When was biscayne national park founded

Lloyd Miller, president of the local Izaak Walton League, said that the opposition poisoned his dog and tried to get him fired from his job because of his support for the park idea. Slowly though, support began to build. Juanita Greene's inspiring newspaper stories in the Miami Herald helped accelerate the pace. Hardy Matheson based his entire campaign for county commissioner on the issue of establishing the park.

Vacuum cleaner magnate Herbert W. Hoover, Jr. By early , local and national support for a Biscayne National Monument was at an all-time high.

Facing a ground swell of public support for the park idea, landowners in the city of Islandia brought in bulldozers in an attempt to spoil the area.

Dubbed "spite highway," the swath was six lanes wide and seven miles long, right down the middle of Elliott Key. Park proponents were not deterred. Congress, led by longtime Representative Dante Fascell, created Biscayne National Monument to protect "a rare combination of terrestrial, marine and amphibious life in a tropical setting of great natural beauty.

Johnson signed the bill on October 18, This realization motivated people on both sides of the issue to work extra hard to push their point of view.

The save-the-bay crowd portrayed developers as soulless pillagers of nature. After a long and bitter political battle, the conservationists prevailed. By this time they realized that bringing Biscayne Bay into the embrace of the National Park System would be the best way to insure the long term preservation of its scenic, ecologic, and historic resources. Biscayne National Monument was established in Support for additional protection of coastal resources led to an expansion of the monument in , and in the monument was redesignated Biscayne National Park and again expanded.

Most conspicuously, it is a watery realm. The remainder, just 4, acres, is dry land in the form of small coral islands part of the Florida Keys and a narrow strip of mainland. No bridges or causeways connect the islands to the shore or to each other. Large- and small scale maps of the park are available at this site:.

The park protects four distinct but interrelated ecosystems. The mangroves fringe the mainland shore. Biscayne Bay lies to the west of the north-south trending chain of keys. The Atlantic Ocean lies to the east of the keys, and it is on this side that the reef is located.

This diversity is the hallmark feature of reefs. Popular recreational activities include boating and sailing, water skiing, windsurfing, fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, and camping. There are over , registered boats in Florida, so it is no surprise that boating, sailing, and water skiing are traditionally popular activities on Biscayne Bay. The waters of the park are readily accessible from the Intracoastal Waterway and the many hundreds of private docks, boat ramps, and marinas throughout the Miami metro region.

A fee is charged for overnight stays, but there is no separate charge for a camping permit. Fishing is permitted in park waters, subject to state and Federal regulations. Among the popular game fish are bonefish in shallows and mackerel. People may legally catch spiny lobsters and stone crabs in certain areas of the park, subject to seasonal limits, minimum size restrictions, and bag limits.

Commercial and sport fishermen may harvest lobsters from early August through March. There is a two-day sport-only lobstering season each July. Lobstering is permitted only on the ocean side of the keys none is permitted in Biscayne Bay.

Billfishing boats are a commonplace sight at Biscayne. The deep-vee hulls, flying bridges, outriggers, and other distinctive features of these expensive boats make them easy to recognize. More than species of birds make their winter home in the Biscayne Bay vicinity. Given this Spanish influence on the area, there are theories that Biscayne Bay was named after the Bay of Biscay — a gulf on the northern coast of Spain and the western coast of France.

Instead, there are only more theories. One of those further theories comes from the memoirs of Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda — a Spanish shipwreck survivor, who was captured by the native population, and lived with them as a slave for around 17 years. Writing in , he said that a Spanish sailor called El Viscayno or El Biscayno was shipwrecked and stayed in and around the Bay, prompting speculation that Biscayne Bay may have been named after him.

Certainly, by the 17 th Century, the Bay shows up on maps under the name of Cayo de Biscainhos. A booksigning follows the presentation. A cash bar will be available.

Reservations are recommended and can be made at or info keysdiscovery. The Center is open Thursdays through Sundays, 10 a.