National Parks Traveler on Virginia Key

An article in the National Parks Traveler, a web magazine dedicated to the National Parks, considers how creating an urban gateway to Biscayne National Park on Virginia Key would put a national park within steps of downtown Miami, accessible through the scenic Rickenbacker Causeway. This would make Biscayne National Park perhaps the only national park that combines both remote island wild lands, such as the Channel Islands National Park, with the easy accessibility to natural and historic sites provided by urban parks such as Santa Monica Mountains or Gateway National Recreation Areas in California, the article states.

The expansion could include the southern portion of the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve. The park’s expansion would link the natural and historic heritage of the Miami region and help foster and fund the restoration and protection of important historic and cultural sites and facilities, such as the historic Virginia Key Beach Park, an 82-acre public park that played a critical role in the nation’s civil rights history as well as the the historic but neglected Miami Marine Stadium, an icon of modern architecture.

The City of Miami currently owns most of Virginia Key, including the historic Virginia Key Beach Park and Miami Marine Stadium. Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve is owned by the State of Florida.

After nearly a century of neglect, mismanagement and/or ill-conceived development plans, there has recently been a new appreciation in the community for the ecological, historic, and recreational significance of Virginia Key. It was that concern and the outcry that resulted when extensive commercial development was proposed for the island, that postponed approval by the Miami City Commission of the last master plan proposal for the island.

A March 2010 Miami Herald editorial stated:

"The value of this semi-tropical natural haven can't be overestimated in a city that sorely lacks adequate park and recreation space. The city has targeted Virginia Key for a make-over, but so far its plans have given short shrift to Mother Nature in favor of concrete."

Under the National Park proposal, parts of the island and the surrounding Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve could be acquired by the National Park Service through donation or exchange. These additions and the placement of a northern visitor center for Biscayne National Park on the island would help to address longstanding public concerns about the protection of these areas, and also make Biscayne National Park a more interesting and accessible national park.

This hybrid urban/wild national park property with tales to tell about the American experience - from civil rights, to restoring Florida's fragile ecology to Miami's modern architectural heritage - may be the new model for the National Park system, which is eager to reach out to an urban, diverse America.



To read more of the article in National Parks Traveler, go to:
http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2010/04/creating-urban-gateway-biscayne-national-park-virginia-key5739