Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed leaks provided to a “left-wing group” for stirring controversy to bring golf courses, pickleball and hotels to state parks in a press conference Wednesday, saying he was agnostic about the improvement plans leaked last week.
“We’re not getting into the golf course business in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said in his first public comments on plans that ignited protests around the state. “As governor, I am totally fine to just do nothing and do no improvements, if that's what the general public wants.”
Proposals to add the courts and fairways were first announced by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection last week in a press release as part of a 2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative. Without giving details, the agency said it planned to construct golf courses, lodges and pickleball at state parks.
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“Today’s announcement reinforces the DeSantis Administration’s record support for conserving our natural landscapes and commitment to ensuring every Floridian can visit and recreate at Florida’s state parks,” the statement said.
A memo later leaked to reporters said FDEP planned to hold public meetings at each park a week later but would not take questions. It sketched out plans for nine state parks that included multiple golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, hotels at two parks and pickleball courts, frisbee golf and additional cabins or glamping at others. In some cases, the plans would require paving over areas treasured for natural wilderness.
FDEP mostly refused to answer reporter questions and instead postponed public meetings scheduled for this week. As outrage spread, Folds of Honor, a veterans’ group based in Oklahoma, announced it was behind the golf course plan and was backing off.
Opposition to the plan included state Republicans. In a letter to DeSantis, more than a dozen Republicans including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who once supported golf courses in the park, called the limited public input "ridiculous."
On Thursday, DeSantis defended Folds of Honor and its proposal to create the golf courses on an old military base located in Jonathan Dickinson, which straddles the Indian River Lagoon where the state is spending millions to fight pollution, including fertilizers that fuel algae blooms.
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“Some was misrepresented as if they were going to try to take away all this unspoiled land. No, there was almost a 1,000 buildings on that base back in the day,” DeSantis said. “That was the only thing we were interested in just because it had the connection to the military stuff. So that's done now. Folds of Honor, I think they've done a lot of good work. And so it's not going to work in a state park. And it may not work anywhere in Florida where you're getting new land.”
DeSantis said none of the plans had been approved.
“Look, I as governor, I'm not refereeing how big this campsite is or that. I mean, it's just not things that I've been getting involved in,” he said. “But this was done intentionally, given to a very left wing group to try to create a narrative that somehow, you know, the state park is going to become a big parking lot or something like that. That's obviously a phony narrative.”
FDEP has still not rescheduled meetings on the park plans. An advisory committee that oversees park management plans is scheduled to meet Thursday in Sebring for a regional meeting on unrelated improvements under the Florida Forever land-buying program. The next general meeting is set for Sept. 12.
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