St. John’s County, Florida. – On Sunday at 10 a.m. there will be a peaceful protest at Anastasia State Park against the planned development by the Department of Environmental Protection.

RELATED: St. Augustine’s Anastasia State Park is one of 9 parks that could see big changes

Eight public meetings were scheduled for Tuesday, but the DEP announced that due to high interest, the meetings would be postponed until early September.

The park is one of nine state parks in the Great Outdoors initiative.

The state wants to build accommodations with up to 350 rooms, a great golf course and pickleball courts.

READ: Conceptual plans for Anastasia State Park

People like Desiree Sanders believe that state parks should be left alone.

That’s why she is helping to organize the rally on Sunday.

“It’s absolutely critical that we protect our environment, that we protect our state park,” Sanders said. “This is our piece of Florida that we all love, where we go to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. There’s an abundance of wildlife there that we need to protect.”

She described what the park means to her.

“This park means a lot to us,” Sanders said. “There’s so much to say about this issue. It means standing up and fighting to preserve our natural heritage, to preserve a little piece of Florida. When you go in there, it’s almost like seeing what it was like before everything else was built.”

She said it means a lot to other people in the community, too.

“Every citizen you talk to will tell you they have memories of this place, they love going to see the gopher tortoises or walking through the maritime hammock and just being surrounded by wildlife. That’s so important because all of our land is being developed right now and we need to protect it,” Sanders said.

She spoke about the impact the development would have on animals and wildlife.

“We’re talking about harm to the species that live there,” Sanders said. “The Anastasia beach mouse is endemic to this area. It’s already threatened by habitat loss, and if they build a 350-room lodge on the beach, it will avert disaster for the mice as well as for the sea turtles that come to the beach to nest.”

News4JAX insiders also expressed their opinions on the proposed changes.

“I think they should stay as they are now! These state parks are not entertainment and recreation areas. They should be ‘protected’ areas for wildlife and pristine natural habitat,” said William McLeod.

Another viewer spoke out against the development.

“There is enough construction going on here and as a parking permit holder, I don’t like the fact that my tax money is going to an outside source,” said the spectator.

Click here to view the Facebook post about the protest.