photo by Marc Muench |
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By Brian Lavendel
It’s another sunny day in paradise, and two Florida retirees—Roland and Jake—are geared up for a day on the water. Decked out in long-sleeved shirts, hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen, the two wait patiently on a pier in Islamorada, Key Largo, anticipating a day in Florida Bay. But unlike most boaters who will be fishing or sightseeing today, Roland and Jake are heading out to help protect Everglades National Park.
Many boaters in the waters north of the Keys don’t realize that hundreds of square miles of the waters of Florida Bay lie within the boundaries of Everglades National Park. Roland’s and Jake’s mission is to clue boaters in to that fact, and to help protect the waters, the sensitive underwater habitat, and the many creatures found here. That’s their goal as charter members of Florida Bay Buddies, a group of volunteers working to protect this fragile ecosystem—a key breeding and nursery ground for fish, shellfish, and birds—from the dangers of careless visitors.
The effort began in 2003, when an anonymous donor stepped forward and offered NPCA $3.3 million over five years to help address the problems in Florida Bay, earmarking part of this money for specific projects in Everglades National Park. The donor had grown increasingly concerned about reports of declining fish catches and deteriorating habitat in Florida Bay and recognized the need for immediate action to protect the bay from further harm. To make the most of this sizable donation, NPCA formed a Coalition of Park Users—representatives from the angling community, a fishing guides association, local businesses related to the Bay, and the scientific community—who would be able to determine which projects would best benefit Florida Bay.
“When we first approached them, they were skeptical,” says Mary Munson, director of NPCA’s Sun Coast region. “Some fishermen suspected we had a hidden agenda, such as closing the park to fishing. But we got past that by talking with them, building trust, and assuring them that we were looking for their advice. After all, they’re the ones who are out there every day—they know what the problems are and what the Bay needs.”
In the end, coalition members including Tad Burke, commodore of the Florida Keys Fishing Guides Association, eventually agreed to team up with Munson and NPCA. Advisors on the Coalition agreed that an influx of novice boaters and anglers unfamiliar with the bay’s unique characteristics was causing serious damage to the sensitive ecosystem. The people most familiar with the waterways believed it was essential to educate new boaters and stop those violating conservation laws. To that end, they identified the need for more enforcement rangers as a top priority, recommending that NPCA use the money to allow the park to purchase enforcement patrol vessels, hire seasonal rangers, purchase boundary markers, and conduct baseline studies of the Bay’s conditions, which would help feed into the park’s general management plan, now being revised, just in time to account for these new challenges.
“Recreational fishing has increased a lot in the past few years,” says Munson. “A huge number of people have migrated to Florida, and the boats themselves have become more affordable.” The result is a huge increase in boating, leading to unsustainable pressure on the region’s marine resources. To make matters worse, the park’s enforcement budget has been trimmed, so fewer staff are available to keep watch over the 500,000-acre bay.
“There aren’t as many fish as there used to be, and there are [a lot more boaters] who don’t know what they’re doing or where they’re going,” confirms world-champion fly fisherman, Billy Pate, who has plied his trade in Florida Bay since the 1960s. “I’ve fished in over 40 countries, and I have looked for another Everglades National Park, but there is no other place that has the same type and quality of fishing.”
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