Why Do State Governments Hate Their State Parks?
Florida DEP wants to put a golf course on Jonathan Dickinson State Park and why you have to always be vigilant about protected lands.
To say that I am triggered is an understatement. I honestly didn’t expect to be so shocked and to feel betrayed, yet again, by a state agency but here we are.
I was scrolling Facebook Monday night when I saw a Florida Trail Association (FTA) chapter post some disturbing news from Club Scrub, a mountain bike association that maintains bike trails at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Florida. When I lived in Florida, JDSP was one of my favorite parks to visit and a place we frequently went to hike. The property is huge and conserves a large chunk of land from development in Martin County, above Palm Beach and the sprawl of the rest of the Gold Coast. It is home to endangered plant and animal species, including the Florida scrub jay and the gopher tortoise, plus all kinds of rare and sensitive plant species and habitats.
The post from Club Scrub entailed an apparent desire by Florida DEP to build a golf course in the state park in the area of Hobe Mountain, which is pile of sand that is the highest point in south Florida, and of course over scrub habitat that is home to a rare orchid, the scrub jays, gopher tortoises, and the hiking and bike trails in that area. This also affects the Ocean to Lake Trail for the Florida Trail, hence the FTA post.
My first reaction was, this has to be a rumor. Because, pardon my language, what the actual fuck? DeSantis’ reign has been insane but would it go this far into the agency to propose such an idiotic plan?
Apparently yes. And it’s an old Rick Scott ploy! I somehow missed this came up once before in 2011.
But Whitley said the proposal quickly withdrawn in the state Legislature last month amid severe statewide criticism still has economic merit for the state and would serve as a legacy for Jack Nicklaus to leave Floridians.
"We still think it's a good idea, and I personally believe you're going to find these parks under increasing economic pressure and someone is going to say, 'Hey remember those guys who had the golf course idea, maybe that wasn't such a bad idea,'" Whitley said.
Scott Tolley, vice president of corporate communications for Nicklaus Design, said Nicklaus at 71 is looking for a means to give back to the game and the state.
"He's got a 22nd grandchild on the way, four of his five kids live here and are raising their family," Tolley said. "If through golf and a minimal footprint he can help save these state parks, that to him is a legacy. It's beyond golf. If golf can help save these parks, that's great to him."
Golf is gonna save state parks? That’s a new one! And why are we supposed to care what kind of legacy Jack Nicklaus leaves for his then 22nd grandchild in the form of defacing a state park?
Now, if you’ve ever been to Florida you’ll know they have no shortage of golf courses. There’s seemingly one on every corner. And some have been closing due to lack of money to maintain them as well as dwindling interest as other generations find they aren’t as interested in playing the sport.
Back to the present plan, it isn’t just for Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Here’s what is being proposed at the 11th hour with short notice for public comment.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park
Two 18-hole golf courses
One 9-hole golf course
Removal of Hobe Mountain Observation Tower
Total area encompassing over 1,000 acres
Anastasia State Park
A park lodge with up to 350 rooms in the maritime hammock
A disc golf course in the maritime hammock
Pickleball courts in the maritime hammock
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park
A park lodge with up to 350 rooms
A disc golf course in the scrubby flatwoods south of the cabin area
Pickleball courts
Grayton Beach State Park
A new restroom at the beach access area near the cabins
10 new cabins
A disc golf course
Pickleball courts
Camp Helen State Park
New cabins and/or “glamping” sites at the northern end of the park on Lake Powell within Panhandle coastal scrub
Hillsborough River State Park
A disc golf course
Pickleball courts
Honeymoon Island State Park
Pickleball courts
Dr. Von Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park
Pickleball courts
Oleta River State Park
Disc golf course
Pickleball courts
I think on the surface you could say they could have easily snuck in some disc golf or pickle ball courts if they’d done these one by one because public outcry would have been minimal under those circumstances. Unless you are hyper invested locally in that individual state park, most people aren’t really be paying enough attention to care what happens across the state from you when a pickleball court goes in. But really, those are the domain of city and county governments, not state parks, where they can utilize previous degraded sites or add them to their own park land. And new cabins—ok, might be warranted. A resort style lodge, though? In a sensitive maritime hammock? What are you smoking? Sounds like someone wants to compete with the Mouse in Orlando. And not one but TWO golf courses in the same state park?
Needless to say, this took off very quickly yesterday through social media. It was heartening to see people rallying together to save the state parks from needless destruction. Generally all of the local and statewide environmental groups jumped right on board and began calls to action and information campaigns to get the information on the public meetings which are all occurring on the same day next week at the same time: Tuesday August 27 from 3-4pm at venues nearby their respective parks. All of this was leaked on Monday before any news articles or the state even made it known this was being proposed and public meetings were happening. It was going to fly under the radar.
A group, Protect Jonathan Dickinson State Park, has already been formed on Facebook and it gives off vibes of the early days of Save Fairfield Lake State Park except there are very few contrarians, unlike our group which had many who wanted to stick it to the state and let the developer in. This time though, the state is the original villain to the story, though I guess it was the same here in Texas. Both legislatures underfunded agencies to the point of not being able to maintain them (FL/TX) or own them (TX) and at least one is now using an excuse to destroy habitat as a reason to create income. But the reality is, who is going to be making money off of building these venues? Who is going to run the lodge? A private concessionaire? It didn’t take much digging to find that Jack Nicklaus’ son Gary Nicklaus is on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. I mean, I sound like a conspiracy theorist here and a rando on FB writing in all caps but: Follow The Money. Follow the governor appointed folks on boards throughout any state agency anywhere in the US. This isn’t an issue just for Texas or Florida.
Reading through the Facebook group is somewhat difficult for me. It reminds me so much of my time last year trying to advocate for Fairfield Lake State Park. JDSP has a lot more going for it than FLSP did, including actual protected species, and when they aren’t worked around, stricter state laws enforcing protection for species like the scrub jay and gopher tortoise. It also has a throng of die-hard lovers of the state park who are constantly using the park for hiking, mountain biking, or kayaking on the Loxahatchee River in the park. I am still so bitterly disappointed the fishing community did not come together to advocate harder for FLSP. It was too easy to divide people over the eminent domain discussion and too many people are anti-government here. And I will never forget how the majority of our environmental groups abandoned the FLSP right off the bat.
I realize what I’m writing here is not directly a Texas issue, something On Texas Nature. However, I care about this state park because of my time living in Florida and how much time I spent hiking and exploring JDSP. But this should be a warning to everyone: your public lands are always for sale. They are never fully protected in perpetuity. They are something you have to always be advocating for and defending.
Further information for those in Florida or beyond who want to send in comments or attend in person:
DEP Public Meetings information—click “Week” and then hit “Next” to get to all of the meetings for next week.
Are changes coming to Florida’s State Park System? via the Tampa Bay Times
And finally, two IG Reels you should watch, click on them to be taken to IG.
Misti writes regularly at Oceanic Wilderness and In the Weeds. She hosts one podcast, Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail Podcast, and recently retired The Garden Path Podcast.
The answer to the question in your headline is, of course, money and greed. But as your piece points out, it is absurd to ruin further parks for golf when Florida is already overrun with crappy golf courses next to every crappy condo project. But I sure appreciate you taking up the fight. You are not alone. The issue is clearly getting traction in Florida. https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2024/08/22/florida-state-parks-development-desantis-golf-course-jonathan-dickinson/
It’s all about following the money.
Any big project that gets pushed through in the dark of night is suspect. There’s a big highway construction project proposed outside my back door. It’s random and makes no sense until you consider that it’s most likely going to coincide with a big noisy music venue that locals are fighting tooth and nail to get approved.
One of the biggest complaints is traffic flow to and from the venue, which the preposed site is on a former ranch down a country road.
There already was a well-loved music venue directly on the main highway that runs through the west side of town,, but it’s now a big H‑E‑B.
Deep pocket developers, entertainment promoters, and big retailers can make magic happen in the blink of an eye.