hotels in this state. There’s no shortage of golf courses, or places to play pickleball. We have wonderful county parks all over the state that are full of amenities like that.

“How many stretches of pristine, undeveloped beaches do we have in Florida? Not many – and the truth is, in Florida, anything that we don’t conserve is going to be developed.”

The other state parks in the “Great “Outdoors Initiative” are:

Anastasia State Park  – Located on Florida’s northeast coast in St. Augustine. Includes over 1,600 acres of beaches, sand dunes, tidal marshes, and maritime hammocks.

Camp Helen State Park  – In Panama City Beach in Florida’s panhandle, Camp Helen State Park is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico and by Powell Lake. It features beaches, marshes, and forest trails.

Dr. Von Mizell – Eula Johnson State Park  – Is an undeveloped coastal ecosystem in Broward County in southeast Florida.

Grayton Beach State Park  – Located in Santa Rosa Beach, this park includes pristine beaches, Western Lake, and miles of trails through coastal forest.

Hillsborough River State Park – Just a few miles away from downtown Tampa, this park offers wildlife viewing, fishing, hiking, biking and picnicking.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park – In Hobe Sound in Martin County, features the Loxahatchee River, coastal sand hills, upland lakes, and scrub forests.

Oleta River State Park – Over 1,000 acres in North Miami Beach, Oleta River State Park is Florida’s largest urban park offering paddling through mangrove forests and miles of bicycling trails.

Topsail Hill Preserve State Park  – Located in Florida’s panhandle, this park has old-growth pine forests, sandy scrubland, dunes, and wetlands. Is home to 13 imperiled species.

(Descriptions provided by Florida State Parks, and by the Sea Turtle Preservation Society.)