I walk past Ney Landrum’s grave almost every day and imagine the ground shaking and the marble headstone rising and falling right now over Governor Ron DeSantis’ proposal to put hotels and golf courses in state parks. Ney was director of Florida State Parks from 1970 to 1989 and was without a doubt the toughest, most straightforward director ever to have the honor of leading the agency. If Ney were alive, he would stand in the governor’s office with his six-foot-tall, ramrod-straight muscles and tell him this is a lost cause.
From all sources, it appears that this bad idea, called the Great Outdoors Initiative, originates from the Governor’s office and proposes harmful developments in nine of our beautiful state parks. Three of them are in Northwest Florida: Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, Grayton Dunes State Park and Camp Helen State Park.
Proposals include a 350-room lodge and up to four pickleball courts and a disc golf course at Topsail Hill Preserve, known for its pristine beaches, coastal freshwater dune lakes, old-growth pine forests and wetlands. Grayton Beach Dunes State Park could also get up to four pickleball courts and a disc golf course. Camp Helen State Park could get 10 additional cabins and a glamping area. Glamping is a combination of camping and glamour, but no idea what that means in a park.
The Department of Environmental Protection states, “Our efforts to improve public access, recreation and housing benefit everyone.” That is, except for the animals and plants that call these special areas home, which are destroyed with bulldozers or covered with concrete.
Their press release states: “The initiative will work to expand public access, increase outdoor recreation opportunities and provide new overnight accommodations in Florida’s state parks, reaffirming the state’s commitment to conservation, the outdoor recreation economy and a high quality of life for Floridians.”
This is blatant greenwashing, and these people are no stranger to selling you a pig in a poke with this approach. It is also obvious nonsense that this underpins the state’s “commitment to conservation”. Excuse all the pig references, but a pig is a pig.
The only part of this statement that is true is the reference to the “leisure economy,” because there is no doubt that these projects will line the pockets of builders and developers eager to build on public land without having to bear the cost of purchasing the land. The same people will have the gall to name their hotels and golf courses after the habitat they have destroyed, such as the Sea Oats Golf Course or the Dunes Hotel.
The enabling act for Florida State Parks states that their purpose is to acquire typical portions of the state’s original lands…of such a character that they embody the natural values of the state, preserve the natural values for all time…and enable people…to enjoy those values without destroying them. It does not even remotely condone the destruction of the natural features of parks by hotels, golf courses, and pickleball courts.
At last check, the major environmental organizations in Florida are united in their opposition – the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, 1000 Friends of Florida, the Florida Wildlife Federation, and most likely every retired state parks employee, all past directors of that park service, and many Floridians. Surprisingly, there has even been what one newspaper called a “storm of opposition” from elected officials, including Republicans.
Governor, this is a bad idea, and if Ney were still alive, he would look you in the eye and tell you to abandon this proposal.
Tallahassee resident Pam McVety is a biologist, climate activist and native Floridian who proudly spent the last few years of her career in the state working for the Florida Park Service.
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