State Representative Chad Johnson, R-Chiefland, said he doesn’t have a strong opinion at this point on proposed legislation prohibiting construction of golf courses, tennis courts and luxury lodges in state parks.

He said he wouldn’t want to see a golf course built in the middle of Goethe State Forest, but he is open to the idea of lodging being constructed close to state parks for visitors that might want to stay overnight.

“I think it’s up to us as entrepreneurs and businesses in the community to decide if there is a need and for the business sector to go in close to those parks and build housing so they (visitors) can move back and forth,” he said.

Johnson said he wasn’t very familiar with Senate Bill 80 and House Bill 209 because the bills haven’t been discussed in any committee meeting he has attended nor were the bills brought to his attention by other state lawmakers. He said he has heard “shop talk” about the two bills. The identical bills protect state parks from development.

Legislative Session Coming

The Florida Legislature’s 2025 session will begin on March 4 in Tallahassee. The state park protections bill is headed for a vote by lawmakers at some point during the session. Legislators often meet before the session to discuss big issues. He said illegal immigration has been a topic of intense interest this year.

Senate Bill 80 and House Bill 209, which are identical, were written in response to a proposal by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection calling for construction of “conservation based” recreation in state parks. When the plan was leaked to the press, a major outcry was heard statewide in opposition to the plan.

The DEP had proposed a golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County, 350-room luxury lodges at Anastatia State Park in St. Johns County and Topsail Preserve State Park in Walton County along with a flying disc course at Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park in Tallahassee, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. All of those projects would be forbidden by SB 80 and HB 209.

The legislation sets mandates for DEP’s management of 175 state parks “creating a straightjacket” for park management in which the department is able to only promote traditional recreational activities and amenities that are defined in the bill, the Democrat said.

Johnson met on Friday at his Newberry office with Maryvonne Devensky, co-chair of the Suwannee St. Johns Sierra Club and Laura Catlow, executive committee member and co-chair of the conservation committee for the same club, which serves 14 counties including Levy. Catlow is also executive director of Residents United for Rural Levy (RURL) and was representing the organization as well as Sierra. This reporter attended the meeting as a member of RURL with an interest in environmental issues.

In his comments to the group at his Newberry office, Johnson said if someone was proposing to do excavation for a project inside a state park, and that project might harm habitat or destroy sensitive areas he wouldn’t be in favor of the project at that location.

“Hopefully when you start looking at the project and there’s going to be excavation and we’re going to be tearing up habitat; what’s the environmental impact? Then you say put on the brakes, wait a minute, can we put this somewhere else,” he said.

State Sen. Gayle Harrell is the sponsor of the state parks protection bill with State Sen. Jennifer Bradley being co-sponsor. State Rep. John Snyder is the sponsor of the bill in the House.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was quoted in the Democrat as saying the DEP proposal for development of state parks was leaked. He said it was never approved by him. He said he never saw that language, “and if people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it.”

A Feb. 10 letter signed by 70 organizations and businesses thanked the three legislators who are sponsoring the bill for working to protect state parks from development, but letter also encouraged additional changes in the bill that would define more specifically what is allowed and what is prohibited in state parks.

On a topic unrelated to state parks protection, Catlow said the state isn’t allocating enough funding for springs protection through the Springs Acquisition Trust, which currently receives $50 million annually for septic tank removal, Basin Management Action plans (B-Maps), and nutrient reduction and land conservation.

“Spring health is declining,” she said.

The amount of money allocated to the Springs Acquisition Trust needs to increase to $150 million, she said, noting that almost $1 billion goes to Everglades and coastal restoration by comparison. Most of the state’s springs are in North Florida.

On a different subject, Johnson said he doesn’t object to online commenting. He said he used to do quite a bit of it himself. But he said in today’s social media commentary, many commenters do a terrible job of “articulating their thoughts” and their positions on issues and too often the comments degenerate into name calling. After he took office, someone called him a RINO online. RINO means Republican in Name Only.

“I think we’re doing a terrible job of articulating our thoughts and our position and we’re getting better and better at coming up with cheap names and attacking people who may have a different opinion. I don’t think name calling solves anything,” he said.

Johnson also said he believes the state is investing too much money in fee simple ownership of land that is deemed environmentally sensitive when some of it really isn’t environmentally sensitive property.

“I understand what we own. We’ve had tracts purchased by water management districts that in my opinion aren’t environmentally sensitive lands. Rather than buying them fee simple, sell them back to the general (public) and take that land and go back and buy land we absolutely know is environmentally sensitive,” he said.

He believes the state owns more land than it can effectively manage. He cited the Mallory Swamp fire as an example. He said a wildfire that broke out on the property spread rapidly because the agency responsible for reducing the threat of wildfires didn’t do its job. State agencies are expected to do control burns to eliminate fuel on the forest floor that can cause wildfires.

Asked for an example of a piece of government-owned land that isn’t environmentally sensitive, he cited a small piece of land, perhaps 6-7 acres, that may actually be a sinkhole off County Road 337 just south of Bronson, “that is literally surrounded by a subdivision.” He said he doesn’t know the history of the property or how it wound up in government ownership.

Johnson said he wished the state had perpetual funding for conservation easements that would allow landowners to sell their development rights below the surface of their property. He said the landowners could continue farming on the property or just enjoying what they own without feeling the pressure to sell for development.

Johnson said his family background and educational background are in agriculture, and advocating for agriculture was the reason he decided to run in 2024, even though holding public office again wasn’t what he planned to do. He served as a Levy County Commissioner several years ago. He said he had made up his mind that he wouldn’t go back into public service after leaving the board. He said he had even advocated for a couple of others to run for the state representative seat District 22 that he now holds, but things turned out differently.