Three state parks in St. Lucie County will need part of nearly $759 million in recommended maintenance from now until 2035, according to a Dec. 1 letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
FDEP recommended the funds to conduct “repair, maintenance and upgrade projects” in the 175 state parks found throughout Florida over the next decade, the letter said.
Another approximately $1.39 billion, the letter added, would also need to be allocated toward “new construction and development projects,” including the buildout of expanded visitor access compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
While the letter specified which amenities needed restoration for each park, it did not give specific dollar amounts attached to potential rehabilitation. FDEP representatives provided a copy of the letter but did not respond to questions for comment by press time.
The letter lists several state parks in St. Lucie, along with their respective repairs: Avalon State Park, Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Savannas Preserve State Park.
Avalon State Park required new “staff residence” facilities as the sole improvement among FDEP recommendations, the letter said. Fort Pierce Inlet State Park will also need new restrooms along with facilities for staff, administration, storage and concessions.
Savannas Preserve State Park, further east, required the largest amount of improvements among the three. According to the letter, improvements ranged from plumbing and trail repairs to the construction of a new “administrative support facility,” new admission payment – or “honor” – boxes, and improvements to a playground.
State-level improvements in St. Lucie-centric parks can add to a landscape that welcomes tourism throughout the winter, such as with visitors like Cheryl Boothby. The retiree from Cornville, Maine, spent her first winter with her husband camping in Savannas Preserve State Park after spending time in the wetlands near her family in Melbourne.
Tropical warmth was but one attractive element among many for her to camp out in Savannas, including the opportunity to navigate the wetlands by foot or car, Boothby said Dec. 12. “To have this here where we could do it every single day was the big plug for us.”
Her stay until March includes days collecting seashells along Hutchinson Island beaches and spending time at holiday-centric events over the coming weekend.
On walks along the trail between motor home facilities and the park’s northern perimeter, she encountered work crews scattered throughout the park. “(I) haven’t seen a lot of workers here,” Boothby said. She added how these crews mostly cut down weeds along the trail.
As for relocating to our sunny climes, she said: “I wouldn’t have to, really, put too much thought into it. It would just be ‘OK, let’s get rid of what we got back in Maine and come here.’ I would move here in a heartbeat.”