Protect our State Parks!
Here’s the Florida Springs Council’s overview of the DEP’s proposal for development within 9 State Parks:
Our state leaders are sacrificing our State Parks in favor of development. From plans to sell state conservation lands to agriculture to proposals to build golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park and resorts at Topsail State Park, our State leaders are commodifying, commercializing and developing our public lands (the lands we trusted them to conserve with our tax dollars).
Terrifying proposed changes to nine state park management plans have come to light today, including proposals to build three golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, 350 room resorts at Anastasia and Topsail State Parks, and other non-conservation development at state parks across Florida. And, we’ve known since the last legislative session that Commissioner Simpson wants to sell off the State’s conservation lands, including land in the Florida Wildlife Corridor, to intensive agriculture.
Converting State Parks that we trusted our leaders to protect into golf courses, resorts and intensive agriculture is a threat to our water, wildlife and way of life. We should be able to trust that public lands, once placed in conservation, will stay in conservation forever, not be developed into sources of pollution.
The answer to healthier springs is preserving more forests and State Parks, not selling off the ones we have to the highest bidder.
Update: Advocacy works! Another message from our friends at the Florida Springs Council:
Governor DeSantis just announced that due to overwhelming opposition from the public, the destructive proposals to commodify and develop nine of Florida’s State Parks are being put on hold for this year, and DEP will be “going back to the drawing board.”
We want to first say thank you and congratulations to everyone across the State who took action, sent emails, called the Governor’s office, pressured legislators to take a stand, sent postcards, shared information online, showed up at protests and rallies, and worked tirelessly this past week to organize, speak up and show our collective support and love for Florida’s natural spaces.
We are in awe of how the public came together with such little notice from DEP about these proposals and have not let the Governor and DEP get away with developing our State Parks. We appreciate the long list of legislators and elected officials who took a strong position against these proposals and called on others to voice their opposition as well.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s proposal to develop our State Parks and public lands is and always will be unacceptable! This is just one of many recent attacks on Florida’s environment. We need to be prepared and continue to fight for the conservation of our public lands. The Florida Springs Council is focused on working with our conservation partners and legislators to pass even stronger legislation in 2025, so our state agencies and leaders can not develop and commodify our State Parks or hand our public conservation lands over to private interests.
“How many stretches of pristine, undeveloped beaches do we have in Florida? Not many – and the truth is, in Florida, anything that we don’t conserve is going to be developed.” - FSC Executive Director Ryan Smart
The Governor’s announcement was made during a press conference this afternoon, which can be viewed here: https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1RDGlybarRkJL
We encourage everyone to stay engaged in this fight and support our work to protect Florida’s conservation lands, which are the key to healthy springs and rivers.
Springs protectors, let’s continue to work together and stay vigilant. We won this battle, but the war against public conservation lands continues.
Thank you for defending our State Parks and conservation lands,
Thank you for standing up for our natural resources,
Ryan Smart
Florida Springs Council
Chloe Dougherty
Florida Springs Council
Copyright (C) 2024 Florida Springs Council. All rights reserved.
