Floridians don’t want the DEP to pave paradise and put up a parking lot
Wind-sculpted trees crouch atop a dune at Grayton Beach State Park. Image courtesy of Del Stone Jr.
“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.” – Joni Mitchell, “Big Yellow Taxi”
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, according to its mission statement, “protects, conserves and manages the state’s natural resources and enforces its environmental laws.”
Why then is the DEP, the sole governmental entity charged with “protecting” and “conserving” Florida’s unique and endangered natural resources, advancing a proposal that would threaten the very resources it is charged with protecting?
Cynically titled the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” the DEP proposal, according to a report by Brandon Girod of the Pensacola News Journal, would bring a mix of golf courses, hotels, pickleball courts and disc golf courses to nine of Florida’s state parks, including Topsail Hill Preserve and Grayton Beach State Park.
In the Panhandle, Topsail Hill would suffer the worst, receiving a 350-room resort, pickleball courts and a disc golf course. Pickleball and disc golf would also come to Grayton Beach State Park.
Never mind that this proposal, on its face, seems to contradict the point of even having a park; never mind that further development pressure would endanger the unique and irreplaceable ecosystems contained within those parks; and never mind that a growing number of Floridians and elected officials are saying they don’t want these parks developed; why would the state try to compete with the private sector in matters of resorts and golf courses when it has no aptitude for managing either, and with regard to golf courses, would be investing taxpayer dollars in a failing venture?
Golf is a failing venture. It has been declining in the United States for years, and continues to lose popularity as younger, less affluent generations look for other ways to entertain themselves.
In a Jan. 13, 2023 report, Amelia Josephson, writing for SmartAsset, noted, “Golf has had fewer and fewer players over the past decade. According to Pellucid, the number of U.S. golfers is down 24% in 2016 from its 2002 peak. The Pellucid report found that in 2013 alone, golf lost 1.1 million players. This number has continued to decline today.” Additionally, the number of golf courses in the United States has fallen 13 percent from 2006 to 2022, according to the National Golf Foundation.
As for hotel rooms and resorts, Florida is awash in both. Two of the top 10 hotel room cities in the United States are in Florida, according to a 2016 Statista report. They are Orlando and Miami. Orlando trails only Las Vegas in its number of available hotel rooms. Meanwhile, Florida’s revenue derived from hotel occupancy is second only to California’s and the gap is closing, according to a July 22, 2022 analysis by Oxford Economics.
Obviously the state needs another golf course like the proverbial hole in the head, and its hotel industry is doing just fine, thank you very much. What’s infuriating is that while the DeSantis regime fritters away its efforts on pointless and cruel political stunts like the drag queen dust-up, book bans, and now this absurd proposal to develop Florida’s state parks, it ignores the real problems facing Floridians such as climate change, the housing crisis and the spiraling insurance crisis.
Florida is home to plants and animals not found anywhere else in the world. Their existence plays roles in our lives not fully defined by science. More than that, we, as moral beings, have an ethical obligation to preserve life, not just for own aesthetic but for the rights of those other living things.
If there’s a market for more hotel rooms, golf courses and other amenities, the private sector will provide those things, on land more suited for those uses.
Florida’s uniquely beautiful and irreplaceably state parks must be preserved in their natural state for us and future generations to enjoy, and for the creatures with whom we share this earth.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
Thank you for this information.
Do you know if there is an organized effort to fight this? A petition? A letter-writing campaign? Anything?
DeSantis has sent this plan “back to the drawing board” after thousands of Floridians and elected officials came out against it. He’ll wait until the furor has died down, then try to sneak something like it under the table.
We feel the reason why we have such devastating storms is due to the development of more construction which means more trees down and invading wildlife. Trees gives the environment oxygen. We have a huge infrastructure problem as it is. It seems individuals care more about making a profit versus what’s best for the beaches/national parks.
I agree and they have allowed such an influx of humans into Northwest FL (just look at FWB and Niceville, with plans for many more) that we couldn’t evacuate when called upon to do so ahead of a hurricane if ordered to do so! They have allowed too much building without proper infrastructure! They have not planned well for schools and roads to be able to accommodate the overwhelming overpopulation! So so sad!
The ones responsible are clearly incompetent and interested only in making more money 💰 than needed to begin with!
☹️😢🙏
Please STOP DESTROYING OUR BEAUTIFUL NATURAL HABITATS. STOP!!! We don’t need any further “development” and we don’t want it! You continually rob the local wildlife of their habitat and wonder why they invade the communities, go figure!!
Destin and Okaloosa Island are already over developed and ugly enough, that beauty is already gone. There are already plenty of golf courses, pickle ball courts, etc….
I VOTE TO LEAVE THE NATURAL HABITATS OUT OF YOUR DEVELOPMENT PLANS, I vote NO!!
Thank you for sharing this valuable insight and information. I’m also a single 60-ish, new to the state, and very concerned.
Who in their right mind thinks we need more tourists?
It amazes me how the laws put in place to prevent this type of development, means absolutely nothing to those who feel empowered to do what they want and are in a position to change florida law, usually disguised under a different topic. They pass the change by intertwining changes within another topic which is guaranteed to pass public voting. Most don’t even realize they are actually voting on 2 or 3 seperate approval, believing it’s only the main topic is being approved.
What about the laws already In place to prevent such changes.
Florida has several laws and regulations aimed at preserving its natural and historical resources. One of the key pieces of legislation is Chapter 267 of the Florida Statutes, also known as the Florida Historical Resources Act. This law governs the preservation and protection of archaeological and historical resources on state-owned lands1.
Additionally, the Florida Forever program, established in 1999, is a significant state land acquisition program aimed at conserving natural resources and ensuring the protection of environmentally sensitive lands2. This program continues the legacy of the earlier Preservation 2000 program, which was initiated in 1990
We DO NOT want anymore developments that will further decrease/hurt wildlife habitats and beaches. Please stop thinking of ways to increase the residential population in NWFL. Our City and Town planning boards need to implement a better
“Check & Balance” system because their current planning strategies are not working.
WHY would you try to plan developments in and/or near protected State parks?!
In addition, the traffic on John Sims/Rt. 20 is horrible and has greatly increased within the last 2 years. And that is as a result of increased development from Niceville to Freeport.
Thank you.
I agree. It’s already happened. We are now one big asphalt jungle. Locals and wildlife are being forced out. Scrub oaks and native plants are being removed. It reminds me of strip mining. You can’t stop big money. Our paradise has been ruined. I’m not against development but it’s out of hand. Taxpayers will be paying for restoring beaches. Our white sand will be in jeopardy once the Gulf is opened to drilling for oil. It was reported that some old wells that aren’t producing are not properly capped.
Del, loved you then and love you now. Thx for the great synopsis.
Thanks, Linda!