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EGMONT KEY'S BATTLE FOR LIFE

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By MARY KELLEY HOPPE

Special to the Tribune

Published: March 28, 2009

It's an epic battle as battles go. A small, scrappy barrier island caught in the crossfire between a Goliath state budget and perilous deficits that threaten to topple the kingdom.

Pity the poor David who finds himself in the middle. In this instance, it's the late John Perceval, second earl of Egmont, whose namesake island, Egmont Key, is battling for its life.

For those who haven't had the pleasure of visiting Egmont Key, an introduction is in order. The barrier island sits at the entrance to Tampa Bay, its historical lighthouse providing a welcoming beacon in the night to seafarers. Just 11/2 miles long and less than a half-mile wide, Egmont once housed captured Seminole Indians awaiting transport to the Port of New Orleans long before its famous fort was erected. Fort Dade was constructed during the Spanish-American War of 1898, and although it never saw battle, it remains a vital part of Florida's vanishing heritage.

Its build-out resulted in five coastal artillery batteries, remote-controlled undersea mines and a township of 300 people with a small hospital, movie theater, bakery, bowling alley and tennis courts. The island also included a quarantine station for troops returning from the Spanish-American War in Cuba.

Now mostly in ruin, its gun batteries long silenced, the old fort and its sugar-white beaches have given countless hours of pleasure to boaters and weekend explorers for more than a century.

It's time we gave back.

A Pauper's Sum

So what will it take to keep this treasure island afloat? No stomach-churning, billion-dollar AIG bailout called for here. No, the greenbacks needed to keep Egmont Key alive are more pauper-sum: $140,000, according to the Egmont Key Alliance.

The gravity of the situation is clear. Faced with an estimated $5.7 billionshortfall in the state budget, the Legislature needs to make cuts. But the same elected officials who have refused to consider tax increases on alcohol and other revenue producers now are making cuts that would jeopardize schools, hospitals and unique natural resources such as Egmont, a wildlife refuge that attracts an estimated 100,000 visitors a year.

A state Senate budget committee has recommended returning oversight of the island to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

What's At Stake?

Egmont is a singular case because of its historical and environmental significance to Florida. The national wildlife refuge is recognized as one of the most significant bird nesting colonies in the southeastern United States. Last year, nearly 1,000 brown pelicans nested on the island, along with 25,000 laughing gulls, 5,000 royal terns, 1,000 sandwich terns and 165 black skimmers.

The island also is recognized as a major nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles. In 2008, there were 50 sea turtle nests, with about half returning some 2,500 hatchlings to the sea. Poaching is negligible, as nests are monitored around the clock by volunteer interns. Year-round residents include about 1,800 lumbering gopher tortoises.

The proposed $140,000 cutback would eliminate the island's land-management program, and with it the sole ranger who patrols the refuge. Without a ranger to keep looters and partiers at bay, Egmont and its treasures and resident wildlife will be forever lost.

Today, throngs of visitors flock to the tiny island to explore its sandy beaches and quiet interiors. While the majority respect the resource and posted nesting areas, there are others who plunder and vandalize.

And that's not the only threat. Egmont also faces an battle with the sea, which already has swallowed up historical gun batteries on its southern end. Signs of the encroaching sea are most visible on its western flank, where seaward-leaning cabbage and sabal palms cling tenaciously to the shifting sands beneath.

November Island

My latest visit to the island occurred on a sunny November morning, accompanied by a best friend and our daughters. Far away from the bustling city, we quickly unwound, exploring the magical interiors and remnant structures of the island by day and gazing into a star-studded sky by night, marveling at the light show provided by a steady stream of shooting stars.

Sharing this with our girls was a priceless gift. Whisked away from their electronic captors - computers, TV sets, cell phones and the like - we met Old Florida, the paradise that drew so many of us here in the first place.

In this rugged, windswept outpost we rediscovered ourselves at the most elemental level, raw and real and unburdened, our souls and bodies refreshed, bit players in a vast and mysterious universe.

Perhaps G. K. Chesterton, one of the 20th century's most influential English writers, got it right when he said: "The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land."

Not On Our Watch

It's time to call in the cavalry. Deliberations in Tallahassee may seal the fate of this beloved historical island. Letters and calls to legislators are needed now if we are to muster the support to save Egmont Key.

For now, birds, turtles, beachgoers and the ghosts of soldiers and sailors long gone can still find a place to rest on this island. Next year is another story. Is the risk worth the relatively small sum it will take to keep Egmont alive?

Will we allow Egmont Key to die on our watch? Not if we can help it.

HISTORY OF EGMONT

Early 1500s: Panfilo de Navarez and Hernando de Soto are thought to be among first European explorers to spot Egmont.

1757: Tampa Bay and Egmont Key charted by Francisco Maria Celi, pilot of the Royal Spanish fleet.

1763: Island named after John Perceval, second earl of Egmont, Irish House of Commons.

1848: First lighthouse constructed, then damaged by hurricane.

1849: Egmont surveyed by Col. Robert E. Lee, who noted its strategic value as rationale for fortification.

1858: Lighthouse reconstructed "to withstand any storm." New structure is 81 feet tall with a kerosene lamp and fixed Fresnel lens.

1887: Quarantine station established during yellow fever epidemic.

1898: Construction begins on Fort Dade at outbreak of Spanish-American War. Temporary gun batteries constructed to defend Tampa. Although the Spanish fleet never comes, construction continues on the fort. Build-out results in five coastal artillery batteries, remote-controlled undersea mines and a township of 300 people with a small hospital, movie theater, bowling alley and tennis court. Quarantine station re-established for troops returning from the Spanish-American War in Cuba.

1944: Lighthouse tower shortened, electric light installed, range increased to 22 miles.

1974: Egmont Key designated a National Wildlife Refuge.

1989: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Florida Park Service sign agreement to co-manage the island.

Source: Egmont Key Alliance and state park brochures

Mary Kelley Hoppe is editor of Bay Soundings, an environmental news journal (www.bay soundings.com), and president of MKH Communications.

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