It can be challenging to find public land in Florida to build a mountain bike trail, and as a result, many of the state’s best trails are located in state parks. A new proposal from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ administration to build golf courses, pickleball courts, and even 350-room hotels in nine Florida State Parks could threaten some of the state’s best mountain bike trails.
Of the nine state parks where development is proposed, at least two are home to substantial mountain bike trail systems: Oleta River State Park and Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Oleta River is home to 14 miles of mountain bike trails, and Jonathan Dickinson is home to over 10 miles of mountain bike-specific trails.
Local residents swiftly oppose development in Jonathan Dickinson State Park
According to Wendy Morse, President of the Friends of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, over 1,000 acres of the state park would be impacted if the current proposal passes. The proposal for Jonathan Dickinson State Park calls for the construction of three golf courses: two 18-hole golf courses and one 9-hole golf course, according to Morse.
While mountain bikers got fired up by initial rumors that the proposed development would destroy the local mountain bike trails, when maps were released that turned out not to be the case. No mountain bike trails are actually threatened. “My inside guy in the parks, he has assured me that our trails are recognized by Tallahassee as being way too vital and important a source of recreation to really mess with,” said Jeff Orr, President of Club Scrub, the local MTB advocacy group that builds and maintains the trails in Jonathan Dickinson.
Even though the mountain bike trail tread itself is not threatened, the proposed golf course development is directly adjacent to the mountain bike trail system and would destroy the natural environment of the park. Finding out that the mountain bike trails aren’t threatened “didn’t slow the momentum down at all, because it is the same area,” said Orr. “A lot of us don’t just ride the trails. We hike the trails. We camp in there. This is a source of recreation for everyone in town.” As a result, local mountain bikers are continuing to oppose the golf course development, and are joining forces with the local environmentalists.
“We’re fully behind this thing… It’s kind of a no-brainer,” said Orr, referencing the opposition to the proposed development. “You know, anything that affects […] every resident of this town, because so much of our town has been developed, and the land is so valuable… and it’s even more valuable to thousands of animals that live in that park.”
The backlash against this proposal has been immediate and widespread. A Facebook group called “Protect Jonathan Dickinson State Park” garnered over 46,000 members in a week and continues to grow at a rapid rate. In addition, the Change.org petition to stop the golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park has gathered over 98,000 signatures as of press time, and continues to grow rapidly.
Bi-partisan opposition to the proposal
While Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has generally enjoyed widespread party support for his policies, even fellow Republicans are pushing back against this proposal, ctpost.com reports. Prominent Republicans speaking out against the proposal include “members of DeSantis’ Cabinet, a Republican member of Congress, and conservative state lawmakers. That includes outgoing Republican Senate President Kathleen Passidomo,” writes Kate Payne, as well as Marco Rubio, according to Orr.
“Our vision (for state parks) did not contemplate the addition of golf courses and hotels, which in my view are not in-line with the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of nature,” Passidomo posted on X. “From what I know at this time, the proposal should not move forward in its current form.”
“We have got Die Hard left Democrats and Die Hard right Republicans basically holding hands here. And that’s something that I’ve never seen,” said Orr. “All of our representatives, both the Democrats [and] Republicans, all signed up. None of the local representatives had any idea whatsoever this was happening until we knew about it and brought it to their attention, and they’ve all fired back at the governor’s office and signed an agreement.”
“We all share a common interest in this outdoor recreation and the access to these places,” he concluded.
Wildlife and the natural landscape would be negatively impacted by the current proposal
Wildlife advocates are predictably upset about the proposed development. The proposal calls for massive hotels to be constructed in several of the state parks, and advocates say that at-risk and endangered species will be impacted. In particular, Florida’s Scrub Jay could be significantly impacted in Jonathan Dickinson, a population which has already “seen a 90% decrease since 1990 due to destruction of habitat,” according to the petition.
Florida’s State Parks “are the last strongholds for a lot of wildlife in rapidly urbanizing communities in Florida,” said Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, in an article on ctpost.com.
“They have an outsized importance — not just to wildlife but also as places where Floridians and visitors can continue to see what Florida was like,” she said. “It’s the best of Florida.”
Morse noted that the mission of the Friends of Jonathan Dickinson State Park is “to support the park and its mission.” The mission of “the Florida Park Service is to provide resource-based recreation while preserving, interpreting, and restoring natural and cultural resources.” This development flies in the face of the Florida State Parks’ stated mission.
Based on the published map, it does not appear that the mountain bike trails at Oleta River Park will be impacted either, but the Friends of Oleta group is also opposed to the development that’s proposed in their park. “People go to Florida State Parks to spend time in nature, not in a place maintained by sprinklers, mowers, fertilizers and pesticides,” the Friends group wrote in an email. “The area where the invasive Australian Pines were removed needs to have native species reforestation, which will help restore the fragile ecosystem of the Park.”
The proposal came from a mysterious non-profit group based in Delaware
According to Orr, it’s been almost impossible for local advocates to trace the origins of this current proposal, but so far, they’ve connected it to a mysterious group named the “Tuskegee Dunes Foundation.” Little is known about the foundation, “because of Delaware’s strict corporate privacy rules,” writes Kimberly Miller in The Palm Beach Post. “The foundation, which was incorporated in August 2021, is listed as having $436 in delinquent taxes, according to the Delaware Division of Corporations. The Tuskegee Dunes statement also does not give information as to where Tuskegee Dunes is based, whether it is a nonprofit organization, a website address, board members, or its history.”
As of press time, visiting their website doesn’t lead to an information-filed resource like you’d expect from any forthright organization, whether public or private, for-profit or not-for-profit. Instead, website visitors will simply find a brief message in white text on a black background that says:
No golf in Jonathan Dickinson State Park
Serving God and Country is our daily goal. That was the spirit for the idea to bring world class public golf to south east Florida, and donate all proceeds to support military and first responders’ families. Working with the state of Florida, we explored Jonathan Dickinson State Park at the location of a dilapidated military facility. We sought improvements that would invite families to enjoy the great game of golf, while honoring minority veterans and enhancing the natural beauty of Florida’s beloved environment. We have received clear feedback that Jonathan Dickinson State Park is the 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.
While other news outlets are reporting that this mysterious organization has dropped plans to develop golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson, local advocates are still pushing until they have an official amendment in writing stating that the development is off. A golf course was previously proposed in the park in 2011, but was rebuffed at that time.
However, Jonathan Dickinson is just one of the nine parks that have been proposed for development. What of the other developments planned across Florida? It does not appear that anything has changed yet for the other parks.
Investment in Florida State Parks infrastructure is needed, but high-impact development is not
It seems that public lands are perpetually underfunded, and local advocates note that investment in the Florida State Parks system is needed — but golf courses aren’t.
“Efforts to improve and protect the Park should focus on planting native plants [and] repairing the existing infrastructure — for example, the Park entrance, the bathrooms, the pavilions, the picnic tables and the trash cans,” wrote the Friends of Oleta. “Emphasis should be put on educational signs and even kiosks to help with the trash problem. We have worked tirelessly for over 10 years with hundreds of volunteers to clean, protect, and contribute to the Park.”
Orr’s thoughts immediately went to building more mountain bike trails. Club Scrub is very proactive with the maintenance of their trails, and are scheduled to host an IMBA trail building and maintenance class next week. “Why can’t we put a world-class mountain bike facility and not impact the environment like they do, and build some infrastructure and make it a destination for mountain biking more so than it already is?” said Orr. “I mean, they want to play hardball with a golf course, which is, environmentally, the worst thing you could possibly do in this state.”
The many millions of dollars of proposed investment in the three golf courses could absolutely transform the local mountain bike trails into a world-class trail system. What has already been built has been hard-won, because “there’s no funding from the state parks for trail development, none whatsoever… it’s all been privately funded,” said Orr.
Public meetings are planned for Tuesday, August 27th, and locals are planning to pack the meetings to protest the proposal. Several meetings have already been canceled and are being rescheduled, as the original meeting locations were too small for the crowds that are anticipated.
