The Florida Department of Environmental Protection proposes adding facilities such as pickleball courts, lodges and 18-hole golf courses to nine state parks.
Golf courses in Florida state parks?
US Congressman Brian Mast speaks about golf course proposals at Jonathan Dickinson State Park
A torrent of criticism of proposed golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park poured out of high school classrooms and the halls of Congress Thursday as news spread of plans to add paved facilities to the pristine pine forests and scrubland areas.
Late Wednesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection posted the plans on social media after documents were leaked describing the proposal to add pickleball courts, lodges and 18-hole golf courses, among other things, at nine state parks.
The post on X, formerly Twitter, said there was “A LOT” of confusion about the effort, part of the 2024-2025 Great Outdoors Initiative, to improve public access to parks. But some experts said there was little difference between the leaked plans and what was released Wednesday.
Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Mast of Palm City, a staunch St. Lucie River environmentalist, said the park proposals came without any warning.
“Literally no one I spoke to in the government had heard of this,” Mast said during an interview on Jonathan Dickinson on Thursday. “Everyone was surprised.”
The nature of the state: Could changes in Florida’s park system add golf courses to Jonathan Dickinson State Park?
While Jonathan Dickinson is the only park where golf courses are planned, Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County and Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Walton County are planned to have lodges with 350 rooms each.
The historically significant Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, which was the first beach in Broward County open to African Americans after seven years of the civil rights struggle, was to receive up to four pickleball courts.
Other state parks being considered for offerings ranging from disc golf to new “glamping” accommodations include Camp Helen in Bay County, Grayton Beach in Walton County, Hillsborough River in Hillsborough County, Honeymoon Island in Pinellas County and Oleta River in Miami-Dade County.
Golf in the state park? Jonathan Dickinson State Park was named after a shipwrecked Quaker: 5 remarkable facts
“They say motels in the park are justified because they are at capacity, but of course they are at capacity because the parks are beautiful destinations,” said Julie Brashears Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida. “The solution is to create more park space, not to cram more people into the park with hotels.”
Environmental groups said they were surprised by the plans, with some even believing the released documents were fake. They are concerned that the hour-long meetings scheduled across the state for Tuesday, August 27, to hear public comments will not be enough.
Congressman Brian Mast raises questions about the conduct of public meetings
The meeting to hear Jonathan Dickinson’s address is scheduled for 3 p.m. at The Flagler of Stuart venue, 201 SW Flagler Avenue, Stuart.
The meetings resulted in a critical letter from Mast condemning the trial.
Most people were notified about the Tuesday meetings only a week in advance, and there was no further information about what would be discussed until Wednesday evening. Mast also said members of the state’s Acquisition and Restoration Council (ARC), which votes on changes in state parks plans, must be present at the meetings.
“At this time, there are no plans for any of the seven voting members of the ARC to attend this meeting,” Mast wrote to Governor Ron DeSantis and council members. “Instead, a ‘subject matter expert’ is to speak.”
According to Mast, the absence of voting members of the ARC gives the impression of an “exercise to check off the voices of citizens who have a right to have their voices heard by the real decision makers.”
Plans for Jonathan Dickinson State Park, released Wednesday, call for “public golf courses and related facilities,” including two separate outdoor recreation areas — one along the existing Florida East Coast Railway corridor that extends to U.S. Highway 1, and another in the northeast portion of the park.
Permitted improvements include publicly accessible golf course facilities, related amenities and operational support facilities, according to the plan.
Mast’s letter states that 1,000 acres of the 10,500-acre park would be reserved for the golf courses. The observation tower on Hobe Mountain would be demolished. The existing park entrance, administrative offices and employee housing would have to be relocated.
“I think conceptually it’s a good idea. The key word is ‘conceptually,'” said John Fumero, a longtime environmental lawyer who previously served as general counsel for the South Florida Water Management District. “There’s a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it.”
Fumero knows he has a different opinion than many environmentalists, but he believes that new amenities that attract people to the parks who would never otherwise go there could also attract more environmentalists by bringing them closer to nature.
He said Grand Canyon National Park, where he once stayed at a lodge in the park, is a good example of how to give people the opportunity to have a more immersive park experience. Also, facilities can be built along busy roads to reduce disturbance in the deeper part of the park, he said. He added that the SFWMD must issue permits for any work being done at Jonathan Dickinson.
“I think we could create a whole new generation of conservationists,” Fumero said of the idea of making parks more attractive to people by offering new things.
But Wraithmell points out that while the plan calls for the golf courses to be built based on state-approved environmental standards, those responsible could also seek the blessing of the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program standards.
She also pointed out that the Audubon program mentioned in the state plan is an international group that is not affiliated with Audubon’s national or state conservation associations.
“It’s misleading,” Wraithmell said. “The courses meet certain standards and pay a fee to the group, in return they can claim certification. Does that make some of the activities better? Sure. Does that justify a golf course in a state park? Absolutely not.”
The proposed changes to the state parks will be made through amendments to the management plans approved by the ARC in 2012.
An attempt in 2011 to build a golf course into the state park failed
In 2011, lawmakers attempted to add golf courses to state parks through bills that would have required the state Department of Recreation and Parks to hire a company that works with golf legend Jack Nicklaus to build golf courses in the state’s state parks. The idea was to create the “Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail of Florida.”
The only park specifically mentioned in the House bill is Jonathan Dickinson, which is closest to Nicklaus’s home in North Palm Beach. Former state Rep. Patrick Rooney Jr., R-West Palm Beach, filed House Bill 1239.
Under the bill, hotels could be integrated into the golf facility. The courses would also include a clubhouse with limited food and service, parking and a building for course maintenance.
A March 2011 Tampa Bay Times article quoted a Nicklaus lobbyist as saying that the bill emerged from discussions between Nicklaus and then-Governor Rick Scott about promoting tourism in the state.
However, the public backlash against the proposals caused such outrage that both proposals were quickly withdrawn.
“The people of Florida have spoken out very clearly about this proposal over the past few days, and they are the reason I am in office,” Rooney said in a press release his office emailed to reporters shortly after he withdrew the bill, according to the Times article.
At Jupiter Community High School, about five miles south of Jonathan Dickinson, students spread the word about the golf courses on Thursday and were not happy, said Aaron Lichtig, a teacher at the school’s Jupiter Environmental Research and Field Studies Academy.
Jupiter High School students take field trips to the park to learn about the different habitats and their role in supporting a healthy ecosystem. Lichtig said students are interested in participating in protests and possibly attending Tuesday’s gathering.
“Every year when we go there, I look at the park and ask them, ‘What would this area look like if it wasn’t protected by Florida State Parks?'” Lichtig said. “They say there would be condos or golf courses. And I say, isn’t it great that Florida State Parks has protected this area for the rest of our lives?”
“Now even our nature reserves are threatened,” said Lichtig.
Thomas Cordy of the Palm Beach Post contributed to this story.
Kimberly Miller is a journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. She covers real estate, weather and the environment. Subscribe to The Dirt for a weekly real estate roundup. If you have news tips, please send them to [email protected]. Support our local journalism and subscribe today.
