TALLAHASSEE, FL—Top Florida Democrat Rep. Anna Eskamani wrote Monday to the Department of Environmental Protection demanding to know how a "destructive" proposal to construct pickleball courts, golf courses, and hotels in state parks came to fruition—and how involved Gov. Ron DeSantis' administration was in the foiled plot.
"Florida's state parks are the envy of the nation, beloved by the millions of Floridians who call our state home and by millions more tourists who travel to our state to experience them," Eskamani, a progressive firebrand, wrote in a letter to DEP Secretary Hamilton. "The governor and his administration owe them all a full accounting of this narrowly avoided disaster—so that we can be sure it will never happen again."
Joined by state Rep. Angie Nixon, Eskamani asked for all communications between the DEP, the governor's office, and the cast-of-characters groups involved in creating the proposal to be made public. This includes Folds of Honor, an Oklahoma-based non-profit that uses golf to raise money for families of killed or disabled first responders, the mysteriously new Delaware-based Tuskegee Dunes Foundation (that also shares an Oklahoma address with Folds of Honor), conservative podcaster Dan Bongino (who claimed he spoke directly with Folds of Honor), golf legends Jack and Gary Nicklaus, and any involved staffers or lobbyists.
"The administration should release copies of any proposals or other materials submitted by any outside organizations as part of this Great Outdoors Initiative," Eskamani continued, questioning how the "secretive" proposals were "solicited" and whether DEP engaged in a "competitive solicitation process."
On Aug. 19, the Tampa Bay Times broke the news that the DEP, whose head is appointed by DeSantis, planned to construct golf courses, glamping sites, large lodging cabins, pickleball courts, and/or hotels in nine different state parks. Allegedly leaked by cartographer and whistleblower John Gaddis, who was fired from the agency last week, the proposal was met with bipartisanly poisonous backlash, including from Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, and Congressman Matt Gaetz—one of the most well-known Florida man Trump allies.
While DeSantis claimed that the proposal was "half-baked" and said he never approved it, his press secretary Jeremy Redfern, amid rising public dissent, had earlier noted that it was something that Teddy Roosevelt—a popular conservationist—would have supported.
"Teddy Roosevelt believed that public parks were for the benefit and enjoyment of the people, and we agree with him,” Redfern said. “No administration has done more than we have to conserve Florida’s natural resources, grow conservation lands, and keep our environment pristine. But it’s high time we made public lands more accessible to the public."
