How many times does it have to be said: Florida's parks are no place for hunting. That should be obvious to anybody. Yet the Department of Environmental Protection has left hunting on the table as another moneymaking scheme in pursuit of the misguided goal that the parks system pays for itself. This is a terrible idea even for Gov. Rick Scott's administration.

A report Sunday by the Tampa Bay Times' Craig Pittman shows the DEP is still pushing ahead to include hunting as a potential revenue generator in Florida's award-winning parks system. Hunting was initially considered for only the largest parks. But weeks ago, a former park planner told the Times, staffers were told to include the "hunting" category for each of the state's 161 parks. Do we really need the state to spend any time evaluating whether there should be hunting at Honeymoon Island State Park or Hillsborough River State Park?

The governor should have shelved this idea when it first emerged publicly this summer. Turning public nature preserves into a killing field for hunters to shoot deer, turkey, hogs, bears or any animal is completely at odds with the mission of the state parks system. State law entrusts the DEP to "conserve these natural values for all time" and "without depleting them" so that residents and visitors alike can appreciate Florida's history and beauty. But to DEP Secretary Jon Steverson, the parks should be measured by profits and losses — and no idea that churns money at the gate is too preposterous. If the threat to public safety alone is not enough, imagine the impact to tourism as hunters blast away wildlife that paying visitors had come to appreciate and respect.

The governor hasn't seen fit yet to intervene, so it's up to the Legislature to tell Steverson to move on, leave the parks alone and to build public support for an adequate budget. Florida's natural beauty is more than a retail opportunity. It's a public trust that Steverson and this governor must protect, to hand down one day for the next generation.