More than 100 people braved the hot Florida weather to protest a proposed development of pickleball courts at Honeymoon Island State Park on Tuesday.
Concerned citizens and elected officials held signs, chanted, and even sang their opposition to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s “Great Outdoors Initiative.”
FDEP’s proposal would place disc golf courses, pickleball courts, or lodging at eight state parks.
Kira Barrera is the Suncoast Sierra Club’s conservation chair. She also emceed the protest.
“This is not about enhancing our parks or increasing access. This is about turning them into profit-driven ventures at the expense of our environment,” Barrera said. “The overwhelming outcry we’ve heard from every corner of our state speaks volumes. Floridians do not want our parks paved.”
Barrera said the plans for Honeymoon Island – which would place up to four pickleball courts in the park – are a bad idea.
“We fought off the development of Honeymoon Island back in 2011 and were successful,” she said. “And we will defend our parks today, next week, and until we know they’re safe and preserved.”
More than 1,000 people showed up to a hearing in Dunedin over a decade ago to oppose FDEP’s proposal for a private company to build and operate a campground at Honeymoon Island.
While Barrera doesn’t want to see development at the park, she is not opposed to pickleball courts in the county.
“Pickleball has certainly a place for recreation. There are a lot of places people can do that in Pinellas County,” Barrera said. “We’re not opposed to people enjoying the outdoors, but it needs to be in an appropriate place and that is not our state parks.”
Honeymoon Island is the only state park in Pinellas County and preserves one of the last virgin pine forests in Florida. Barrera said the park is vital to protecting natural resources and imperiled and endangered species.
Heather Presley attended the rally with a simple blue sign that read “Green not greed.” She said she’s worried development won’t stop with just pickleball courts.
“Once they’re in, they’re going to be in, they’re going to develop further,” Presley said. “It’s going to further erode the ecosystem. This is why people come to Florida not to play pickleball. They’re here to appreciate the beauty that we have.”
Kim Begay is vice president of the Clearwater Audubon Society. She said there was an “obvious lack of transparency” when the FDEP announced public meetings for the initiative.
“It just doesn’t seem like they’re conducting the government in accordance with the Sunshine Laws, they’re supposed to be giving people ample time to respond and not having all of the meetings at exactly the same time over the different areas of the state,” she said. “And during a work day where people are working, it just doesn’t seem like it was done in the spirit of wanting the citizens to speak up. And that’s troublesome.”
Due to the large pushback, FDEP announced it would reschedule the public meetings for all the parks in venues that would accommodate larger crowds.
Despite the cancellation, people still organized to meet at Honeymoon Island, including Erik Cantie.
“We’re still ready to speak today and let them know that you can just go ahead and cancel the next meeting,” he said. “We’re ready. We’re like, we’re ready for this to die on the vine.”
Cantie said when he found out about the state’s “Great Outdoors Initiative,” it was like a slap in the face.
He took to Facebook and started a Honeymoon Island group that now has over 5,000 members and counting.
Lauren Gay is an adventure travel content creator. She said it’s humanity who must protect and restore as much wild natural habitat as possible.
“And it seems to me that the FDP has somehow forgotten that the P is for protection, not profit,” she told protesters.
She added people should hold state leadership accountable to protect the parks and limit unnecessary development.
“We will not stand down and we will not shut up. Keep Florida wild!” Gay said.
Most rallygoers said this protest was just the beginning. And they’ll continue to brave the heat and protest the initiative until the state calls it all off.
Public advocacy has worked to stop plans at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Earlier this week, the proposal for a golf course from the Tuskegee Dunes Foundation was withdrawn.
“We have received clear feedback that Jonathan Dickinson State Park is not the right location. We did not understand the local community landscape and appreciate the clarity. We will not pursue building in the beloved Jonathan Dickinson State Park,” Tuskegee’s website said.
Begay said public advocacy is how they will defeat the FDEP’s plans.
“What stops these officials is the citizens rising up in numbers and making a lot of noise,” she said. “And so far, everyone is doing an amazing job.”
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