Celebrating a City of Contrasts

It seems we’ve been  locked in the urban gridlock so long, we’ve lost the ability to recognize wild places any longer ---especially when the wilderness is in our midst, as it is on Virginia Key.

In just over 100 years, Miami went from “a city with ‘too much nature’ to one where nature has been marginalized,” according the Miami Parks and Public Spaces Master Plan.  The plan identifies Virginia Key as one of those last wild places. 

The island’s  wilderness doesn’t reveal itself on a drive-by along the Rickenbacker Causeway, though from the peak of the bridge you can glimpse the green heart of the place. But, when 700 of the island’s 1,000 acres is the state-designated Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area, you can bet it’s there. 

It’s also something that should be nurtured and protected, according to the city’s parks masterplan. Here’s why: 

For much of its early history the wilderness surrounding Miami was treated as an obstacle to progress: The Everglades needed to be filled in and tamed as soon as possible so that the city could grow and prosper.....Today, however, Miami may be unique among American cities, with a continuous urban grid surrounded by near-wilderness, the protected Everglades and Biscayne national parks. From the “river of grass” at the west to the shining waters of Biscayne Bay at the east, these dramatic contrasts have always been an important part of the image of Miami, celebrated in postcard views of the skyline from the bay and alligators swimming in the Everglades. It is a theme that can and should be celebrated throughout the park system.”

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Environmentally Endangered Lands Report: Critical Habitats of Virginia Key

A new biological evaluation of Virginia Key just released by Miami-Dade County’s Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program documents the barrier island contains some of Miami-Dade County’s last remaining critical habitats.

Plant communities on the island include seagrass beds, sand and mud flats, mangrove and herbaceous wetlands, beach dunes and coastal maritime hammock.  Of the approximately 1,300 acres, submerged lands constitute 900 acres, coastal wetlands 235 acres, dunes 12 acres, maritime hammock 28 acres with an additional 7 acres of reforested maritime hammock reclaimed from previously disturbed areas.

Key findings of the biological evaluation show:
-Freshwater wetlands are “one of the last wetland/beach ecotones remaining in Miami Dade County.” (The only other wetland/beach ecotone of this kind within the County is located at the Bear Cut Preserve on Key Biscayne).
-A 13-acre maritime hammock forest at the center of the island is the “best example of this forest type” in Miami-Dade County, where many plant and animal species are listed as rare or endangered. The forest is a vital resource for wildlife species, including rare, migrating songbirds that travel down the Atlantic coast. 
-Beaches and dunes on Virginia Key, including essential sea-turtle nesting areas frequented by loggerhead and green sea turtles, comprise a “significant amount” of this type of community in Miami-Dade County.
-The Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area (CWA), a 700-acre state-designated refuge with “extraordinary habitat values” that contains the island’s largest remaining portion of unaltered mangrove forest and largest amount of unaltered, submerged land, is an important undisturbed spawning area for many species of fish and invertebrates.  The diversity of bird species in the refuge is well-documented and includes at least a dozen species of raptors - American kestral and ospreys among them. Ospreys, eagles and falcons are a common site, particularly during migration times. 
-The waters surrounding Virginia Key, bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and on the west by Biscayne Bay, are used by manatees for feeding, resting, mating, traveling and calving. (Atlantic bottlenose dolphins also use the water.)

The evaluation was completed as part of an application filed by The Sierra Club Miami Group, Tropical Audubon Society and Izaak Walton League South Florida Chapter last year seeking protection of vulnerable environmental lands on the island.

The Miami Dade County EEL program was created in 1990 to acquire, restore and maintain environmentally significant lands in our community. The program is voluntary and inclusion of any of Virginia Key’s natural areas in the program would have to be approved by Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami.

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Photo Friday: Kayaking off Virginia Key Beach

Although there is no public boat ramp (yet) on Virginia Key, kayakers can launch off the public beach and explore the island by sea. The Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area is a no-entry zone, even for non-motorized vessels, but everything else is open for exploration. Dense seagrass beds comprised of turtle grass, manatee grass and shoal grass are within wading distance of the beach next to the coastal dune, where a diversity of fish, sponges, invertebrates thrive. These are prime feeding areas for wildlife, including sea turtles, manatees and dolphins.

Photo Friday: Miami Marine Stadium Lagoon

Studies in blue: Miami Marine Stadium basin lagoon.
Photo 1: Approaching Rickenbacker Marina
Photo 2: Preserve area in background is part of the state-designated Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Refuge.
Photo 3: Denizen of lagoon enjoys Miami skyline. (Photo credit: Coki Michel)

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On Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key