A brief history of the Shell
Key Management Plan...
In 2000, Pinellas County acquired
a lease from the State of Florida to establish Shell Key
as a Wildlife Preserve. At that time, new rules
regarding alcohol and public use were enacted to comply
with the requirements of the state
lease.
In
2007, the plan came up for it's scheduled review and update.
After several months of public debate and pressure from
various interests, County staff began formulating proposals
to restrict camping, alcohol and pets from Shell Key.
Beginning
in April, 2007 we offered
the idea of camping by permit
as an alternative to the proposed
camping ban.
After consulting with other campers, environmental groups
and county staff, we began to receive
support for our ideas from campers, representatives
of environmental groups as well as County staff in the Environmental
Lands division.
** see our original plan
to find practical solutions to the challenge of balancing
public use with environmental protection.
By
October of 2007, County staff formally included camping
by permit into the draft plan. In December, The County
Commission formally
approved the plan.
Please
see the update stories listed at the right of this page
for the most recent updates.
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