Golf and Parks. That sounds like a natural. How about Golf and Nature Preserve? Now that doesn’t sound too natural does it. I live in Florida but I lived most of my life in Wisconsin. Both States have State Parks that are cherished by residents and visitors alike. In Florida, our Governor had a plan to put golf courses, disc golf courses, and pickle ball courts in a number of the State Parks. He also wanted to put in huge 350 room lodges in some of the parks. Of course there was an uproar from all over the state and from both sides of the aisle. Of course DeSantis is now doing a little dance saying that it was the “leftists” that leaked the plan, which is what every Republican’s go-to excuse is “blame the Democrats”. He stated that he knew nothing about it calling it some half-baked plan that shouldn’t have been released. I find it very hard to believe that he didn’t know a thing about it because DeSantis, in my opinion, rules with an iron fist. DeSantis usually gets whatever he wants in the State of Florida but not this time. It’s an election year and those who are up for election would have suffered. Because of term limits DeSantis can’t run again so he isn’t worrying about reelection. 

At first when I heard of the plan to put all those things in our State Parks I was upset just like everyone else. I thought that there was no way he should be able to do this. Just like many things I had to take a step back and look at it logically and not emotionally. One of my favorite State Parks in Wisconsin is Peninsula State Park in Door County. It is a 3800 acre State Park right on the shores of Green Bay. It has over 400 campsites, a beach, bike and hiking trails, a boat launch, picnic areas, an 1860s lighthouse and a golf course. If it can happen in Wisconsin why not Florida?  What was the difference? The biggest difference I can see is in 1906 these things were part of the plan for Peninsula State Park. They have always maintained the original mission statement for the reason that the Park was created. They have worked very hard to make sure the Park is the jewel of the State. I have to say the Park is one of the most beautiful places in the entire midwest. The difference with the Florida Parks is they were not created with these amenities in mind where Peninsula Park was from its inception in 1906. If they would try and build a 350 room lodge in the middle of the park the entire State of Wisosnsin would be up in arms. Our State Parks should never be a spot for real estate development. Door County has a total of 4 State Parks. They all try to cater to the unique atmosphere that is Door County Wisconsin. That is what State Parks are supposed to do. They are the people's parks. 

Turning our State Parks into resorts should never happen. The land was not set aside for economic development. That land was set aside for the preservation of our history and our environment. It is so we can all just return to nature just a little bit.They are places where we can see what the real Florida was like before all the development that is happening every day here. We have a very diverse ecosystem and we need to preserve it for now and for future generations. After a natural disaster like a hurricane the real estate vultures and development vultures begin circling to try and prey off of people that had just lost everything. They already have enough of Florida and with every natural disaster they will acquire more. They should not be able to acquire our State Parks too. If after a natural disaster like Ian and what happened to Fort Myers Beach the State would want to buy us land and create a new State Park with a new vision I would have no problem with that. Who would have a problem is those vultures that are always circling after any disaster looking to buy up property cheaply so they can develop it to turn a buck. That is why you will never see the Republican controlled State of Florida do that even though turning our barrier Islands into parks as sanctuaries makes a whole lot of sense from an ecological and a financial standpoint.  

When DeSantis was first elected he talked like an environmentalist. He talked about things like working to preserve the Everglades and working to keep our water clean which were being ravaged by the Red Tide. After eight years of Rick Scott he was what Florida thought was a refreshing change. Scott didn’t see an environmental regulation that he didn’t want to roll back. Now DeSantis is just turning into another Rick Scott. He has vetoed money from the budget earmarked for the Everglades. He has tried to take the words Climate Change from the State’s vocabulary. Now he would like to see our State Parks turned into resorts. Florida is ground zero for Climate Change in the United States and we have to start acting like it. We need to elect people that realize we are ground zero for Climate Change. We have such a beautiful state, we are not going to make it if we don’t start doing something now. Not tomorrow but now.