PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Final summer season, the Florida Division of Surroundings Safety thought-about including facilities like golf programs, pickleball courts, and resorts to sure state Parks throughout the state.
9 parks throughout the state, together with Honeymoon Island and Hillsborough River State Parks, had been chosen for proposed upgrades. Nonetheless, the modifications sparked fierce protest and backlash, and Gov. Ron DeSantis shelved the plans.
It’s nonetheless arduous for residents like Michael McGrath to consider. “Like many people throughout the complete state, I used to be flabbergasted,” McGrath stated.
“A whole lot of that stuff was simply half-baked and never prepared for prime time,” the governor stated final August.
The general public U-turn got here after intense public outcry and protests. “We noticed, very clearly, that Floridians weren’t going to take this,” McGrath stated.
However the combat isn’t over. Proper now, lawmakers in Tallahassee are debating a pair of companion payments often called the State Park Preservation Act, which seeks to guard state parks from future growth.
McGrath, lead organizer of Sierra Membership Florida, helps the idea. The payments would require public hearings earlier than important land-use modifications at state parks and purpose to make sure that the parks are used for “conservation-based public out of doors leisure makes use of.”
“That is actually an all-hands-on-deck second for Floridians to guard our state park system,” McGrath stated. He and the Sierra Membership, nevertheless, have some issues with the payments. They assume the payments want extra enamel and extra particular language.
“We have to be sure that there aren’t any loopholes in there that may enable for what we noticed with the Park-gate scandal final summer season to ever happen once more,” he stated. “If we wish this really to be a State Park Preservation Act, we’d like to verify there may be precise language in there that ensures preservation.”
He stated the laws ought to be amended to obviously outline prohibited makes use of and take away different cases of what he described as obscure language. To emphasise its opposition to the payments, the Sierra Membership Florida has deliberate greater than a dozen rallies at state parks throughout the state.
Rallies are set for this Saturday at Weeki Wachee Springs, Oscar Scherer, and Honeymoon Island State Parks. One other rally is ready for April 13 at Hillsborough River State Park. McGrath hopes the rallies will ship a loud and clear message to lawmakers in Tallahassee.
“We have to take heed to the voice of the individuals, proper?” McGrath stated.
Be taught extra in regards to the upcoming rallies right here.
ABC Motion Information reached out to the sponsors of each the Home and Senate payments however has but to obtain a response.
