Protesters criticise plans for leisure development on Honeymoon Island

More than 100 people gathered at the entrance to Honeymoon Island State Park on Tuesday for the third day of protests against plans to build pickleball courts there.

Protesters chanted “Keep Florida Wild,” waved signs and vowed to keep up the pressure on DeSantis.

Michelle Birnbaum of Dunedin has been visiting Honeymoon Island for years. She called the state’s most visited park her “front yard.”

Several dozen protesters at Honeymoon Island State Park on Tuesday, August 28, 2024, are unhappy with Governor Ron DeSantis' "Great Nature Initiative"a plan to develop state parks with commercial facilities such as golf courses, pickleball courts and large hotels. — Several dozen protesters demonstrated at Honeymoon Island State Park on Tuesday, August 28, 2024, out of dissatisfaction with Governor Ron DeSantis’ “Great Outdoors Initiative,” a plan to develop state parks with commercial ventures such as golf courses, pickleball courts and large hotels.

“Part of the job of managing a wonderful park is to preserve its natural value,” Birnbaum said. “If you put pickleball courts in that park, what’s next?”

Pickleball courts and a disc golf course have also been proposed for Hillsborough River State Park.

Kira Barrera of the Suncoast Sierra Club says people should contact the governor’s office to stop the plans.

“Our state parks have no place for development. Our parks were created to protect these special, rare resources,” Barrera said. “We love outdoor recreation, but there is a place for that too. These areas were set aside for future generations and for natural resources.”

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Environmentalists, lawmakers and nature lovers gathered at Honeymoon Island State Park on Tuesday, August 28, 2024, to protest Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Great Outdoors Initiative, a plan to develop state parks with commercial ventures such as golf courses, pickleball courts and large hotels.

Daylina Miller / WUSF

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Similar protests took place on Tuesday in three other parks and in front of the state Department of Environmental Protection headquarters in Tallahassee.

“The reason for all this was to make a profit from our state parks,” said Jeff Gaw, a council member in Dunedin, which is connected to Honeymoon Island by a causeway. “It’s just misguided.”

Following public protests, a private group has withdrawn plans to build a golf course in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in South Florida.

“It just goes against what our parks are about,” Democratic Rep. Lindsey Cross said before the rally on Honeymoon Island. “It’s a place to come and calm down and reconnect with nature.”

Florida has 175 state parks totaling 320,000 acres in all regions of the state. Some of them have some of the most beautiful beaches in the country and have resisted development efforts in the past.

“We must remain vigilant and we will not stop,” said Kim Begay, vice president and conservation activist at the Clearwater Audubon Society.

The state postponed public hearings this week after high levels of interest in the plans, but they have not yet been rescheduled.

This report uses information from the Associated Press.