National Park Service A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States

THE STATE'S RESIDENT POPULATION is principally located along the east coast from Jacksonville to Miami, in the central lake section, on the west coast around Tampa and across the northern end of the State. It is 70 percent white and 52 percent urban in character. The trend is distinctly urban. It is estimated that the State's population more than doubles during the winter by the influx of tourists and vacationists.

Its extensive beaches, mild climate, and abundant Vegetative growth constitute outstanding recreational resources.

It now has under development a system of 10 State parks, each of which possesses distinctive and outstanding character. The State Recreation Plan recommends the acquisition of additional scenic areas and of several ocean beach parks. There is also a need for local areas of the type being developed by the Dade County Park System to handle the daily recreational wants of the State's residents and its visitors. The need for Negro recreational areas is indicated by the fact that there are at present no outlying parks dedicated to the recreational use of this race. The State's wealth of flora and fauna, its exceptionally fine beaches, and its importance as a winter vacation resort which attracts people from all over the United States, warrant extensive Federal participation in the provision of several ocean and gulf beach parks.

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¹ Area under Federal administration June 1938.

² Soil Conservation Service areas leased to the State for administration.