Habitat Restoration Offers Opportunity to Explore Island Wilds

Wetland restoration in the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park includes construction of boardwalks. 

Extensive environmental restoration of natural areas on Virginia Key is set to begin anew under a federally funded program that has already re-sculpted the island to restore wetlands, dunes and hammock habitat in a 95-acre stretch of the island. 

The aim of the project,  which began in 2002, is to enhance local fish and wildlife resources as it restores the rich biological diversity of the various native habitats on the island.  

One side-benefit:  accessibility.  Where the restoration has been completed, you’ll find scenic trails, wooden bridges and boardwalks that carry you to the heart of wilderness areas. 

Re-sculpting the land includes opening up waterways in the interior of the island. 

Mangrove wetlands, fresh and brackish water ponds, wetlands, hardwood hammocks and coastal strands are part of the restoration.

In the areas where native species have been reestablished or enhanced, you can already see an increase in the numbers of wading birds such as herons and ibis. Migratory birds, including warblers, buntings, vireo and cardinals are seen as well as rare migratory and wintering bird species, including the least tern, great white heron, lesser black-backed gull, peregrine falcon, merlin and brown pelican. The beach areas provide foraging and leafing habitat for shorebirds and nesting habitat for sea turtles.

The multi-million dollar federally-funded program authorized under a section of the Water Resource Development Act of 1986 is directed by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in partnership with the City of Miami. 

Though the heavy-lifting -- carving out lakes, rebuilding dunes -- has been carried out by professional crews, a lot of the planting has been done by volunteers painstakingly digging and replanting flowering plants, native grasses and trees. 

Volunteers with Urban Paradise Guild plant native grasses. 

“It’s very important to get the community involved,” said restoration specialist Gary Milano,  the biologist with the Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management who has been directing the restoration effort. “The stewardship component is critical to the project’s success.” 

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Also on Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key 

North Point: hiking and biking in the "forbidden zone"

The North Point of Virginia Key - the point that faces Fisher Island - is a forbidden zone.

The 22-acre site is locked behind a chain linked fence that abruptly ends the joy ride through the island as it edges the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Station, just past the Jimbo’s parking area.

But this week about dozen people, including bike enthusiasts, conservationists, biologists and a handful of city employees, got together to tour the North Point to discuss how to best site biking and hiking trails through the Point.

The area has been heavily impacted by the dumping of dredge spill from a previous Port of Miami expansion. But that has also created rare South Florida bluffs - as high as 50 feet -- above Biscayne Bay, where visitors get spectacular views of the city skyline and the green tranquility of mangrove shorelines stretching to the Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Refuge.

The undulating landscape also has bicyclists excited to roam through the wilds of an area free of vehicular traffic.

DERM biologist Gary Milano was on hand Wednesday to talk about the restoration work he has been doing in there since the late 1990’s.

“The area is holding it’s own,” he said, as he surveyed the landscape of mature sea grape trees he planted more than a decade ago. “Those trees started off in coffee cans.”

The dune area that faces Fisher Island has been restored, he told the crowd. Next up: recreating a wetland area through a tidal creek that flows all the way from the Shrimper’s Lagoon near Jimbo’s.

North Point contains some of Virginia Key’s most important wildlife habitats, according to state biologists who examined the area in the 1990‘s in response to the City of Miami’s request to waive deed restrictions. Manatees, wading birds, loggerhead sea turtles all depend on the North Point and its surrounding waters for their survival.

A 1994 report from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stated:

“The area is highly productive fish and wildlife habitat, as well as a movement corridor for the endangered manatee...A narrow coastal berm on the north shoreline supports a variety of rare plant life and is documented habitat for marine turtles.”

Finding a clear path that protects the restored natural areas and steers clear of future areas marked for restoration was the point of the walk. 


Next step, drawing a road map that reflects a consensus among all interested users.

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On Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key