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Take Unique Egmont Key Off State's Financial Hit List

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 25, 2008

You would think by now the Florida Department of Environmental Protection would know the value of Egmont Key. The beautiful 380-acre island at the mouth of Tampa Bay contains numerous historical structures, is a wildlife refuge and serves as immensely popular retreat for boaters.

Yet Egmont Key is among 19 state parks DEP proposes to close as part of its effort to cut its budget by 10 percent. To be sure, cuts are necessary. With Florida facing a $15 billion budget shortfall this year and a projected $3 billion shortfall next year, state agencies must scale back. But getting rid of Egmont Key State Park would save little. Its annual budget is only $80,000 a year. And its loss would jeopardize a natural and historical treasure.

DEP says the parks targeted for closing are little used. But the officials behind the scheme obviously have never visited Egmont on a weekend when its shores are swarming with visitors. It attracts an estimated 100,000 visitors a year. So that argument won't float.

A more likely reason Egmont is being targeted is that most of the barrier island is owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agency. So the state can turn over the refuge to the feds and wash its hands of all costs and responsibility.

But DEP administrators forget their history. Egmont became a state park because the federal agency could not adequately supervise the heavily used preserve. Litter and abuse was common until the state leased the island and established a park in 1989.

When Gov. Jeb Bush tried to get rid of the expense by returning Egmont to the feds in 2001, public outcry caused a retreat, and rightly so.

The state would be foolish to forsake the barrier island that has figured so prominently in its history as well as allowing boaters to experience an island much like it was 100 years ago.

Robert E. Lee supervised the construction of the lighthouse on the island. In the 1850s, Egmont served as a prison for Seminole Indians who were being shipped to Oklahoma, earning it the label, the "Isle of Tears." It housed a hospital during the Civil War and later a quarantine hospital during the yellow fever outbreaks. The island was developed into a fort for the Spanish-American war, and batteries and many of other structures from that era, including brick roads, remain. During World War II, the island was used for training runs by pilots.

A dedicated group of volunteers - the Egmont Key Alliance, Inc. - works to preserves the historical structures and keep the island clean. Boy Scout troops and many other volunteer groups also work to preserve Egmont.

On Nov. 8, the Egmont Key Alliance will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Egmont light tower. The group will honor former Tampa Congressman Sam Gibbons for his efforts to preserve the island and help it become a park.

Gibbons could tell DEP functionaries a thing or two about the importance of preserving Egmont Key for the people of Florida.

So, we imagine, could Gov. Charlie Crist, a St. Petersburg native who enjoys fishing and boating on Tampa Bay. DEP can't be faulted for trying to trim costs. But Crist should make sure Egmont Key, an island of remarkable natural and historical significance, is taken off the hit list.

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