Leandro Caixeta has been mountain biking with friends at Oleta River State Park every Sunday for 14 years. He believes Gov. Ron DeSantis’s proposed addition of ten cabins, four pickleball courts and one disc golf course may drive away regulars.
“For visitors from out of the state, maybe it would be a good view,” said Caixeta, who used to volunteer to clean up the park. “But for those who live here and come enjoy the park every weekend, it’s not going to help at all. None of us play golf.”
In leaked documents first reported by the Tampa Bay Times last Tuesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection detailed the “2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative.”
It stated that the construction of amenities including golf courses and hotels in nine state parks would “work to expand public access, increase outdoor activities and provide new lodging options across Florida’s state parks—reinforcing the state’s dedication to conservation, the outdoor recreation economy and a high quality of life for Floridians.”
Many in the state, both Democrat and Republican, from kayakers to U.S. senators, protested from Honeymoon Island near Clearwater to Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Palm Beach County to Oleta. Outrage was so great that top officials including Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio called for delays in meetings planned to discuss the additions.
“If they want to exploit this park, we need more parking and more gates,” said Jesus Hurtado, who bikes through the Oleta trails two to three times a week. “We have enough traffic with the amount of visitors that we have in the park every day. Imagine if we have more traffic coming in. It doesn’t make sense.”
When the initiative was officially announced last Wednesday, citizens were given a six-day notice. Eight meetings were set across the state from 3 to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27.
Two days of backlash from advocacy groups and a bi-partisan force of lawmakers culminated in a letter to the FDEP on Friday headlined by Rubio and Scott that called the meeting arrangements for those in Martin and Palm Beach County regarding Jonathan Dickinson State Park “ridiculous.”
The FDEP announced later that day on ‘X’ that it would postpone all sessions due to “overwhelming interest.” The plan for Jonathan Dickibnson was withdrawn,
No dates have been announced for future meetings as the state looks “for new venues to accommodate the public.” The agency launched a “dedicated webpage for feedback.”
Brian Rapoza, a field trip coordinator for the advocacy group Tropical Audubon, credits this development to those who protested, signed petitions and sent emails to their representatives.
“Our government and our representatives, they will listen to us if we yell loud enough,” said Rapoza.
Rapoza questioned if the construction of a disc golf course in areas of Oleta where non-native Australian pines were removed will follow the park’s 10-year management bluperint, which was updated in 2022.
“Their plan is to work, as funds allow, to continue to remove non-native species and replant them with native species, said Rapoza. “If they turn that area into a disc golf course, [it] requires open area, so they may [have] removed the non-native, but they may not replant with natives.”
The FDEP defended the design on ‘X’ by stating in a “fact check” that, “Oleta River State Park is Florida’s largest urban park. We’re keeping up with increasing demand.”
Carlos Carvajal, who is from Honduras, visited the park with friends Sunday.
“This in reality is one of the only areas that we have where one could go have fun with their family,” he said.
“It’s been my thought for a long time that developers when they pass by here, they start drooling when looking at all the terrain because they would love to see it filled with construction next to the ocean,” continued Carvajal.” “But this is the only urban park that we have here.”
