State proposes development in Anastasia State Park

The state of Florida has announced plans to build lodges, golf courses and pickleball courts in state parks, including Anastasia State Park in St. Johns County.

The state Department of Environmental Protection this week announced what it calls a “Great Outdoors Initiative” aimed at expanding public access to state parks. The announcement includes, among other things, establishing campgrounds and cabins and increasing “the number of outdoor recreation opportunities in Florida’s state parks, including pickleball, disc golf, golf and paddleboarding.”

“The initiative is designed to expand public access, increase outdoor recreation opportunities and create new overnight accommodations in Florida’s state parks – thereby reaffirming the state’s commitment to conservation, the outdoor recreation economy and a high quality of life for Floridians,” the department said in a press release.

The department did not immediately respond to questions about the plan. But a series of meetings are scheduled for Aug. 27 to review management plans for Anastasia State Park, as well as Honeymoon Island State Park in Pinellas County, Hillsborough River State Park in Hillsborough County, Oleta River State Park in Miami-Dade County, Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County, Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Broward County, Camp Helen State Park in Bay County and Topsail Hill Preserve and Grayton Beach State Park in Walton County.

Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, said Florida’s state parks are award-winning for their natural beauty and protection of “real Florida.”

“Golf courses at gems like Jonathan Dickinson and pickleball courts on Honeymoon Island would be a travesty,” Wraithmell said in an online post.

The Florida Springs City Council described the proposal as “commercialization and development of our public lands.”

Golf has been considered in parks like Jonathan Dickinson State Park in the past.

In 2011, there was a bill that would have allowed legendary golfer and golf course designer Jack Nicklaus to build courses in state parks.

The measure grew out of discussions between Nicklaus and then-Governor Rick Scott about promoting tourism. The idea was to create a Florida version of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama, which features golf courses at 11 locations.

Then-Representative Patrick Rooney, a Republican from West Palm Beach who introduced the bill, said at the time that his intent was economic development, but he withdrew the measure because “Florida’s citizens had been very vocal” about the proposal.

Rooney’s proposal called for Nicklaus to build a Jack Nicklaus Golf Trail “in an environmentally sustainable manner.” The proposal also suggested the establishment of accompanying hotels.

In its press release Tuesday, the Department of Environmental Protection said state parks attracted nearly 30 million visitors in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

According to the Florida Sports Foundation, there are more than 1,100 golf courses in the state. One-third of the nearly 48 million rounds played annually are by out-of-state visitors. Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency, estimates the number of public golf courses in the state at more than 1,400.

The website Pickleheads lists 1,160 pickleball facilities in Florida, the most of any state for the growing sport. Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando have the most courts.

The state is also buying land to create the Florida Wildlife Corridor, which will encompass nearly 18 million acres of habitat from the Everglades to the Panhandle. It already includes more than 6,000 acres of recreational trails.