Opposition grows on building golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park

HOBE SOUND, Fla. — Several Florida state parks could see major changes coming, and residents fear that the changes could do more harm than good.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced an initiative to "increase the number of outdoor recreation opportunities available at Florida’s state parks, including pickleball, disc golf, golf and paddling."

The proposal falls under the launch of the "2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative," which, according to the DEP, has been in the works since 2019 when the state began investing millions to support the operation and maintenance of existing park infrastructure.

According to the DEP, they will begin to update state park plans to allow for increased public access, while still employing the same best practices utilized by DEP and park systems across the country.

"Today’s announcement reinforces the DeSantis Administration’s record support for conserving our natural landscapes and commitment to ensuring every Floridian can visit and recreate at Florida’s state parks," the spokesperson wrote.

One of the parks listed is Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County. A map included in the proposal shows several golf courses spread out across the park.

Locals begin speaking out

Residents of Martin County and nearby communities caught wind of the idea prior to the announcement and began asking questions.

Rudy Robaina, a local business owner and nature enthusiast, quickly took to social media to inform his community.

"I immediately began to share it with people and immediately everyone thought it was fake news, that there was no way this could be possible," Robaina said.

Robaina told WPBF that Jonathan Dickinson State Park has become a second home to him, and he's helped form bike paths using the natural landscape.

"This has basically been my second home for the last 12 years after a lot of my friends have been struck and hurt or maybe killed riding on the public roads," he said. "This has been a safe haven for us to ride away from any form of traffic."

With help from others, he's been able to raise thousands of dollars to put toward the supplies needed to build trails while respecting the park's regulations.

"They don't want any sort of pressure treated wood, they didn't want any form of foreign chemicals or rubber or oil-based products out here that might damage anything or cause any problem to any of the animals or birds that are in the area," he said. "We respect nature so much, and we've done everything they've asked to make this a really good, fun, safe trail for all levels."

When he learned of the possible changes to the place he'd grown to love so much, he couldn't help but start spreading the word.

"I took it very seriously," he said. "I didn't want to lose any opportunity to make it be known."

Robaina said there's no need for any more golf courses, especially in a place meant to preserve wildlife habitat.

"There's over a thousand in Florida, it doesn't seem as though that's something that we need to put in this specific location," he said. "So I'm not against golfers, but I don't think that we need to extinct any animals to add another one in this area personally."

Robaina isn't alone with his concerns, roughly 50 people showed up to the park Wednesday to be heard and thousands more have taken to social media to share their thoughts.

Allan Black, of Jensen Beach, told WPBF he learned of the news Tuesday night and couldn't believe it.

"Nature is everything and once you eliminate nature, once you eliminate the natural landscape and the ability of the animals to be in that natural landscape, it doesn't ever come back," Black said.

Black is a former Boy Scout troop leader and said Jonathan Dickinson State Park is one of the places his troop visited most.

"I can't tell you how many scouts have come through here and started learning the mountain bike and do the other things that we do in scouts, and then, of course, they take it back to their parents," he said. "And then the families come back with their little brothers and sisters, and it goes on in perpetuity."

He pointed out the sheer number of golf courses already in the area.

"In the 19-mile drive from my house to here, there were five more golf courses being built," Black said. "How many golf courses do we need in South Florida?"

Black also explained his concern for the wildlife.

"It's just amazing how much wildlife there is around this area; the pigs and the deer, the tortoises, scrub jays, the list is literally endless," Black said.

Impact on species and environment

As more people began speaking out on the issue, wildlife and environmental experts began coming forward, expressing their worries for the park and the species that call it home.

Benji Studt is a conservation biologist and frequents the park. He told WPBF he's concerned for two types of birds that could be greatly impacted.

"First of all, the golf courses, the locations that are proposed are specifically impacting this critically endangered coastal scrub habitat," he said. "If you look at South Florida from here all the way down to Miami, this is the largest intact scrub preserve in all of South Florida."

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the scrub jay has seen its population reduced by 90% over the past century due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and alteration.

Studt said the proposed development would impact the very habitat that is needed for this iconic species to survive.

"Then west of here, we also have this other really special bird species, the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker," he said. "That bird species has been reintroduced into the park over a relocation effort over the past decade, and now there are several successful colonies of these birds that are actually breeding in the park."

According to Studt, red-cockaded woodpeckers rely on old-growth pine forests and are highly subjected to disturbance.

If the western golf course on the proposed map is approved, he said it will negatively impact these relocated and reintroduced red-cockaded woodpecker colonies.

"This is the most easily accessible place in South Florida for the community to come and experience these birds," Studt said.

He told WPBF that, in his opinion, the proposal doesn't even slightly align with the park's mission statement.

"It involves promoting recreational uses within these native communities and preserving, protecting, restoring natural habitats, and this proposal certainly does none of that," he said.

The proposal notes the Hobe Mountain tower and boardwalk would need to be removed to develop one of the golf courses.

"This is such a local landmark," Studt said. "This is the highest land point in South Florida. Like, this is our mountain right here."

What's next for Jonathan Dickinson State Park?

WPBF reached out to the governor's office and the DEP to ask why exactly this is being proposed and how they plan to preserve the habitats if it is approved but did not hear back.

A meeting is scheduled for Aug. 27 at 3 p.m. at the Flagler of Stuart, where officials are expected to discuss the proposal and open the floor to public comment.