Ron DeSantis broke his days of silence Wednesday on the controversy that has erupted over his administration’s plans to build golf courses, pickleball courts, hotels and more on Florida state parks, saying the state will go “back to the drawing board” on the idea.
Artists created “Keep Florida State Parks Wild” graphics that ricocheted around social media.
When he was asked about the state park proposals by reporters afterward, DeSantis distanced himself from the plans.
“Together, we all stopped DeSantis from bulldozing and paving our state parks.
Folds of Honor had previously pitched state and local officials on building a golf course in Jonathan Dickinson State Park a year ago, but those officials advised them against it.
They discussed the charity’s plans in Florida for a course to honor the Tuskegee Airmen, he said.
“We were getting better conservation land … and we gave them less desirable land,” DeSantis said.
The land the state is giving up is part of a contiguous wildlife corridor, Draper said.
As for the initiative scrapped Wednesday, it would be unlike DeSantis to have such a proposal come out without his knowledge.
State Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, who had publicly opposed the plans, said the governor deserves credit for listening to the feedback from the public.
WINTER HAVEN — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Wednesday that the state of Florida will “go back to the drawing board” regarding the idea of building golf courses, pickleball courts, hotels, and other amenities on state parks in Florida, breaking his days-long silence on the issue.
The plans put forth by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have caused a stir since they were made public last week. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have strongly condemned them, and angry Floridians have staged days-long protests throughout the state. “Keep Florida State Parks Wild” images were made by artists and circulated on social media. Musicians composed protest songs.
DeSantis and law enforcement representatives bragged about Florida’s strict immigration, drug, and law enforcement policies at a long and unrelated news conference in Winter Haven. There was no announcement of new policies.
DeSantis disassociated himself from the plans when questioned about them by reporters later.
“I never saw it, so I didn’t approve of it,” he stated. According to DeSantis, the plans were only “half-baked” when they were leaked “to a very left-wing group.”. “.
Public meetings regarding the plans were scheduled for this week, but they were canceled. The Department of Environmental Protection announced the plans on social media and on its website.
“No green space will be removed,” DeSantis declared. “I’m okay if we don’t do anything. “.
The governor went on to say that there would be no further updates on the plans for the remainder of the year and that officials would “go back and listen to folks.”. “.
His remarks went against the position his administration adopted when the backlash initially started last week, and the environmental agency shared explanations for the plans on social media. Declaring that it’s high time that public lands be made more accessible to the general public, DeSantis spokesperson Jeremy Redfern on Thursday cited Teddy Roosevelt in support of the initiative. “.
You. s. Rep. A Democratic congresswoman from South Florida named Debbie Wasserman Schultz stated on the social media platform X, which was formerly Twitter, that more research should be done on the proposals that were shelved.
“We all worked together to prevent DeSantis from paving and bulldozing our state parks. He seems clueless now,” she wrote. DeSantis must make all documents related to this avaricious land grab public, and the inspector general (IG) must look into who exactly supported it. “.
The participation of Folds of Honor, a national nonprofit organization for veterans that organizes golf tournaments to generate money for scholarships for the families of fallen or injured service members or first responders, was confirmed by DeSantis on Wednesday. A year ago, Folds of Honor had attempted to construct a golf course in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, but state and local officials had discouraged them from doing so.
According to DeSantis, the group had a plan to turn a closed military base in the Martin County state park into a golf course. The money raised would go toward supporting the charity’s scholarship program. That group, however, withdrew its proposal in response to the controversy, and he said that they may now renovate an outdated golf course in the state.
DeSantis met with Lt., the group’s leader. Col. Dan Rooney’s schedule for April 10th is shown. He said they talked about the charity’s intentions to hold a course in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen in Florida.
“That’s not going to happen at the Camp Murphy site in Jonathan Dickinson,” stated DeSantis, who also stated that “the state was not going to subsidize” the golf course.
During the press conference, a reporter from the Tampa Bay Times questioned the governor regarding his approval in June of a land exchange that would have given 324 acres of land in the Withlacoochee State Forest to a golf course operator named Cabot Citrus OpCo LLC. The agreement and the Department of Environmental Protection’s initiative were unrelated. Through a process usually reserved for natural disasters or other exceptional situations, it was abruptly added to the Florida Cabinet’s agenda.
DeSantis stated that the exchange would support the state’s environmental initiatives. The state would receive 861 acres of rural Levy County timberland in exchange for the Hernando forest acreage if the deal is approved in its entirety by a council within the Department of Environmental Protection.
“We were receiving better land designated for conservation,”. and we handed them less attractive land,” DeSantis remarked.
Nobody is in agreement.
The transfer was strange and not properly considered, according to Eric Draper, who oversaw Florida’s state parks as director from 2017 to 2021, including during DeSantis’ tenure.
According to Draper, the land the state is ceding is a part of a contiguous wildlife corridor. By comparison, the land that the company is returning does not form part of a wildlife corridor, is not on the state’s wish list for land acquisition, and is isolated from other conservation land.
In regards to the initiative shelved on Wednesday, it would be unusual for DeSantis to be unaware of the existence of such a proposal. DeSantis is notorious for exerting strong control over state agencies under his executive branch; in fact, his office has been reported to inspect requests for public records submitted by agencies prior to their release to media.
State Sen. Joe Gruters, a Republican from Sarasota who had openly opposed the plans, said the governor should be commended for paying attention to public input. By “lots and lots of calls, emails,” Gruters received a great deal of feedback from his constituents. “.
He stated, “I believe they miscalculated the sentiment of the public on this one.”. “The governor is a very involved governor who is ultimately in charge of everything his agencies do. “.
