By Paul Blythe
Some 200 nature lovers, most with signs, took over Stuart’s Flagler Park Tuesday afternoon for a three-part rally opposing the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” a DeSantis administration plan to develop Jonathan Dickinson State Park and eight other Florida state parks with so-called commercial “improvements.”
WHY TUESDAY?
Tuesday was the day the Florida Department of Environmental Protection originally scheduled simultaneous public meetings about the proposals at nine locations statewide. Almost immediately, environmental groups and park supporters also organized protests for Tuesday. After DEP postponed its public meetings, the protests remained scheduled.
CELEBRITY ORGANIZER
“I’ve lived on our wonderful, federally protected … “Wild and Scenic River” (the Loxahatchee) almost my whole life, almost 35 years and I’ve been in Jonathan Dickinson State Park since I was a little girl … I’m a friend with so many different groups and I knew we would all feel the same way about this, so I was trying to unite us all when I saw the proposal…I know my community and I felt like everyone would be against this, so thank you guys so much for proving me right to myself.” -- Jessica Namath, daughter of Joe Namath, board member of the Joe Namath Foundation and an environmental activist whose Facebook page "Protect Jonathan Dickinson State Park" grew to 45,000 members in less than a week.
THE SIGNS
THREE SEPARATE RALLIES
1. Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Mast in front of the Flagler of Stuart, just up Southwest Flagler Avenue from his office, taking some questions from a relatively mellow bunch of 40-50 people and reiterating that he is opposed to the plan but knew nothing of it before last week.
2. Enviro activists and Martin County ecotourism business owners speaking to a loud, sign-waving crowd of about 200. Sponsored by the Sierra Club and featuring the Friends of the Everglades, this was the heart of the protest, where the crux of practically every speech was this fight won’t be over until the governor or legislature kills all nine of the park proposals in this year’s “Great Outdoors Initiative.”
3. Democratic candidates for five Congressional or Florida legislative seats telling about 150 cheering supporters that the Republicans in power in Florida for the last two decades are to blame. Speaking were U.S. Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, U.S. House District 21 candidate Thomas Witkop, Florida Senate District 31 candidate Aaron Hawkins and Florida House candidates Debra Tendrich (District 89) and Rachelle Litt (District 94).
WHAT WE’RE FIGHTING FOR
“The Greater Everglades Ecosystem once stretched, connected, all the way from north of Orlando down to Florida Bay … and three of the nine state parks that are vulnerable to this awful plan sit in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: Jonathan Dickinson, home to the Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River and some scrub habitat that is so rare it is actually considered globally endangered….The Oleta River State Park in North Miami … a beautiful mangrove forest connected to the Biscayne Bay -- In fact, I’m told they had a protest out in the rain down in Miami today, and we stand with them. And … the Mizell Eula Johnson State Park. This is the last stretch of undeveloped coast, undeveloped beach in Broward County. Imagine going to a beach in Broward County and not seeing a building. That’s what we are fighting for today!” – Eve Samples, Executive Director, Friends of the Everglades
WHY A GOLF COURSE IS BAD FOR JONATHAN DICKINSON
“In whatever planning process was done … there was a blatant disregard of the park service mission to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of these lands that is exemplified by the undeniable fact that the golf courses proposed target globally imperiled habitat and would directly impact scores of state threatened gopher tortoises (and) state and federally threatened Florida scrub jays. And the ultimate irony of the “dedication to conservation” stated in the press release would impact colonies of federally protected red-cockaded woodpeckers that park biologists have worked so hard to successfully reintroduce into the park over the past decade.” – Benji Studt, Martin County conservation biologist
“These areas have been set aside from development because they contain irreplaceable habitat that supports numerous endangered or threatened species. This spaces do best undisturbed but if we must encroach, it should be left to passive recreation that doesn’t require the damaging infrastructure that most active recreation requires.” – Ed Stout, owner, South River Outfitters
“Jonathan Dickinson Park is arguably the last bastion of wild land between Stuart-Hobe Sound and Miami…It’s bordered on the west by the Loxahatchee and on the east by southern Indian River Lagoon. The amount of fertilizers and herbicides and pesticides required to maintain a golf course, let alone 3, is huge. It is unacceptable.” -- Rufus Wakeman, owner, River Palm Cottages & Fishcamp
WHAT ELSE JD STANDS TO LOSE
“The Camp Murphy Bike Trail … is in the proposed (golf) course footprint and would be lost if this (the JD golf course proposal) goes through.” – Ed Stout
WHO’S TO BLAME?
“We have a problem in our state government. We have a Legislature that has propped up this governor. They have reinforced his dictatorial proclivities. And it’s time to put a stop to this. We need people that are going to take our community’s issues, what we deem important here and make that the priority in Tallahassee. We need people that aren’t going to kiss this governor’s ass … We need people that if they hear about something like this a year ago, they pass legislation then to do something about it.” – Aaron Hawkins, Democratic candidate for Florida House District 31, now held by Republican Rep. Gayle Harrell, who has acknowledged that she was approached last year by the non-profit Folds of Honor with a plan similar to the Great Outdoors Initiative plan for a JD Park golf course. She said she declined the group’s request to sponsor a bill to authorize such a plan, but she did not make the proposal or her refusal public at that time.
“When I was in Congress … I’m telling you $200 million in Everglades Restoration came because I started an effort. It was a bi-partisan effort to make sure we provided critical funding because we knew that was what was needed to let the natural water flow down to Biscayne Bay. So I’ve been following the issue of protecting our environment for many years. What was Rick Scott doing at the time? When he was governor, it was his idea to start to sell our state parks to developers … and then to allow developers to build these golf courses. This is not an idea that started under DeSantis, everyone. This started under Rick Scott.” – Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Democratic candidate seeking Florida’s U.S. Senate seat now held by Rick Scott
“I’m so excited to see everybody here today from all different political beliefs, from all different backgrounds. It is so important that we came together to stop them from building golf courses on our Jonathan Dickinson State Park. But … the battle is not over. They have not officially rescinded these plans. They have only suspended them – for probably after the election. So we must maintain our unity and make sure that we continue to hold the people that are responsible for this … accountable. And we must do that by looking at where is the money, where is it coming from. Look at who is giving Congressman Mast and Gayle Harrell. Who is giving these people money. And why are they allowing these things to happen to our precious state parks.” – Thomas Witkop, Democratic candidate challenging Republican Brian Mast for U.S. House District 21
PROTEST TAKE-AWAYS
“This needs to be scrubbed – for the scrub jay.” – Todd Thurlow, Stuart attorney, Rivers Coalition board member
“The best use for these parks is not golf courses. It is not pavement for pickleball courts. It is certainly not handing out political favors. The highest and best use for these parks is protecting the nature that is disappearing at an alarming rate across Florida. We fight these battles everyday at Friends of the Everglades….This time, though, the people have spoken loudly. All of you have spoken loudly. We have been heard but we are not done. We cannot rest easy until Gov. DeSantis kills all nine of these parks proposals!” – Eve Samples
“The answer is “No, leave JD Park alone….With all the development and special interests, not to mention the random corruption, if we the people don’t stand up for our designated parks and wildlife, these developers and politicians will run roughshod over us. And we need to keep them paying attention to what we desire. We must stay vigilant…And we need to fight these greedy people who constantly try to destroy our wild spaces!” – Rufus Wakeman
“We are not out of the woods concerning the other eight projects either. Most of these are in coastal areas where we need to restrict development projects even more. The rising ocean and the stronger storms that we’ve been experiencing will have greater consequences if we develop our coastlines and our beaches. Each of these parks contain priceless, special and endangered wildlife. We must pressure the governor to end this proposal now!” – Ed Stout
“I want to invite every elected official in this great state to join me in asking the governor to rescind all of these proposed amendments.” -- Benji Studt
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