Months ago, Florida OK'd giving 324 acres of state forest to golf course company [View all]

The deafening, bipartisan uproar over the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s plans to add golf courses, hotels and more to nine state parks has rocked the state in the past week, causing one group behind the push to withdraw its proposal for Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County.

But in June, months before those plans were unveiled, Florida’s top officials approved a transfer of 324 acres of state forest land to a Hernando County golf course company in an effort separate from the Florida environmental agency’s current state parks initiative.

The company, Cabot Citrus OpCo LLC, already owns a luxury golf resort with several rolling emerald courses in Brooksville directly adjacent to the Withlacoochee State Forest parcel. It’s the first American resort run by Cabot, a Canadian luxury golf course developer with courses from Bordeaux, France, to the Scottish Highlands to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. On its website, the company promises players in Brooksville that they’ll be able to tee off among “pristine natural beauty.”

The company has also signaled it’s expanding: Cabot Citrus Farms will soon have a sporting club and real estate for purchase, starting just under $1.8 million, its website states.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, acting as the Florida Cabinet, approved the swap of 324 acres of the Withlacoochee State Forest on June 12 after no discussion. The move granted the state permission to determine that the land is “no longer needed for conservation purposes.”

https://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/2024/08/26/desantis-state-park-golf-course-land-swap-withlacoochee-forest-brooksville-cabot/