The idea of turning some of Florida’s state parks into mini resorts has brought quick pushback from the general public as well as from a number of elected officials from both political parties.
As they say around here, that dog won’t hunt.
In case you tuned in late, earlier this week the Ron DeSantis regime’s Florida Department of Environmental We’re Not Sure What Anymore suddenly announced a plan to add a golf course. hotels and pickleball courts to a handful of state parks in some coastal areas under the guise of providing more public access.
The public, it seems, likes the access it already has to hike and swim and enjoy nature without the honkytonk additions the governor’s staff has proposed.
Brief public meetings have been scheduled next week that seem to fit with the current Tallahassee regime’s idea of not very open government or public engagement.
The final decision will lie with the Acquisition and Restoration Council, which is usually the final word on such topics.
At least one elected representative, Congressman Brian Mast, has proposed ARC members attend the meetings to hear from the public., but there is a problem with that suggestion.–all of the meetings were scheduled to occur at the same time.

However, as I was writing this, state officials announced they were rethinking the meeting schedule and would get back to us. Imagine that.

Meanwhile, the Tallahassee spin machine is in rationalization overdrive.
The worst one is to argue that. well, there are already lodges in state parts, citing the ancient Wakulla Lodge at Wakulla Springs State Park south of Tallahassee.
I’ve stayed there. It is not exactly comparable to the 350-room high rises the proposal envisions to lay waste to a bunch of natural habitats with all of the accompanying light and sound pollution it would bring to our once relatively serene state parks.
The so far unspoken aspect of this proposal is what kinds of grift by some DeSantis crony somewhere in the background might these development proposals benefit were they to go through.
There are certainly enough examples to make that idea credible.

I recall a conversation several years ago with a woman who had reserved an upscale cabin at Lake Louisa State Park. She lamented that although she enjoyed the accommodations, there was nothing to do there.

My initial reaction was to wonder why on earth someone would book accommodations in a state park who was not interested in taking a hike through the woods, observing diverse wildlife or simple sitting on the porch and enjoying the morning or evening chorus of bird song.

Well, according to reports this week, the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration has come up with a solution to this problem.

That would involve clearing messy wildlife habitat in several state parks to make way for golf courses and pickleball courts.

I am not making this up.

Some of this mirrors a short-lived attempt by former Gov. Rick Scott several years ago to do the same thing, though not as ambitiously. He also wanted to try to sell off some wildlife management areas., which did not go anywhere, either.

Naturally, this latest idea has aroused Florida’s environmental community., including Florida Sierra.

The issue is just what kind of activities ought to be part of the state park experience and what kinds of activities are more appropriate in a city or county park. Golf courses, which demand extensive space and require a lot of water, herbicides and generally high-input maintenance stand out as an example of what really does not fit in state parks.

It is unclear whether it would even be a revenue producer as article after article describes the decline of interest in golf courses as generational recreational, preferences have changed.

Pickleball courts, which have generated noise complaints where they exist in the suburbs, would seem to be more out of place in a state park.

Election season is a good time to let your elected representatives know what you feel about this unexpected mission shift.

Let’s shut this bad idea down before it goes any farther.

Polk County officials have been talking about doing something to improve water quality flowing down the Peace Creek Drainage Canal since at least 1991.
Tuesday they finally took action by voting to buy a1,272-acre ranch in the upper reaches of this World War I-era ditch system.
The purchase price was $20.055,000, financed primarily by money from President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan and a grant from the Florida Department of Enviornmental Protection. Polk also used money from the county’s stormwater tax.
The land lies on both sides of U.S. 27 north of Cypress Gardens Boulevard and Waverly Road.
Under the sales agreement the Buck Mann Ranch will remain a private cattle lease operation for the next decade while county officials and their consultants work to redesign the site’s drainage system to treat the water that flows into the site before it reaches the Peace River. No public access is planned while the work proceeds.

However, there are plans for public recreational development after the cattle lease expires.
Meanwhile, the sales agreement also ends the practice of using the site to dispose of sewer sludge.

Circle B Bar Reserve, a popular ecotourism site managed by Polk County Parks and Natural Resources has reopened.
The site was temporarily closed last week after heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby flooded some the trails.
There has been no announcement yet on the reopening of the Lake Hancock boat ramp, which is located south of the lake near the Southwest Florida Water Managment District water control structure.
The storm’s rain has raised lake and stream levels and streamflow volumes to normal or above normal after being below normal earlier this summer.

The rainfall from Tropical Storm Debby had a good side.
It restored flow in the Peace River to what it should be at this time of year.
Before the storm arrived, flow in the upper reaches of the river in Polk and Hardee counties was well below average for this time of year.
That meant it was barely suitable for a paddling trip, which is unusual for mid-summer.
There was a similar situation in 2004 before three hurricanes crisscrossed the area.

Meanwhile, Polk County officials announced late Monday that Circle B Bar Reserved has been closed temporarily because of widespread flooding of trails and access roads. No reopening date has been announced.

The popular local environmental venue lies on the shore of Lake Hancock, whose level has been raised to allow water to be stored to replenish flow in the Peace River. The rail system lies in the Banana Creek floodplain.

The weather is predicted to return to normal by mid-week. ,
This weekend one event that might be worth considering is an evening event at The Nature Conservancy’s Tiger Creek Preserve near Babson Park that will allow people to see moths and other night-flying insects.
Contact TNC for more info.

County commissioners delayed action Tuesday on a plan to reduce septic tank pollution in eastern and southwest Polk County.
That is because state officials want the plan to include more specific information about how exactly Polk officials plan to bring central sewer treatment to areas served by septic tanks.
Polk’s proposed ordinance talks about reducing pollution–mostly involving nitrogen discharges–in these areas of Polk County that affect the Peace. Kissimmee and Alafia river basins through tougher standards for new development.
However, Polk’s plan does not directly address the idea of converting areas to central sewer service.
The state comments seek specific information on what sewer service is available now, what its treatment capacity is and what that capacity is likely to be 20 years from now
This comes at a time when Polk utility officials are proposing long-delayed updates-sewer rates had been reviewed since 2014–in water and sewer rates to pay for needed expansion of services in unincorporated Polk County.
County commissioners have tentatively scheduled a hearing on the updated septic conversion ordinance for Sept. 17.