Draper said the governor should continue to capitalize on the strong bipartisan support for state parks by ensuring the state’s existing 175 parks are fully funded and staffed in the future.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The millions of tourists and Florida residents who visit state parks each year will see them remain free of golf courses, new hotels and sports facilities, as Republican ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Thursday curtailing what kind of development can happen in Florida’s prized state parks — giving his approval to ...

Gov. DeSantis has signed a measure to protect Florida’s 175 state parks from development such as golf courses, luxury lodges and pickleball courts.

State parks would be protected from pickleball courts, golf courses and hotel development under a bill passed unanimously by the Florida House on Thursday in response to last summer’s statewi… ...

In March, the USA TODAY Network-Florida Opinion team reached out to Floridians, seeking their input into House Bill 209 and Senate Bill 80, introduced to protect Florida state parks from the kind ...

It didn't have the pomp and circumstance that it deserved, but Gov. Ron DeSantis did the right thing — albeit grudgingly — by signing legislation into law to protect Florida's 175 state parks ...

Back in August, nine state parks were the focus of a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) announcement on the launch of the “2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative,” which included ...

It would protect Florida's state parks from this kind of development. An identical bill, HB 209, was filed in the House by State Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart).

At 71,000 acres, State Forest, Colorado’s largest state park, is only a fraction of the size of the 266,000-acre Rocky Mountain National Park. But this gem also sees a fraction of the crowds ...