Refuge islands remain open for now

By Steve Estes

Water enthusiasts hoping for an eventual lifting of the ban on personal watercraft among the back country islands of the Florida Keys probably won’t get that wish granted.

As part of its current management plan for backcountry wilderness islands, the National Wildlife Refuges complexes in the Keys, which includes the Key Deer and Great White Heron, prohibit the use of personal watercraft in the backcountry.

And that prohibition won’t change any time in the near future, said Anne Morkill, refuge manager.

PWCs are banned from the shallow waters of the backcountry because the area is a home to hundreds of birds and other animals that are on the federal endangered or threatened species list and the noise from the craft impacts the nesting habits of those animals.

For the same reasons, much human use of the back country islands is prohibited.

Refuges in the Lower Keys encompass 315,000 acres of marine waters and 8,300 acres of remote islands, most of which are predominantly mangrove.

“The hundreds of islands and shallow tidal flats provide important habitat for nesting, feeding and resting birds,” said Morkill. “Mangrove roots and tidal creeks provide important habitat for fish and crustaceans, while beaches and dunes offer habitat for turtles.”

The US Fish and Wildlife Service, which encompasses the National Refuges, has authority to implement restrictions on human use of islands in the backcountry to minimize impacts.

Morkill said backcountry management became an issue as a result of the dramatic increase in residential growth and tourism in the Lower Florida Keys. That resulted in a rise in use of the waters surrounding backcountry islands and the islands themselves.

The impacts to wildlife caused the service to begin restricting use of those areas.

“Nest disturbances and trash left behind are the two biggest problems we have with violations in the backcountry,” said Morkill.

Wildlife viewing and photography are two of the permitted uses of backcountry islands, as well as picnicking, sunbathing, swimming, snorkeling and shore fishing. All of those uses are restricted to day hours.

More athletic pursuits, such as PWC use, skiing, aircraft landings and airboats are prohibited.

Much of the area has idle-speed only zones, and some have non-motorized restrictions.

“The majority of refuge islands in the Key West and Great White Heron, as well as those areas not connected by road inside the boundaries of the Key Deer Refuge and closed to the public at all times,” said Morkill.

Users can obtain free special use permits to visit some of the outer islands hosting endangered Key Deer by visiting the Refuge Visitor Center in the Big Pine Shopping Center.

“We might find that we have to periodically close access to other backcountry islands as part of our management practices,” said Morkill. “The issue is with people getting on the islands when they shouldn’t. We have a problem with dumping and trash that we don’t have enough manpower to enforce.”

Islands open to the public and the uses on those islands can be obtained from the refuge visitor center.