On the 25th of August, a couple hundred protesters each showed up at Anastasia State Park and at Jonathan Dickerson State Park in Florida. The protesters were there to condemn and fight DeSantis-backed proposals to clearcut woods and rip out parklands to build everything from golf courses to luxury hotels.

At Anastasia State Park (protest on video here) the proposed destruction included a 350 room luxury lodge, pickleball courts, and a disc golf course that could no doubt become a full-on golf course later. Protesters showed up at 10 AM on a Sunday morning in scorching heat, and most of the protesters were park users at what was probably their first ever protest.

Florida’s DeSantis-backed “2024-2025 Great Outdoors Initiative” is all about “opening up” parkland to “glamping” and luxury recreation at the expense of wild lands and all other users. This has run into a firestorm of opposition across the state, including Sunday’s protests. It is literally turning out people in the streets to fight it!

A Tuesday meeting at Jonathan Dickerson State Park had been planned to “discuss” what no doubt was intended to be a done deal. This was on four days notice, with only 150 people to be allowed inside. As opposition mushroomed, the meeting had to be indefinately postponed while DeSantis’s minions mull over their next moves.