Floridians and politicians of all stripes erupted in anger last month when the state Department of Environmental Protection proposed adding golf courses, 350-room lodges, pickleball courts and other amenities to nine state parks. The outrage was so widespread that Gov. Ron DeSantis reversed course on his administration’s proposals, saying they would go “back to the drawing board” for at least the rest of the year.

But an undated document obtained by the Tampa Bay Times shows that administration officials at one point mulled a more sweeping list that spanned 17 additional state parks.

The two-page document, entitled “Florida State Parks with additional capacity for new Recreational Opportunities,” rattles off the additional parks — from Key Biscayne to the Georgia border — along with potential amenities that could be built.

North Peninsula State Park in Volusia County is listed as possibly getting a lodge. Florida Caverns State Park, in the Panhandle near Marianna, would see the return of golf after its course closed in 2018, plus the addition of pickleball, disc golf and another campground. Miami-Dade’s Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park was a candidate for pickleball courts. Highland Hammocks State Park, about an hour and a half east of Sarasota, would get disc golf. That old-growth, swampy preserve is home to “more rare and endemic species than any other Florida State Park” including the endangered Florida panther, according to its website, which also describes the park as containing “beautifully delicate ecosystems.”

The Times obtained the document as part of a public records request. It is undated, making it unclear at which point these parks were considered as the Department of Environmental Protection considered sites to transform. It’s also unclear if the ideas for these 17 additional parks were abandoned, or if they could be adopted as part of a later phase. In response to emailed questions, Alex Kuchta, a spokesperson for the agency, reiterated that “the department has gone back to the drawing board and has no plans to move forward.” The agency formally released its proposals for nine parks on Aug. 21, a week before DeSantis walked them back.

The previously undisclosed document lists 24 parks but is missing two for which the Department of Environmental Protection ultimately filed plans, bringing the total of all parks that have either been considered or formally included in this project to at least 26. There are 175 state parks, trails and historic sites in Florida.

Below: Read the document provided by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to the Tampa Bay Times that showed possible additional developments at 17 previously unreported state parks.

Similar to Anastasia State Park — where the Florida Department of Environmental Protection formally proposed building a 350-room lodge — North Peninsula State Park is home to maritime hammock habitat, which is considered one of the rarest remaining Florida ecosystems, according to Clay Henderson, who helped negotiate acquiring land for the park during his two terms on the Volusia County Council. Henderson also wrote “Forces of Nature,” a book about Florida’s land conservation history.

The construction of a lodge at North Peninsula would have served as an additional pollution source to nearby waterways, putting immense stress on an already fragile environment, Henderson said.

“It just makes absolutely no sense,” Henderson told the Times. And with more than 200 hotels already in nearby Daytona Beach, there’s already a “tremendous amount of lodging accommodations in the area.”

North Peninsula State Park was added to the Florida Park Service in 1984, preserving more than 550 acres of undeveloped coastal habitat nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. A state lands report from that time underscored why the land should be protected:

“North Peninsula is one of Florida’s last remaining barrier islands. A unique ecosystem is present which would make an excellent park system,” the report reads. “North Peninsula should continue to stay high on the list and pressure for development is very high in the area.”

Sen. Travis Hutson, a Republican whose district includes the park, said in a text message that he is “against building any type of lodging establishments on state parks.” He also said it was the first time he had heard about any idea to build a lodge at North Peninsula State Park.

Another site that was on the Department of Environmental Protection’s list was Silver Springs State Park near Ocala, described as “America’s largest spring” on its government website. Sen. Keith Perry, a Republican who represents that area, said he also had not heard that particular park had been considered, in this case for pickleball courts and disc golf courses.

Although the process for holding near-simultaneous, one-hour hearings on the state parks proposals may have sparked outrage, Perry said, he hopes the plans reemerge next year so that there is public discussion about whether Florida’s state parks could use golf courses or other additions.

“It’s an idea that deserves public comment and public debate. It does not deserve to be shut down without any discussion at all,” Perry said. “I hope it comes back again.”

In response to its public records request, the Times received two PowerPoint presentations that appear to be the slides that parks staff would have used to present the proposals to the public on Aug. 27, before the state postponed those meetings due to “overwhelming interest.”

The presentations are each five slides long. One was prepared for Jonathan Dickinson State Park, and the other for Pinellas County’s Honeymoon Island State Park. Each slideshow follows the same format: a brief background about the park’s habitats, an explanation of the proposed plan and then a public comment period.

The presentation for Jonathan Dickinson State Park, for example, begins by explaining that the park encompasses nearly 11,500 combined acres of pine forests, coastal scrub, forested wetlands and blackwater streams.

The next slide depicts a map where three golf courses would be built, totaling 1,300 acres or nearly 11% of the park. According to the presentation, staff were to inform the public that, in order to build the golf courses, crews would have to remove a district office complex, the park office, the homes of seven park staff, a training center, and the iconic Hobe Mountain boardwalk and observation tower.

The notes of the concluding PowerPoint slide include words that park staff may have told the meeting-goers: “While attending (parks) staff are not prepared to answer questions, your comments and questions are welcome and will be recorded for consideration.” The notes also mentioned that commenters would have had until Aug. 29 to email questions to the state.