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USA Today
a day ago
- USA Today
Fishing. camping, disc golf in, but golf, pickleball out in new Florida state parks bill
When news broke in August about controversial plans to build golf courses, lodges and pickleball courts in Florida's state parks, a Stuart lawmaker began drafting legislation to prevent such proposals from happening again. Republican Sen. Gayle Harrell's district contains Jonathan Dickinson State Park, where the state planned to build three golf courses on 1,000 acres of protected scrubland, along with tearing down the historic Hobe Tower. The plans surprised Harrell just as much as her constituents, she said. 'Back when everyone was so upset about this, I said the first bill I'm going to file is to protect our parks,' Harrell told TCPalm this week. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection also listed "disc golf" for the Savannas Preserve State Park in St. Lucie County that spans over 15 miles from Fort Pierce to Jensen Beach. Catch up: All the news about Jonathan Dickinson State Park golf course proposal Harrell to file bill: Will protect state parks from "misguided ideas" like golf courses On Dec. 4, Harrell filed Senate Bill 80, entitled the 'State Park Preservation Act,' which would specify proper recreational uses for state parks — one of which is not golf. The 14-page bill wouldn't just ban golf courses and other recreational facilities in state parks. The law also would update how public lands are managed and conserved, and how these changes are communicated to the public. All this will be considered when the bill goes before the Florida Legislature during the March-May session. What development is allowed in state parks? When Harrell was drafting the bill, she noted the lack of specifics in existing law about what is and is not allowed in state parks. 'The wording in existing law was too vague,' Harrell said. 'In defining the purpose of a park, it basically said to preserve and protect the natural habitat, but it didn't say what that meant.' The bill states only 'conservation-based' recreational uses are permissible in state parks, meaning activities such as fishing, camping, horseback riding and canoeing. Sporting amenities such as 'golf courses, tennis courts, pickleball courts, ball fields, and other similar facilities' are not listed as conservation based and are prohibited. The difference between undisturbed and disturbed habitat The bill prioritizes the conservation of natural resources in state parks by 'minimizing impacts to undisturbed habitat.' An example of this kind of undisturbed habitat would be the pristine scrublands and flatwood forests of Jonathan Dickinson. These lands have largely been untouched for centuries, save the slight impacts of Native Americans who lived there before European settlers. Disturbed habitat, however, should be used to the 'maximum extent practicable.' An example of disturbed lands in Jonathan Dickinson would be Hobe Tower and Camp Murphy, the World War II-era radar training school, whose remaining structures now act as lodging for park staff. Inside 3 private meetings: Veterans group pitches JD state park golf course plan Harrell said these disturbed regions would be protected regardless, given they are designated historical sites. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which Gov. Ron DeSantis oversees, thought otherwise. Hobe Tower and portions of Camp Murphy were among the lands slated for development as part of DEP's Great Outdoors Initiative. DeSantis tabled the project after bipartisan public backlash, but said at an August news conference the 'abandoned military camp' could have been turned into 'something really nice.' Examples of proper use of disturbed habitat would mean subtle development, such as adding parking spaces to Hobe Mountain, Harrell said. Bill addresses 350-room lodge at Anastasia State Park A chief concern about the Great Outdoors Initiative was a 350-room lodge proposed for Anastasia State Park in St. Augustine. SB 80 would ban construction and other activities that "may cause significant harm to the resources of the state park,' including "lodging establishments" other than camping cabins limited to six people. Such cabins must be built without damaging critical habitat, natural resources or historical sites. More transparency When the state park development plans were leaked by a now-fired DEP official, the public was given six days to voice their concerns at public meetings around the state. These meetings were nearly simultaneous, on a weekday during work hours and none of the decision-makers involved in the state park plan would have been present. The bill addresses this by requiring any change to public land be announced 30 days before a public hearing. How land management plans work To make changes to public lands, such as state parks, a proposal must go through many hands. Existing law states the land manager, such as DEP or whoever owns the land, must submit a land management plan that details potential short- or long-term impacts to the environment. The plan is presented to the Acquisition and Restoration Council. a 10-member advisory group with appointees by the governor, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. ARC reviews the plan and sends its recommendation to be voted on by the board of trustees, which consists of the Florida Cabinet, including the governor, attorney general, agricultural commissioner and chief financial officer. Jack Lemnus is a TCPalm enterprise reporter. Contact him at 772-409-1345, or follow him on X @JackLemnus.
NBC News
5 days ago
- NBC News
'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant detention camp in Florida must temporarily halt construction, judge rules
MIAMI — A Florida judge ruled to temporarily halt operations at " Alligator Alcatraz," the controversial migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, because the site's construction skirted environmental laws. U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams made the decision on Thursday after two days of testimony in Miami federal court. The hearing comes after environmental groups sued in June to stop the facility, which opened in July on an airstrip located in the sensitive wetlands of Ochopee's Big Cypress National Preserve, from operating. The suit claimed the center was built without mandatory ecological reviews required under the National Environmental Policy Act, without public notice or comment, and the government failed to comply with other state and federal statutes, including the Endangered Species Act. The construction of the site —which came as part of the Trump administration's cracking down on immigration — was hotly protested by environmental groups and Native Americans, as the Everglades is a unique, marshy habitat home to endangered and threatened species. Christopher McVoy, an Everglades expert, environmental scientist, and board member of Friends of the Everglades — an Everglades preservation nonprofit and one of the parties who filed the suit, testified Thursday. He said he visited the detention center site on June 28, when an incident commander showed him around and told him they were paving some areas. McVoy described photos of the area since construction on the facility began and said, "You're looking at 11 acres of new pavement." He also described an increase in traffic in the area. Dillon Reio, a professional geologist in Florida who works for SCS engineers providing assessments of development projects, said his assessment of the "Alligator Alcatraz" plans showed it lacked "a cohesive storm water plan for the site," while warning that runoff can create contaminants, and 'there could be offsite impacts.' On Wednesday, Eve Samples, the executive director of Friends of the Everglades, testified that more than 40,000 people made submissions on its website to oppose the detention center. Samples testified that the group is concerned about the potential impacts of run-off, the industrial-style lights that are visible from 15 miles away despite a dark sky designation, and increased traffic. "Driving out there myself many times, the increased traffic is visible. I saw two dead gators last time I visited, so definitely a difference in the area," she told the court. Jessica Namath, daughter of former NFL star Joe Namath — who was in attendance — also testified Wednesday. Namath, also a member of Friends of the Everglades, said that the detention facility has created light pollution and that the area looks 'heartbreakingly different.' 'Alligator Alcatraz' has faced other legal action for alleged inhumane conditions and treatment of detainees. The conditions were described as horrific by legal advocates and relatives of immigrant detainees, including cage-like units, mosquito infestations, and unsanitary conditions. NBC Miami has also reported on detainees' and family members' allegations of ' inhumane conditions ': limited access to showers, spoiled food, and extreme heat.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
US national parks staff in ‘survival mode' to keep parks open amid Trump cuts
Across the US's fabled but overstretched national parks, unusual scenes are playing out this summer following budget cuts by Donald Trump's administration. Archeologists are staffing ticket booths, ecologists are covering visitor centers and the superintendents of parks are even cleaning the toilets. The National Park Service (NPS), responsible for maintaining cherished wildernesses and sites of cultural importance from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty, has lost a quarter of its permanent staff since Trump took office in January, with the administration seeking to gut the service's budget by a third. But the administration has also ordered parks to remain open and accessible to the public, meaning the NPS has had to scramble remaining staff into public-facing roles to maintain appearances to the crowds of visitors. This has meant much of the behind-the-scenes work to protect endangered species, battle invasive plants, fix crumbling infrastructure or plan for the future needs of the US's trove of natural wonders has been jettisoned. 'It's nearly impossible to do the leadership role expected of me,' said one superintendent who heads a park in the western US who didn't want to be named for fear of retribution from the administration. 'I'm doing everything now. That means I regularly have to make sure the doors are open, I have to run the visitor center, I have to clean the bathrooms. I'd say I'm cleaning the bathroom on a weekly basis now because there's no one else to do it.' This sort of triage situation is occurring across the 433 sites and 85m acres – including 63 national parks and an array of battlefields, monuments and cultural sites – that make up the national park system in the US, multiple current and former NPS staff have told the Guardian, risking long-term degradation of prized parks. 'It's frustrating to realize you can't execute your talents to be the best steward of these public resources because we are just trying to keep the parks open. We are just in survival mode,' said the park superintendent, who added that they are considering leaving the NPS; under Trump, more than 100 park superintendents have already departed the service. 'For the public, it's hard to understand. People will say: 'Why would you mess with national parks? They were doing just fine, they are America's best idea. Why would you mess with them?'' In one of his first actions as president, Trump slashed the NPS workforce by 1,000 people, an action known as the 'Valentine's Day massacre' at the agency, as part of a broader effort to shrink the federal workforce. Thousands of others have left the park service since this cull via early retirements or resignations, while some of those who remain have organized as 'resistance rangers', even launching an anonymous podcast. Doug Burgum, Trump's secretary of the interior, has said that the agency can be slimmed down while still maintaining services such as campgrounds, bathrooms and visitor centers. 'I want more people in the parks, whether they're driving a snowplow in the wintertime or whether they're working with [an] interpreter in the summertime or they're doing trail work,' Burgum told a Senate hearing in June. 'I want more of that. I want less overhead.' But even as staff are pressed into frontline roles, gaps are appearing that critics say can endanger safety. All 13 lifeguard positions are vacant at the Assateague Island national seashore in Maryland and Virginia, according to advocacy group the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a site where a man drowned last week. Understaffing encompasses more than 50 vacancies including senior leadership roles across three national park sites in Boston, the loss of 60 staff from regional NPS offices in Alaska and the departure of half of all employees from the Big Bend national park in Texas, according to the NPCA. A history center at Yosemite was forced to close after several artifacts were stolen, a symptom of low staffing, according to the association. It said about 4,000 staff have left in total, nearly a quarter of the total NPS workforce, with potential further cuts if the administration pushes ahead with mass firings, called a reduction in force. 'Some parks have lost as much as a third of their staff and it's difficult or impossible to keep frontline visitor services when that happens,' said John Garder, a senior director at NPCA. Garder said some parks have shortened visitor center hours, with long lines at entrance gates and cuts to tasks that mostly occur out of sight from tourists, such as law enforcement, archeological and ecological work. 'This is not sustainable in the short term and certainly not in the long term as visitors start to notice the lack of maintenance and work on landscapes,' Garder said. 'What is important to visitors is healthy ecosystems and cultural landscapes, whereas this administration sees these places more like theme parks than national parks. It's a Potemkin village scenario where the public can't see things falling apart behind the scenes.' One current NPS employee who works at Yosemite said that law enforcement is now so overstretched that 'people can wreck the park with no consequence' and that visitors are doing potentially dangerous things such as not properly storing their food. 'That's an issue because we have bears here and we don't want bears eating people food because they can get aggressive,' the staffer said. 'I worry the park will degrade to the point where safety is a problem. I don't think visitors notice yet but they will soon. We are all doing jobs outside the scope of our roles. People are stepping up to fill the gaps but everyone is on the fast track to burnout.' The Trump administration has imposed a hiring freeze upon the NPS but has allowed for nearly 8,000 seasonal hires, although barely half of this total has been achieved before the summer peak. Last year, a record 331m visits were made to national parks – a record – and a new high mark may be reached again in 2025. 'We've successfully hired thousands of seasonals and in most parks, staffing is on par with last year,' an NPS spokesperson said. 'As in other years, we are working hard to make it another great year for visitors. Our employees are hard-working, experienced problem-solvers and it's not unusual for them to adapt to changing conditions.' 'It's not unusual or unique to this year for national park employees to work around obstacles to ensure we provide memorable experiences,' the spokesperson added about the superintendent cleaning toilets. 'Rangers have always worn multiple hats.' The spokesperson added that lifeguard shortages such as at Assateague 'are a nationwide concern even outside of our public lands' and said it was important for people to understand the risks of riptides. A focus on seasonal roles and public-facing positions threatens to reorient national parks to being mere facades for tourists rather than sustainable, ecologically rich places connected to local communities, some park staff warned. 'Keeping these iconic places open is an ongoing process of protection, preservation and maintenance and it's scary and chilling to think about that being eliminated along with future planning,' said Marisa, who was an NPS employee of a regional support office until last month and did not want to give her full name. 'The push is to keep up this facade for visitors that things are normal but that's not the case. There's a targeting of the functions that sustain the agency.' National parks, widely beloved by the American public and long seen as a rare bastion of bipartisanship in a fractured country, have also been dragged into the culture wars by the Trump administration. Signs have been erected in each of the parks asking visitors to report any materials that are 'negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur and abundance of landscapes and other natural features'. The NPS will be reviewing signage from this public feedback and targeting 'interpretive materials that disproportionately emphasize negative aspects of US history or historical figures', an agency spokesperson said. However, park staff have said many of the responses, sent via a QR code on the signs, suggest the public is reluctant to scrub away uncomfortable truths such as the US's legacy of slavery or mistreatment of tribal people. 'Are we such weak, fragile people that we can't view the full length and breadth of our history?' reads one of the responses from a visitor to Muir Woods, California, and seen by the Guardian. 'Are we so afraid that we have to hide factual history from the telling of our past? Oh, please!!' Further, albeit milder, pushback is coming from Congress. While the White House's suggested budget for next year demands a 30% cut in NPS funding, a reduction that would decimate many of the agency's core functions, Republicans in Congress have been more circumspect, drafting proposals that would trim the budget by far less. 'There is deep concern among the public about what's happening to our national parks,' Garder said. 'There is concern in Congress, too, although more needs to be done to restore staffing levels and prevent the selloff of federal land.' But even if further steep cuts are averted and parks cope with this summer's crush of visitors, lasting damage may have already been inflicted upon America's best idea. 'This is not a normal situation,' said Kevin Heatley, who resigned as superintendent of Oregon's Crater Lake national park in June due to staff losses. 'This is a paradigm shift that is having repercussions that will last for at least a generation.' Solve the daily Crossword
