Residents fight golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Posted by Admin August 23, 2024 Golf

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Martin County leaders, residents and environmentalists are scrambling to halt the development of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which would include clearing huge swaths of native scrub habitat to build three golf courses.

Environmental nonprofits, including Audubon of Martin County and the Florida Wildlife Federation, have gathered thousands of petition signatures and announced plans to pack a public meeting about the issue in Stuart Tuesday.

The Protect Jonathan Dickinson State Park Facebook Group mobilized over 100 people who demonstrated at the park Wednesday, with dozens of cars clogging the roads trying to attend. The group has gained over 25,000 followers since it was created Monday by Jessica Namath, a former Tequesta Environmental Advisory Committee member.

“It’s infuriatingly egregious of them to think that we would be OK with this,” Namath told TCPalm Thursday. “We have enough golf courses already polluting our water with waste, and this would just be one more in a critical habitat.”

Martin County leaders oppose state park golf course

Florida Rep. John Snyder of Stuart, his father Sheriff William Snyder and Martin County Commissioner Blake Capps, who was elected Tuesday to represent Hobe Sound, have publicly opposed the proposal. All are Republicans.

The park “is not open for development,” John Snyder said in a news release. “For many of us, Jonathan Dickinson is more than just land; it’s woven into the fabric of our community, our history and our everyday lives.”

He called the park a “cherished sanctuary” and said protecting it “is vital to preserving the natural and cultural heritage that defines Palm Beach and Martin counties.” He said development plans have “understandably struck a nerve with our community” and he urged residents to “keep raising your voices and standing firm” to support the park.

“I want you to know that I hear you, and I’m with you on this,” Snyder said. “I won’t stand by while its future is put at risk.”

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder shares thoughts on golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder on Aug. 22, 2024, discusses possible increases in calls for service should proposals for golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park become reality.

The sheriff said, “It bodes badly for our county” and will increase crime, car crashes, calls for service and displaced wildlife. “We have enough golf courses. We don’t have enough open spaces and enough protected uplands.”

Capps agreed, saying, “I think it’s an absolutely terrible idea. I look forward to strongly opposing this.”

DeSantis’ Great Outdoors Initiative

Communities near the eight state parks slated for recreational development — such as golf courses, disc golf courses and pickleball courts — were given a week’s notice, and all the public meetings will be on the same day.

“They’re being really stealthy about this,” said James Howe, conservation chair of Audubon of Martin County. “The room for the (Stuart) meeting only holds 150 people, but we’re going to show up. The crowd is going to bring gridlock to Stuart.”

The Department of Environmental Protection will unveil the plan at The Flagler of Stuart River Room at 201 S.W., Flagler Ave.

DEP ARC: Here are the 7 people who will decide on the golf courses

Things to know: 10 facts about Jonathan Dickinson State Park

This isn’t the first time land in Jonathan Dickinson has been eyed for a golf course. In 2011, a bill would have allowed golfer and golf-course designer Jack Nicklaus to build courses in state parks as part of then-Gov. Rick Scott’s initiative to boost tourism. Three years of fierce opposition by conservationists seemed to have killed the plan.

Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples was confident about quashing this part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ “Great Outdoors Initiative,” which DEP released Wednesday after someone leaked the documents.

“I’m extremely hopeful we’ll defeat these sneaky proposals. We did it a decade ago, and we’ll do it again,” she said. “The buck stops with the governor. FDEP is an arm of our executive branch, and if Gov. DeSantis stands for clean water, he can — and should — have stopped this.”

Golf courses in state parks damage habitat

The plan calls for two 18-hole golf courses and one nine-hole golf course over 1,000 acres of protected scrub land. To accommodate for the new golf courses, the state plans to relocate existing park amenities and tear down the Hobe Mountain boardwalk and observation tower, which is deemed unsafe, according to state officials.

Environmentalists point to the development’s potential damage to natural waterways, not only by depleting the freshwater supply to maintain the courses, but also by polluting the Loxahatchee River with fertilizer and pesticide runoff.

“Runoff from the proposed golf courses would likely enter the Indian River Lagoon with potential impacts to our waterways and crucial species, including seagrasses and oysters, endangering the fragile coastal ecosystems we are fighting to protect,” the Florida Oceanographic Society wrote in a statement released Thursday.

The park’s scrub land is also crucial habitat for endemic and endangered species such as the Florida scrub jay and the gopher tortoise, said Howe, who has led scrub jay educational walks through the park for years. He fears the loss of habitat would destabilize the ecosystem.

“If the governor’s office thought people would say, ‘Oh, let’s get rid of this stupid land that’s just sitting there and get some golf courses in here, people are going to love this,’ it’s pretty clear that’s not the case,” Howe said.

Sheriff William Snyder opposes state park golf course

Snyder said he is “vehemently opposed” to the plan.

“I have to look at everything, first of all, as a law enforcement issue, and if the question was, ‘Would a golf course or two golf courses in Jonathan Dickinson State Park present a public safety challenge or issue?’ I would say unequivocally, yes,” he told TCPalm Thursday. “Golf courses in and of themselves are not a magnet for crime, but people coming into our county to golf creates an environment that could exacerbate our calls for service.”

As a longtime resident, the sheriff said he also worries about the environment and overdevelopment.

The park has felt like a “bulwark, kind of a stopgap between the urbanization that we see in the counties to the south and to our quieter, less crime-affected community,” he said. “I think as we diminish that, it feels to me that the symbol of our way of life — Jonathan Dickinson State Park — pushing back against encroaching urbanization, will be lost.”

Snyder said when he learned of the project, he noted the list of endangered species that live in the park.

“We are constantly responding to calls for service because of wild animals that have been pushed out of their natural habitat,” he said. “If they do this in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, we will see animals displaced and crashes occurring along U.S. 1, no doubt, as these animals are looking for a place to go live.”

DEP had not responded to TCPalm’s phone calls and emails as of Thursday afternoon. The agency defended the proposal in a news release Monday, highlighting the state’s previous land conservation efforts.

“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 release states.

TCPalm reporters Will Greenlee and Keith Burbank contributed to this article.

Jack Le mnus is a TCPalm enterprise reporter. Contact him at jlemnus@tcpalm.com or 772-409-1345.