Earlier this year, the sunbaked scrublands of Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County had an unusual visitor: Jack Nicklaus, the hall-of-fame golfer who’s played with four presidents.

It would be months before the public learned of these plans, through a leak made by concerned employees of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection — first reported by the Tampa Bay Times.

As the plans for Jonathan Dickinson took shape, they ballooned to encompass eight more state parks. Altogether, the state developed, in secret, a sweeping proposal to build hotels, pickleball courts and more on protected land — a venture that would imperil already-dwindling habitat in areas the public had assumed were safe.

In Tallahassee, so many Department of Environmental Protection staffers were streaming the news conference that DeSantis’ voice echoed through the office, Alderson said. DeSantis’ comments shocked staffers, sparking angry watercooler conversations. Parks employees involved with the proposals knew well that DeSantis’ top staff had been coordinating the project behind the scenes.