Opinion: Governor DeSantis War on State Parks

Update: Aug 25, 2024. From the Dep of Environmental Protection's X account. "We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate. Public input is vital to DEP decision-making. To gather feedback on your favorite state parks, we’ve launched a dedicated webpage for more suggestions: https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7983173/Great-Outdoors-Initiative . New meeting dates will be announced soon, with meetings expected the week of Sept. 2, 2024.

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Politicians love to play the euphemism game when they are trying to hide what they are doing. Take the governor’s Great Outdoors Initiative.

With a name like that the casual observer who only listens to the sound bites from press conference Ron is stepping in to save our state parks from those looking to get a sweetheart deal to develop them.

Well, nothing could be further from the truth.

Take Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, the Walton County version of Saint Andrews State Park, one of the few pristine pieces of coastline that tourists and wildlife can coexist on. His plan is to build a 350-room lodge and a gaggle of Pickle Ball courts. Because the one thing Florida is missing is hotel rooms and paved over wildlife sanctuaries at the beach for Pickle Ball.

Closer to home his Camp Helen State Park plan is to build ten more cabins or camping/glamping sites on the north side of the park. Which on its face is not the end of the world but the simple question must be asked, why? https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/camp-helen-state-park

Last time I checked we have four campgrounds on the Island and more condos and hotels than you can shake a stick at. And Camp Helen is one of the few places left that is protected from development.

Sadly, though, when you dig through the plan it only gets worse for some of our fellow Floridians. Take Jonathan Dickinson State Park. The plan there is to build an 18-hole golf course. Now I am not against private entities building golf courses, but the entire point of state parks is to keep the natural habitat intact for wildlife and humans alike.

And a golf course, with a club house, tons of chemicals being spread everywhere to make it look pretty is about as far away from the original intent as you can be.

The only thing that is in the governor’s plan that stays within the original intent of the parks is the addition of Disc Golf Courses. If they are done correctly, you won’t even notice they are there unless you are looking for them.

Honestly though, at this point does anyone have faith that the government will do something right for once. I certainly do not.

So how about this governor. Get about doing your primary job first. Get the roads done you are working on and have planned.

Make sure our elections are secure, put an end to Florida Power and Light’s plan to turn us into California with a solar panel on every inch of farmland causing food inflation, wildlife degradation while driving rates through the roof.

Fix the debacle that is our insurance market, mostly by getting the government out of the way i.e. freedom to contract. And repeal unconstitutional Red Flag laws like you promised in 2018.

Then and only then we will let you monkey around with our State Parks.

www.RexLeeReid.com

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