TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Protests against the “2024-25 Great Outdoor Initiative” took place across Florida on Tuesday. This comes after the Department of Environmental Protection proposed several controversial amenities.
The initiative includes plans to build golf courses and pickleball courts inside of nine state parks throughout Florida. In at least two of those parks, there are plans to build hotels and lodging.
The state planned to hold a hearing on the initiative today, but because of the pushback it’s facing, the DEP decided to move the hearings to next week. There is no exact date on when that will be.
“It’s not for recreation as far as sports, pickleball, golf: it’s for nature,” said Chris Costello, organizing manager of the Florida Sierra Club. “It’s for preserving the flora and the fauna that is native to Florida and so desperately needs peace and quiet and protection. So you want a pickleball court? Put it in a city park."
The Sierra Club organized all the protests Tuesday, including one on Honeymoon Island where dozens gathered.
Protestors at Honeymoon Island State Park speaking out against proposal by the FL DEP to build pickle ball courts here. Similar plans are being considered at 9 state parks total, as part of the governor’s Great Outdoors Initiative @SierraClub @BN9 pic.twitter.com/W5K5ttKDkd
— Cait McVey (@CaitMcVey) August 27, 2024
Organizer Mike McGrath calls the state's plans a thinly veiled attempt to make money.
“We have more golf course and pickle ball courts than any other state in the nation," said McGrath. "This is not about trying to increase access, this is about trying to commercialize public lands.”
To McGrath's point, the city of Dunedin is set to open 10 new pickleball courts in the coming weeks, just four miles away from Honeymoon Island.
“We’re going to stand up for Honeymoon Island and all of our State Parks today, tomorrow and until we know they are safe and preserved,” said another event organizer in a speech.