Thank you, Rep. Fine! From FlaglerLive:
Randy Fine Wants to Federalize Princess Place, Pellicer Creek and 4.2% of Florida for ‘Massive Increase’ in Tourism
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, whose district includes Flagler County, wants to federalize Pellicer Creek, Princess Place, Crescent Lake, Lake Disston and Haw Creek Preserve, all of which are in Flagler County in whole or in part.
He wants to federalize De León Springs, Blue Spring, Faver Dykes State Parks, Ocala National Forest and many other preserves, springs and parks.
In all, he wants to federalize 1.8 million acres or 2,800 square miles of Florida land–4.2 percent of the state’s land mass–between Jacksonville, Gainesville Orlando and Daytona Beach into what he would call Florida Springs National Park.
It would be larger than the Everglades, and the third-largest national park in the continental United States after Death Valley and Yellowstone.
The reason? “Number one, to make sure that we’re protecting these extraordinary places in the world,” he said. “But second, and this is a big deal for the communities that I represent, to create a massive increase in the level of tourism that these sites visit.”
Fine addressed the issue during a press conference on beach funding Wednesday at Flagler County’s Emergency Operations Center. (Fine today issued a release about that press conference, when he took credit for securing $8.8 million in Federal Emergency Management Administration money to repair beaches damaged during Hurricane Milton. “After the long, five-year wait for reimbursement, these funds will allow critical beach restoration to move forward,” the release states. Hurricane Milton struck 10 months ago.)
Fine was asked about his interest in federalizing such places as the Ocala National Forest. “Let me reject the premise of your question,” he said, before proceeding to explain why he is interested in federalizing so much more.
He did not say he would either reverse the large National Parks System staffing cuts under President Trump and previous presidents nor increase funding for the system, which has been under increasing strain.
The National Parks system’s 433 properties, which include national parks, monuments, memorials, historic sites, preserves, recreation areas and parkways, drew 331.9 million visitors last year, breaking the 2016 record.
Between 2011 and 2022, the National Park Service’s employee ranks dropped by 3,400, or 15 percent, according to the Department of the Interior. In February, President Trump fired 1,000 National Park employees in February. The National Parks Conservation Association in July reported that the park system’s permanent workforce has dropped 24 percent since Trump took office.
On July 23 Fine introduced the “Path to Florida Springs National Park Act.” It directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a feasibility study on establishing a national park that would include the 2,800 square miles of land. The study is to “ evaluate the national significance” of the area, but also “consider other alternatives for preservation,” whether by government or “private and nonprofit organizations,” and “identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition.”
Fine spoke of his visits to numerous national parks with his children. “When I ran for Congress, I started touring our Florida springs,” he said. (He was elected with Trump’s backing on April 1 in a special election to fill the seat vacated by Mike Waltz, who for 42 days was Trump’s national security adviser.) “And as I toured Florida springs, I said, these are as nice and extraordinary as any of these sites that I’ve seen elsewhere in the country.” He thought Florida’s springs deserve the same protection.
“It might be a national park, it might be a national monument, it might be a National Recreation Area, it could be some combination of the three,” he said. Florida is not hurting for tourists: it drew 34.4 million tourists in the second quarter of 2025, a record.
The bill has no co-sponsors. It’s been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources, whose chairman, Bruce Westerman an Arkansas Republican, is from the city of Hot Springs.
Flagler County officials have asked Fine to help them federalize about 10 miles of shoreline in Flagler County, to protect the beach from continuing erosion–a much smaller lift than federalizing 2,800 square miles. The request is pending.
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