Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that plans to develop golf courses, pickleball courts, and hotels in Florida’s state parks have been withdrawn after significant public and political opposition.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that plans to develop golf courses, pickleball courts, and hotels in Florida’s state parks have been withdrawn following widespread public and political backlash.

When asked about the status of the proposals during a press conference on Wednesday, DeSantis characterized the plans as “half-baked” and noted that they had not been approved by his office. DeSantis acknowledged that no developments would occur this year and that the state would instead focus on public feedback before considering any future plans.

“Nothing has been approved, and they are going to go back and listen to folks. It was not approved by me; I never saw that,” he said. “They’re going back to the drawing board. I’d rather not spend any money on this. If people don’t want improvements, then we won’t do them.”

The “Great Outdoors Initiative” included proposals to add recreational amenities to state parks, such as golf courses, pickleball courts, and 350-room hotels. The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) framed the initiative as a way to boost tourism and make public lands more accessible to Floridians and visitors alike. However, the announcement of these plans was met with immediate resistance.

Demonstrations were held at various parks targeted for development, including Jonathan Dickinson State Park, where plans called for the development of a golf course. A bipartisan consortium of elected officials also stood in opposition to the efforts, including Republican Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, Republican Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, and Democrat Senator Lauren Book.

“In my view, these are not in line with the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of nature,” Passidomo wrote on social media last week. “I am open to other ideas, but from what I know at this time, the proposal should not move forward in its current form.”

Moreover, Max Chesnes of the Tampa Bay Times reported that Eric Draper, a former director of Florida’s state parks, alleged that the DEP bypassed standard procedures in drafting its proposal by not involving key stakeholders, such as park volunteers and citizen support organizations. Draper suggested that the DEP may have circumvented the usual steps of convening a citizens advisory committee and holding public hearings, which are designed to ensure public participation.

During the press conference, DeSantis also addressed a specific proposal involving the Folds of Honor charity, which aimed to convert an abandoned military base in Martin County into a golf course that would raise funds for scholarships benefiting military and first responder families. The governor said that the proposal was withdrawn due to local opposition and reiterated that the state would not pursue involvement in golf course developments.

He also claimed that the draft development proposals were intentionally leaked to a “left-wing group” in an effort to create a misleading narrative, further labeling it a deliberate attempt to portray the state as seeking to turn its parks into “parking lots,” fueling the public backlash.

“It was intentionally leaked out to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative,” DeSantis alleged. “This was done intentionally, given to a very left-wing group to try to create a narrative that somehow the state parks are going to become a big parking lot or something like that. That’s obviously a phony narrative, and was never true to begin with.”