Green or Gritty

In the 1946 movie “It's a Wonderful Life” there are two visions of the future: charming small town of shade trees and friendly neighbors or the reviled Pottersville of drunkards and gamblers where garishness and poverty predominate.

Likewise - there are competing visions in Virginia Key’s future: public park greenery, preservation of cultural and historic sites and structures, harmony with nature. Or, marine industrial buildings, mega-marinas, commercial development of the public waterfront.

Or can both visions co-exist?

Absent clear design principles, core values or even a designated “program,” planning proposals unveiled for Virginia Key so far have attempted to mix it up, managing to satisfy no one in the process.

A fishing pier that looks like a Hollywood premiere. A marine-themed shopping center. An “organized” boat storage facility that rises five stories high and stretches the length of four-five football fields. And parking garages, lots of them and various stories high.

The public park amenities are vague and lacking in dedicated funding or management.

The commitment to restore, preserve and interpret the cultural and historic sites are tenuous, seemingly tied to extensive commercial development of surrounding public properties.

What should be so hard about creating a master plan for Virginia Key? The hard part is hard-wired and has been taken care of by mother nature: aqua-marine waters, sandy beaches, green forests filled with rare songbirds.

There’s even a model to go by: Cape Florida State Park. At the far end of Key Biscayne is one of the state’s most beautiful and popular state parks. Nature trails, fishing platforms, bike and boat rentals, a historic site, group campgrounds, excellent restaurants, a waterfront promenade and accessibility by land or water.

Now that’s a vision that would be truly wonderful.

Photos: Cape Florida State Park entrance to one of several nature trails, fishing platform overlooking Biscayne Bay, waterfront boardwalk and bicycle trail.

Resources:
More on “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the 1946 Frank Capra movie: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Wonderful_Life

Cape Florida State Park, Key Biscayne: http://www.floridastateparks.org/capeflorida/
photo gallery: http://www.floridastateparks.org/capeflorida/PhotoGallery.cfm

2010 Copywright. @All Rights Reserved
On Facebook: join Friends of Virginia Key

Biscayne Bay's "hidden flora" is island's life force

Like a mirage on the horizon, the deep green forests of Virginia Key rise from a languid and transparent sea that is Biscayne Bay.

The life force that stirs beneath those clear, calm waters is described by Commodore Ralph Munroe in The Commodore's Story, his account of sailing and living on Biscayne Bay beginning in the late 1800's:

“No sea-lover could look unmoved on the blue rollers of the Gulf Stream and the crystal-clear waters of the Reef, of every delicate shade of blue and a green, and tinged with every color of the spectrum from the fantastically rich growths on the bottom, visible to the last detail through this incredibly translucent medium.”

Munroe undoubtedly was speaking of the seagrasses, those “rich growths” that anchor one of the most dynamic and diverse ecosystems of the 40-mile-wide bay.

Combined with the mangroves that stabilize the shoreline and provide shelter for marine life as well as birds and other animals, the lush seagrass beds found throughout Biscayne Bay and in the waters surrounding Virginia Key, form the food chain for everything for the Florida spiny lobster to shrimp, fish, sea turtles and manatees.

And for those who love to fish and/or love to eat fish, listen up: Seventy percent of Florida’s marine recreational fish depend upon seagrass communities sometime throughout their lives.

There are about 52 species of seagrasses in the world, but only seven species are found in Florida’s waters, including Johnson’s seagrass, a threatened species under federal law that is found on Virginia Key.

The shallow waters of the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve that surround Virginia Key contain Johnson's seagrass, turtle grass, manatee grass and shoal grass. The area serves as an important undisturbed spawning area for many species of fish and invertebrates, including a large variety of sponges, invertebrates and algae.

Learn more: March is “Seagrass Awareness Month” and the launch of Baynanza, the annual celebration of Biscayne Bay. Hear about Seagrasses, Biscayne Bay’s “hidden flora” at a special presentation by the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve staff, Wed., March 31, 6 - 7:30 p.m., at the University of Miami’s Rosentiel School (RSMAS), Seminar Room 2nd Floor, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key. Info: www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/biscayne (305) 795-3485.

Photo mural: Artist Xavier Cortada's mural, "Discover Biscayne Bay" represents the vital connection between people and the environment. It can be seen at the Miami Children's Museum. According to Citizens for a Better South Florida, which commissioned the artwork, the mural "is one component of a comprehensive education program designed to raise awareness about issues relating to Biscayne Bay like storm water run-off, deterioration of marine habitat, visual and physical access and boater safety."

Other resources:
How much do you know about Biscayne Bay? Take the quiz:
http://www.miamidade.gov/derm/quiz/bay/home.asp

Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/biscayne/

Artist Xavier Cortada: http://www.cortada.com/
Citizens for a Better South Florida: http://www.abettersouthflorida.org/

2010 Copywright @ All Rights Reserved
Also on Facebook: join Friends of Virginia Key

"Legacy on the Land"

Two generations have kept historic Virginia Key Beach Park in public hands.

Known to a past generation as the “Colored Beach,” the historic Virginia Key Beach Park, an 80-acre public park on the 1,000-acre island, was created in 1945, only after members of the black community staged a protest, a “wade-in” at Baker’s Haulover County Park.

“It was the only place in Miami where African Americans were allowed to use the public beach and recreational facilities and it came at a price,” recalls Audrey Peterman in a new book co-written with her husband Frank, Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care.

“

It was close to a garbage treatment plant, and the currents were known to be very treacherous. But the black population of South Florida turned Virginia Key into a paradise. The small island, covered with greenery including sea grape and coconut trees, looked out over the glittering bay. It become the central meeting place for people from all over Miami and Broward County, with picnics and dances and Easter Morning Sunrise Services that continue today. There was a carousel and a bandstand and cabins were available for people to stay overnight. It become the entertainment and spiritual hub of South Florida’s black community.”

Among those with personal memories of this special place was her husband, Frank, who played there in his childhood.

But the prospect of sharing that special place with future generations was threatened in 1999 when - after keeping the park closed for more than a decade -- the City of Miami proposed to transform the once-segregated Virginia Key Beach into an upscale eco-resort.

Then a thing happened which hadn’t happened for many, many years. The people spoke up. The voices of those with personal memories and those who wished to honor the sacrifices of prior generations united.

And what had seemed like a done deal was undone. The resort never happened.

Today, Virginia Key Beach Park has been preserved as a living museum to tell the story of a unique part of American history, a “symbol of the ongoing struggle of African Americans for equal rights and social justice.”

The struggle continues. And only community involvement - vigilance, perseverance, organization - can protect all of Virginia Key - and keep it in public hands for future generations.

Resources:
Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Everyone American Should Care by Audrey Peterman and Frank Peterman, (Earthwise Productions, 2009) is the story of the Peterman’s eight week journey to America’s National Parks and it carries a powerful message: “All Americans have a role to play in the protection of our public lands, and that our environment can only be ‘saved’ when all of us are included and committed to the effort.” Audrey Peterman is a board member of the member of of the National Parks Conservation Association, (www.npca.org) and was recently appointed to the board of the Association of Partners for Public Lands (www.appl.org). Frank Peterman is Director of Public and Political Awareness for the Wilderness Society’s Southeast region, steering the “Keeping It Wild Program,” (www.keepingitwild.org).
http://www.earthwiseproductionsinc.com/legacyontheland
http://www.legacyontheland.com/

Virginia Key Beach Park: http://www.virginiakeybeachpark.net/

2010 Copywright. @All Rights Reserved.
Also on Facebook: join Friends of Virginia Key

Virginia Key's Wheel of (Mis)fortune

Spin the wheel and land on yet another development proposal for Virginia Key.

Airport. Freight port. Blimp base. World’s Fair. Hotel. Sports stadium. Trade-mart. And shopping centers - marine-themed or otherwise. Lots of marine industrial stuff, from mega boat-storage stacks to marinas.

A lot of things didn’t happen over the years because of public outcry. Some things happened in spite of it.

Here’s the story so far: two public beach parks, marinas, restaurants, a sewage station, a garbage dump, a historic Marine Stadium and a whole lot of wilderness. In fact, 700 of the roughly 1000-acre island is comprised of the Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area, which contains the island’s largest amount of unaltered, submerged land and unaltered mangrove forest. It is also the cradle of wildlife seen in the area by air or sea- from rare hawks to manatees.

What’s next for Virginia Key?

On Saturday, March 27, the Urban Environment League will host a Public Design Workshop on Virginia Key from 8:30 am. to 11:30 a.m. at the Rusty Pelican restaurant, 3201 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key. Hopefully the public will get a say on the island’s future.

Up for grabs: the historic Miami Marine Stadium and surrounding public lands and commercial areas, the lagoon, the City of Miami landfill site, Northpoint, Jimbo's,  and all natural areas, including the Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area and the Tropical Hammock and restored dunes.  

University of Miami architecture students, who have been working for months under the guidance of UM Professor and Friends of Marine Stadium Co-Founder Jorge Hernandez, and Hilario Candela, architect of the Stadium, and the watchful eyes of City of Miami planning department officials, will present their plans, too.

The public will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the proposals presented and offer up their own ideas. There will also be information on a recently released biological evaluation of the island and a proposal for a Biscayne National Park Visitor’s Center on Virginia Key. 

Those who can’t attend the UEL Virginia Key Design Workshop and still want to offer feedback can send comments to the Urban Environment League at www.urbanenvironmentleague.blogspot.com or uel@bellsouth.net.

And the big wheel keeps on spinning...

Voices of the Community: A Biscayne National Park Visitor Center on Virginia Key

Michael Chenoweth, a former member of the City of Miami’s Waterfront Advisory Board and currently a national director of the Izaak Walton League, one of the nation's oldest and and most respected conservation organizations, recently wrote to the National Parks Director Jon Jarvis about the need for a Biscayne National Park Visitor Center on Virginia Key. Following are excerpts for a letter hand-delivered to the director during the National Park Service's visit to Miami:

The Greater Miami area is wonderfully fortunate to have two national parks, Everglades and Biscayne, hugging it on the west and east, and Big Cypress Preserve just an hour to the west. But public access to those parks is inadequate, both because of their size AND because of the unique and remote character of their resources.

The Biscayne National Park Visitor Center is a 40-mile drive from downtown Miami. Access into the park is severely constrained by the huge size of the park and the absence of affordable rental boats. This is despite the fact that people living in Miami can almost throw a rock into Biscayne National Park from Miami at the edge of the Bay. Park rangers have a real challenge patrolling the park, with the Visitor Center being located at the far south end, many miles from the north end of the park, where most current park users enter in their private boats from the urban area.

The bottom line: Virginia Key is the sensible location for a northern Visitor Center for Biscayne National Park. And the boundaries of Biscayne National Park should be expanded to incorporate the presently undeveloped parts of Virginia Key, including the Marine Stadium.

In addition to the opportunity to make a dramatic difference in the accessibility, addition of this area would incorporate the Historic Virginia Key Beach and Civil Rights Park on the Bear Cut side of the island, and provide an opportunity to revitalize the historic and architecturally significant Miami Marine Stadium as a venue for events, such as concerts, similar to events at the Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia.

In addition, significant natural resources of Virginia Key are important for the health of Biscayne National Park. The water quality of nearshore waters surrounding Virginia Key are dependent on the continued natural state of the upland of Virginia Key. ...Those resources face significant risks of damage if (development) interests prevail over the need to protect nearshore water quality.

It takes only a little imagination to recognize that a Visitor Center here could serve not only Biscayne National Park, but also serve as an educational facility, working in conjunction with other important educational organizations in the vicinity (The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, located on Key Biscayne, one island away; The Dade County Science Museum, located at the foot of Rickenbacker Causeway; The MAST High School; RSMAS; and others), and provide a single, accessible opportunity for visitors to Miami to get on a tour bus at the new Biscayne NP Visitor Center on Virginia Key to visit Everglades National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, or the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and local wildlife refuges.

It is time for all of the federal agencies with interests in our natural resources to be working together to improve the effectiveness of their management as well as the ability of visitors to learn about and visit their special protected areas.

Photo: Biscayne National Park boardwalk at Visitor's Center shows Xavier Cortada flags art installation, "Endangered World: Biscayne National Park."

Resources:
Biscayne National Park, http://www.nps.gov/bisc/index.htm
Izaak Walton League, http://www.iwla.org/

2010 Copywright. @All Rights Reserved.

On Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key

Worthy of a National Park

Biscayne Bay National Recreation Area. Virginia Key National Monument. Virginia Key Visitor Center at Biscayne National Park. Virginia Key Heritage Corridor, national seashore, refuge, wilderness area.

Or any combination of the above.

Miami should be so lucky to have any of these become a reality.

This past weekend, the man who could get that going was in Miami. National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis was on Virginia Key, in fact -- looking and listening to Miamians talk about how to make America’s National Parks more relevant and accessible.

“What is the role of the National Park Service in the next century? It is deeper than stewardship.” Jarvis told the audience of about 100 environmental educators and activists at a stakeholder meeting held at the University of Miami Rosensteil School library last Friday, March 19.

“We’re interested in making the connections (with the American people), particularly where we have this urban/wild interface,” he said. That morning Jarvis had explored parts of the island, including the historic Virginia Key Beach Park.

Jarvis traveled to Miami with the Deputy Director for Communications and Community Assistance Mickey Fearn, Regional Director David Vela and the Superintendent of Mt. Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, Gerard Baker. The diverse contingent conveyed the park system’s commitment to increasing the diversity of visitors, in part by bringing the parks closer to the people but also, by educating the public about the different kinds of park properties.

“The National Parks are not just about majestic places,” said Deputy Director Fearn. “They are educational institutions, spiritual places and science centers. And they are about places that tell the story of America."

Virginia Key would certainly seem to fit that descripton.

Certainly it would be one of the nation’s most beautiful and unique additions, making Miami an urban gateway to the National Park System. Wild, yes, with its sea turtle-nesting beaches, manatees and dolphins, rare songbirds, and critical habitats of hammocks, mangroves and dunes. And urban, too. So urban, in fact, you could walk to it from downtown Miami.

And the stories it could tell - from Tequestas to the Civil Rights Movement to the cultural legacy of MiMo (Miami Modern) architecture embodied in the historic Miami Marine Stadium.


The Virginia Key Visitor Center of Biscayne National Park and in Biscayne National Park, steps from downtown Miami.

Now that's an "urban/wild interface."

Beachside Drumming and Hula Hoop Dancers