Florida’s state parks proposal was further along than DeSantis said

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has sought to distance himself from a controversial proposal to build golf courses and hotels in state parks, saying he did not approve the proposals before they were “leaked.”

“I didn’t approve it, I never saw it,” DeSantis said at an Aug. 28 news conference in Winter Haven. “They’re going back to the drawing board … They’re not doing anything this year. They’re going to go back and basically listen to people. A lot of that material was half-baked and not ready for the key moment. And it was intentionally leaked to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative.”

The proposal for some state parks sparked outrage among residents. DeSantis made it seem like the “half-baked” plan was leaked before it was ready. But the department’s attempted public presentation shows it was a proposal in its final stages.

The state posted its full plans on a government website along with an announcement of simultaneous public meetings across Florida within days. Officials in the governor’s office showed support for the plan early on, and state officials put up a series of social media graphics to promote it.

The Tampa Bay Times broke the story about the state park plans on Aug. 20, and some of the details had leaked to the outlet days earlier. By the time the story was published, however, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection had already issued a press release and planned public meetings.

The department’s Aug. 19 press release said its 2024-25 “Great Outdoors Initiative” would “expand public access, increase outdoor activities and provide new lodging options.”

The next day, the department posted proposals on its website for all nine parks.

The proposed plans included building golf courses, pickleball courts, disc golf courses and hotels in the parks. Several golf courses were proposed for Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County and 350-room hotels were proposed for Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine and TopSail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach.

The Florida Department of State sent out a notice on August 20 announcing plans to hold public meetings on August 27 on proposed plans throughout the state. The department announced the initiative on their social media accounts Starting August 19th.

News of the proposed plans drew condemnation from Republican and Democratic politicians and sparked protests across the state.

The department canceled public meetings and withdrew plans for golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

The Tampa Bay Times published its first article on August 20 and has published a series of subsequent articles. In its first article, the paper reported that it had obtained copies of leaked documents detailing the proposed plans and wrote that the leaked documents had been circulated more widely, sparking debate on social media.

DeSantis’ comments at the Aug. 28 press conference reversed his administration’s initial defense of the initiative in an Aug. 22 statement to the Times.

“Teddy Roosevelt believed that public parks were for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and we agree with him,” spokesman Jeremy Redfern told the paper. “No administration has done more than we have to conserve Florida’s natural resources, cultivate conservation lands and maintain our pristine environment. But it’s time we make public lands more accessible to the public.”

On Aug. 29, in response to PolitiFact’s questions about DeSantis’ claims about unapproved and leaked proposals, Redfern said, “the governor’s comments speak for themselves.”

The governor appoints the secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The agency’s statewide initiatives are typically reviewed and approved by the governor’s office before being shared with the public.

Eric Draper, who served as Florida’s state parks director from 2017 to 2021, said typically the secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection has conversations directly with the governor’s office. Sometimes it’s with the governor’s environmental affairs policy chief, or it might be with the chief of staff, he said.

“Either way, these initiatives are being carried out by the governor’s office, if not initiated by the governor’s office,” Draper said. “The department doesn’t do anything, in terms of initiatives, without some direction from them.”

PolitiFact reached out to the agency about its communications with the governor’s office but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Our decision

DeSantis said the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to put golf courses and hotels in Florida state parks “was something that was leaked… A lot of that material was half-baked and not ready for use in the big time.”

DeSantis’ comments leave the impression that the proposed plan to convert state parks to other uses was just an idea on the whiteboard in its early stages and was leaked prematurely.

But the initiative to build golf courses, pickleball courts, disc golf courses, hotels and more in Florida’s state parks wasn’t just an undeveloped idea. There were plans, documents and public meetings scheduled simultaneously across the state.

The plan first came to public attention as a final stage of the effort, which was publicly reported by the Tampa Bay Times and then acknowledged and promoted by an agency that DeSantis oversees as governor. The Times was briefed on its reports but did not report on the leaked documents until the state announced the initiative was coming.

DeSantis’ statement contains an element of truth, but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. We rate it Mostly False.