One week after Floridians pushed back against leaked plans for development projects in nine state parks, a man claiming to be responsible for sharing the plans has come forward.
“These atrocious proposals, which were not going to be released until the day before the scheduled public meetings, have been suspended for now, and we are all feeling great about that,” Gaddis wrote on a GoFundMe page he created for himself and his 11-year-old daughter while he finds a new job.
“As a state employee and single dad working a weekend side job, I knew that sounding the alarm was a risky move. However, I saw myself as a public servant first and felt that it was the only ethical thing to do. This issue became far more important than any individual’s employment status with DEP,” he wrote.
Gaddis said he was directed to create nine maps with “shocking and destructive infrastructure proposals, while keeping quiet as they were pushed through an accelerated and under-the-radar public engagement process.”
“Recently, the department became aware that you intentionally released unauthorized and inaccurate information to the public,” the letter states. “At least one document was created, authored and disseminated by you without discretion or permission.”
The letter goes on to say Gaddis verbally admitted to creating the document during working hours.
DEP communications director Alexandra Kuchta told The Epoch Times in an email, “The Florida Department of Environmental Protection does not comment on personnel matters.”
Gaddis did not return The Epoch Times’s multiple requests for comment.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told members of the press on Aug. 28 that DEP was “going back to the drawing board” and that the plans were leaked and “not ready for prime time” but didn’t mention who leaked them.
Pickleball and Disc Golf
A copy of the Gaddis’s unauthorized document was included in his dismissal letter. In it, he states, “The Office of Park Planning was directed by the Executive Office of the Governor to compose nine amendments to existing management plans for nine state parks,” and that they were instructed to be done as quickly as possible.He said that these management plan changes traditionally require meetings for advisory groups and public meetings.
In order to fulfill those requirements, he said, “eight public meetings across eight counties are going to be scheduled for August 27, and one advisory group session is going to be held on Thursday, August 29. The advisory group session will be held via Teams, where all 9 amendments are to be discussed.”
The Park Planning office would “play pre-recorded presentations, then receive and record feedback at these meetings without answering questions,” and then send the plans to the DEP’s Acquisition and Restoration Council for approval, he said.
Seven of the nine state parks were slated to get pickleball courts and disc golf courses.
Several of the plans in DEP’s official statement were included in Gaddis’s document, including plans for golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, and the 350-room park lodges at Anastasia and Topsail Hill Preserve.
“The initiative will work to expand public access, increase outdoor activities and provide new lodging options across Florida’s state parks—reinforcing the state’s dedication to conservation, the outdoor recreation economy and a high quality of life for Floridians,” DEP stated in its release.
However, the plans met with significant backlash, and protests were planned at the entrances of the parks.
That backlash caught the attention of Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, who criticized the DEP’s decision to rush through the approval process.
By Aug. 26, the DEP announced that the public meetings would be pushed back until after Labor Day weekend, and the organization associated with the proposed golf courses had backed out.
Plans on Hold
DeSantis encouraged people to talk to their community leaders about the plans.“Here’s the thing: I‘d rather not spend any money on this, right? I mean, if people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it. And so that’ll be something that citizens could be able to do. They’re not doing anything this year,” he said.
DEP confirmed on Aug. 29 that the development plans were on hold.
“At the governor’s direction and following feedback from the public, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has withdrawn all remaining proposed amendments to state parks,” a spokeswoman with the agency told The Epoch Times in an email last week. “We will shift to discussions with our local park managers and will revisit any park improvements, if needed, next year.”
Opponents celebrated the news.
The governor also said that the information “was intentionally leaked out to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative,” and referenced the conservation work his administration has done, including adding over 250,000 acres of conserved land.
The state park plans were developed based on requests from Florida residents, DeSantis said.
Some Floridians said they see opposition to the park’s development as a bipartisan issue. Scott and Rubio, both Republicans, criticized the meeting schedule and public comment period, saying it was not long enough.
“I have seen it from all of my friends that I have across the entire political spectrum, every single person has been against it, vehemently against it,” Lucas Meers, coordinator for the Mickler’s Landing Turtle Patrol, told The Epoch Times. “I think particular Floridians were pretty protective of our state parks.”
