The Florida Department of Environmental Protection unveiled its Great Outdoors Initiative on Monday and almost immediately faced fierce opposition.
The plan calls for additional facilities at several state parks, including an 18-hole golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Stuart, as well as amenities such as pickleball courts, cabins and disc golf at parks in South Florida.
Oleta River State Park in North Miami and Mizell-Johnson State Park in Dania Beach are on the state’s list of parks that need to be enhanced, but critics say less is more with these parks. After all, Florida State Parks’ slogan is “The Real Florida” and its mission is to preserve natural beauty for all citizens to enjoy.
“It is probably the largest native mangrove forest in all of Miami-Dade County, and it is the crown jewel of our park system in northern Dade County,” environmental scientist Bill Precht said of the Oleta River.
Precht said any loss of green space in the parks is a loss for everyone.
“I would be happy if our national parks became greener areas, because that is the reason why people go to these national parks,” said Precht.
On the Oleta River, a paradise for kayakers and mountain bikers, a park that is full every weekend, the construction of pickleball courts, a disc golf course and ten additional cabins is planned.
“I would say this is fantastic,” replied cyclist Ivan Zamora when I asked him if he would prefer to leave everything as it is.
“I think there’s a lot of unused space that we can definitely utilize, and I think it’s going to be really beneficial because I see a lot of families coming here, and I think they’re going to love playing pickleball, and it’s becoming more and more popular now. I myself love playing pickleball, so if they have that, I’ll check it out,” said frequent park visitor Ava Havia, stressing that there’s enough space along the Oleta River for all the facilities.
“I haven’t seen the plans, but it doesn’t seem to fit well,” said Precht.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection tweeted that Oleta’s plan would meet the growing demand for more outdoor activities.
At Mizell-Johnson State Park, the pristine beach is the main attraction, and the state’s plan calls for building pickleball courts in unused parking lots.
Mario Oliveira told us that he comes to the park to escape the city.
“I play tennis, I also play pickleball, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to build pickleball courts here in the middle of a state park,” Oliveira said.
The state says the pickleball courts there will benefit both locals and visitors. Craig Barr said he goes to that park almost every week to enjoy the outdoors.
“Yeah, exactly. Come sit on the beach, look at the beautiful trees and stuff, hang out by the water. And I don’t want to listen to people playing pickleball all day, you know?” Barr said, adding that having pickleball courts near the beach would ruin the atmosphere.
“It definitely spoils the mood, it certainly kills the mood,” Barr said.
There is already bipartisan opposition to the current plan, with State Senators Jason Pizzo and Kathleen Passidomo signaling their opposition.
The governor’s office said in a statement that no final decision has been made, but the goal of the plan is to make public lands accessible to all.
The public will have the opportunity to voice their opinion next Tuesday from 3 p.m. At the same time, information events will be held in all state parks mentioned in the plan.
The event for Oleta River State Park will be held at the Kovens Center on FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus. The session for Mizell-Johnson State Park will be held at the Downtown Event Center at 416 NE 1.st Avenue in Fort Lauderdale.
