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Current Events and Critical Updates
Update: Pam Leisure pointed out that the sandspurs are, in fact native. While there are non-native sandspurs in Florida, the ones on Shell Key are native "coastal Sandspurs". See Images Below.
If you are exploring in this area, wear shoes and tread carefully. You may find yourself in a virtual minefield at any time. The burs stick easily into skin and are quite painful. To remove them, use a piece of cloth or leaf to gently grasp the bur and pull it off. Or, you can use your fingernail to 'flick' it off. Look for a small spike that may be left behind after removal. You might need tweezers to get it. These can be very painful and get infected if not removed.
At this time of year (Autumn) the sandspurs are quite unapproachable. They are dry, sharp and ready to come off the stalk at the slightest bristle. If we were to plan the eradication of these pesky plants, they can be best approached in the spring - after the new plants have sprouted and before they make fruit (burs). At that time of year, they could be pulled from the ground (by some extraordinarily motivated volunteers) or sprayed with an appropriate herbicide. We will update this story as we receive input from county staff. Sandspur infestation Images....
Update:
fees will not be charged until Jan. 5 2009. See link below.
"Until October 1st... (the County) ... will implement a simple, no-cost approach to issuing permits. On our camping information webpage we will include a PDF file that lists of the rules and regulations of Shell Key Preserve and requires a signature to validate the permit. Campers will be required to obtain, sign and carry this one page document with them while on Shell Key." While county staff suggested that there would be no fees in the immediate future, we knew that it was only a matter of time before the permits were put to work generating revenue for the County. The permits will be still available online 24/7. We will keep you posted on status and cost of the new permits as we hear from the county. Update: The county now has a basic permitting system in place. You can get the permit online here ... http://www.pinellascounty.org/Environment/pagesHTML/SK_site/sk3000.html -------------- Opinion: Certainly, plenty of folks will be immediately put off by the announcement of fees for camping. Nobody likes being charged for something they used to do for free. But, I am inclined to look for the silver lining in this announcement. I believe this represents an opportunity for everyone (county, birders and campers alike) to make a meaningful investment for the future of recreational activity on Shell Key. Many of us grew up with the sense that we had a "right" to camp on "Shell Island". But when the County assumed it's lease of the island in 2000, the island and surrounding waters became a "political entity" who's access and use are guided by the interpretation of that lease. Various interest groups, ranging from environmental preservation to commercial interests lobby the County for access to - or restrictions on Shell Key. Until now, campers have been, essentially unrepresented citizens with little or no influence in the public policy issues and decisions being made for Shell Key. As "paying customers", we can establish some security for the role of our activities - while simultaniously promoting preservation and responsible use of the island...
We have already argued extensively
that permits would improve the overall camping experience by encouraging
recreational users to abide by the "leave no trace"
ethic. As nature lovers ourselves, this represents an investment
in our relationship with our brothers and sisters in the various
environmental advocacy groups. We welcome your views and would love to hear from anyone who has another perspective on this issue.
That's
it for now. We will keep you posted as more details are made available.
Our website is currently being redesigned to better communicate
the rules so we can preserve the privilege of camping on Shell
Key.
SUCCESS! Camping
Update: (More Success!)
Tuesday
September 11, 2007 So, the idea that we are currently in violation of the law is false. County staff has also suggested that a compromise on dogs has been tried and failed. This is utterly false. The county waited until 2002 - when they quietly added a 2-month ban to the island's already ineffective signage - informing no one. Furthermore, there has NEVER been any effort to manage visitors and pets on the island with proper signage or law enforcement. In 7 years of management, there has been no effort whatsoever to bring pet owners into compliance with the rules. In fact, this issue has been deliberately ignored in an effort to characterize the problem as unsolvable. Now,
we have propose a practical and viable plan to
bring pet owners into compliance with better signage and enforcement
- yet county staff does not wish to even try this alternative
to zero-tolerance. Why? Until now, the Commission members have been allowing the County's Division of Environmental Lands Staff to deal with the business of sorting out the conflicts and maintain the requirements of the plan. The meeting started with a vigorous defense of the staff's recommendation by Dr. Bruce Rinker. Details of this argument are available at the SKMP web site. I was a little disappointed to hear Dr. Rinker speak critically about the notion of 'compromise'. His implication seemed to be that compromise had been tried - and that it failed. This was odd, since we have worked very successfully with County staff and environmentalists to compromise on the camping issue. This caught me by surprise - much like his suggestion at the last meeting that there was a "rumor" going around that they wanted to ban camping - and that it was untrue. This would seem to minimize the many hours of dialog with environmental groups, the hours spent in advisory committee meetings, the phone calls and emails that we exchanged to build agreement and compromise for camping. I know it's Bruce's job to offer a vigorous defense of all their hard work. And since he had to go first, he was entitled to make anticipatory rebuttals to the criticism he was expecting. I won't take his choice of words personally. And maybe it's my imagination, but there seemed to be a coordinated effort on the part of a few citizen speakers to preempt and discredit the idea of compromise. This was very curious - since there has never been any such language used at previous meetings - never. But all of a sudden, several people mention the word "compromise" as a bad thing? Very curious indeed... Nah. I'm just being paranoid. Anyway, it doesn't matter since, in my view, commissioners did not seem persuaded that compromise has outlived its usefulness. And despite this curious and sudden dislike of compromise by a few, I was again struck by the kind words and positive sentiments I received from several people who did not completely agree with my compromise - but sincerely appreciated my effort to find a practical solution. And almost everyone - on all sides of the room - seemed to like the sign idea. Even if they hated the idea of a 6 month compromise, they still liked the sign. At the end of the public comments, Commissioner Stewart commended our signage efforts and asked county staff to stay in touch with me about it. Reporters for the St. Petersburg Times and Bay News 9 asked us for brief interviews after the workshop was over. All
in all, I was again pleased to see that most people seem willing
to work for compromise if they believe the "other" side
is making a sincere effort to contribute to the solutions. I hope
that we have contributed, in a positive way, toward a meaningful
and fair solution for the continued sharing of Shell Key. While recreational boaters are not an organized group, we have been very clear about our primary, collective concern: We are slowly losing a lifestyle that, for many of us, is the most unique and worthwhile reason to live in St. Petersburg. So, rather that just complain about these issues, we engaged in dialog with environmentalists and communicated with county staff to find a practical compromise in the form of Licensed camping. And I commend the County staff for their patience and willingness to mold our ideas into viable language for the plan. We would, however, like to make one final plea - for the family dog. We are offering an alternative to the proposed year-round pet ban - that will address all of the stated concerns about dogs - while still leaving some access for responsible pet owners.
We have a clear and simple alternative to a zero-tolerance pet policy.: 1) Increase the current 2 month ban to cover the full 6 month nesting season. 2) Employ creative, unambiguous signage to enforce the rules for pet owners.
People tend not to read large blocks of text on a plain sign that's 100 yards away. And, as officer Glenn told us, people are often content to be willfully ignorant of the rules. But effective signage like this would serve both as an unambiguous notification of the rules - AND as a clear indictment of those who would violate the rules. OK - these signs not only tell *you* the rules - but they tell EVERYONE around you if you are breaking the rules. This puts a giant magnifying glass on anyone who violates restricted areas or other rules with their pets. It doesn't make sense to go from a practically un enforced 2 month ban - directly to a zero-tolerance policy - without trying the alternatives. We are asking you to give this idea a chance to work. If you haven't already, I would ask you to visit shellkey.org to read the details of our proposal where we address additional concerns for wintering shorebirds and provide details for inexpensive sign production. Thank you for this time
There was again a roughly 50/50 representation of citizens who are for and those against the planned updates. Several people spoke passionately and eloquently as they expressed their views. My favorite quote of the evening comes from St. Pete resident, Ed Silverberg - who spoke with passion about his desire to have Shell Key remain a free and open resource for his family to enjoy. When a sign was raised indicating his time was up, Mr. Silverberg responded: "Please let me finish. Please, I'm begging you." A close second favorite is this quote...: "Beer
is part of nature...It's alive!" I must say, though, that I am always a little surprised to hear the tales of filth and trash that supposedly plague the island. It's not that I doubt the veracity of those stories. It just goes contrary to every experience I have had on the island. I have almost never seen any "piles" of trash on the island at all. Yes, I see the occasional bit of trash and flotsam, but people just don't leave piles of trash on the island - even on the busiest days (see my memorial day weekend blog). And human waste? Again, I have been camping on this island for 25 years and I have never, ever encountered human waste - and *almost* never encountered dog waste. Perhaps I have not been unfortunate enough to encounter it. But as one observant citizen stated on Wednesday: "Any dog owner knows that the life span of dog feces is 4 days". On most days, there are no campers and very few dogs. From my experience, I would say that human and dog feces are very rare on the island. The notion that there is a health crisis on Shell Key seems completely unfounded to me. After
the public comments, I and the advisory committee were given time
to make our points and I delivered my comments about our desire
to define the criteria by which the success
or failure of the camping compromise will be judged. Mr. Raynard also made the case for employing "conservationism" as opposed to "environmentalism". "It's about Food" he said as he explained his belief that bird numbers are dropping because the Shell Key Preserve ecosystem is evolving to have less food for seabirds. His argued that we should address this issue instead of concerning ourselves with "moral" issues. Monique Abrams, an Audubon Society volunteer spoke on behalf of preservation chair, Dave Kantz and presented a fair and conciliatory attitude toward the boaters in the room. “Nobody’s trying to close the island to the boaters; we just want people to go out there who are respectful of the natural environment.” said Ms. Abrams. We did not hear a lot of new ideas at this meeting, although I did repeat our contention that we should consider a 6 month pet ban rather than the current "zero-tolerance" solution. After
the meeting, Lorraine Margeson explained that dogs can still pose
a hazard to wintering shorebirds. However I would like to further
explore this possibility. Perhaps with some modifications, it
could work. Thursday's St. Pete Times quoted Commissioner Duncan as saying "It's a little on the strict side...I think there's a way to come at that particular issue and find a middle ground." Does this mean these hope for a 6-month dog solution? My guess is that this plan will pass when the County Commission votes on it October 2nd. But it sounds to me like some issues have yet to be fully defined. --
Jack Coletti
We support, in principle, the effort to find a compromise for camping on the island. We will wait to hear further details before we make our suggestions for this proposal. Please stay tuned to this site as we will keep you updated on the latest developments.
Being one of the 3 biggest camping days of the year, we took the opportunity to talk to as many campers as possible about the proposed camping restrictions. We spoke with dozens of campers and received almost universal support for our proposal to allow permitted camping. While talking to the campers, we heard the same story repeatedly. People told us that they always clean up all their garbage - and that they usually police their area to pick up other people's trash as well. One after another, we heard this story told by people who were shocked to hear that they were being singled out as a hindrance to preservation. We are grateful to the campers who have since visited our website to add their voice to our proposals. Trash Note: After a full afternoon of 'policing' the "tent row" with garbage bags, we were only able to fill one small corner of a garbage bag with trash. Monday
May 28, 2007 Thursday
May 25, 2007 We are adamant that this report should not be used to bolster the draconian measure of banning camping on the island. In 50 years of camping on Shell Key, there has been exactly ONE small grassfire due to extreme drought conditions. This event does not represent a rational argument to ban camping. However, It does underscore a need for the common practice of issuing permits to warn campers of dangers like drought conditions. Thursday
April 26, 2007 The turnout for the April 25th Shell Key Stakeholders meeting was excellent - due in large part to good communication by county staff who sent letters, emails and even had a lighted road sign to mark the meeting location. About 30 citizens registered to speak during the "public comments" part of the meeting. Although I was completely unprepared to speak publicly, I spoke long enough to make clear our primary concerns regarding the proposed updates. Will Davis, Bureau Director (DEM) presided over the meeting and did a great job keeping the pace - as well as the peace. We heard a concise history of the management plan from Ms. Pam Leasure (Shell Key Preserve Land Manager, DEM) and then a presentation on the plight of the Red Knot by Ms. Nancy Douglas (FFWC). Dr. Steven Harper, Research Director (DEM) discussed the changing ecology and natural history of the island. Ms. Leasure followed up with a report on the challenges associated with preserve management. Finally, Sgt. Glenn Wilson, PCSO gave a presentation on crime statistics and showed a video of some of the most extreme violations that have occurred. After all the presentations, Dr. Bruce Rinker gave us a review of the 16 suggestions that have been received for consideration during the drafting process of the plan updates. We find ourselves in agreement with some of the suggestions while we find others to be inappropriate. However, in an effort to keep a clear focus on our priorities, we will limit our official suggestions to the camping issue - while also making comments on the other issues listed. Our suggestions and comments are posted on the main page of this website. Public
Comments I was the third person called to speak at the meeting. In an effort to be polite and recognize the other 30 speakers, I tried to limit my comments to the camping issue. I may have omitted some key points in our overall plan to balance sustainable preservation with public access, but I thought it would be better to keep it simple and to the point. I was immensely gratified to receive positive responses to my suggestions from several of the Audubon society members who recognize our effort to meet our responsibilities through regulated camping and public outreach. As someone who advocates continued, responsible camping on Shell Key, I was grateful for the encouraging words from Dave Kantz, Preservation Chair and Lorraine Margeson of the Audubon Society. Ms. Margeson also made a poignant suggestion when she challenged the representatives of the boaters' community to actively participate in preservation as part of their responsibility to this preserve. We hear you, Lorraine, and we pledge to promote a policy that makes boaters and campers part of the solution on Shell Key. Dave Reynard, recreational boater, gave us a healthy dose of skepticism about many of the assumptions about preservation and reported lawlessness. As a former law enforcement official who spent decades patrolling Shell Key, his insights represented a reasonable challenge to the assumption that human activity is a primary hindrance to preservation. Mr. Reynard effectively put Shell Key preservation in context with the larger challenges facing the tampa bay area. This point was also made by some Audubon society members who point out the need for a broader focus for effective preservation. Having started with very different agendas, I am delighted that we have been able to develop a respect and genuine appreciation for each others' concerns. Nuts
and bolts... We strongly believe that Item # 8 regarding camping prohibition should be re-written to allow for permit-based camping. We have the support of prominent representatives of the conservation and boaters community. Will Davis and and other members of the county staff have indicated that our suggestion is appropriate and viable. We will post further updates on the drafting process when we get them. Wednesday
April 8, 2007
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'Sandspurs'
or 'sandburs' are a type of grass that produces many thorny and
painful burs. On Shell Key, they are concentrated along the edge
of pine forest in the 
Sandspurs
are summer annuals. They create their "fruit" (spurs)
over the summer. Those that are not carried away by a passing
flip-flop will fall to the ground and produce next year's crop.
This gives us an insight into how they could be eradicated..
Bird
advocates tell us that the current 2 month ban does not cover
the full 6 month nesting season. And county staff tells us that
the current signage has been ineffective in communicating *any*
of the rules on the island.