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Keep Travatine Island natural, neighbors say

They rally neighbors to help preserve an 80-acre Intracoastal Waterway island that the county is considering for a boat ramp.

By PAUL SWIDER
Published January 26, 2006

	[Pinellas County]
	The county's Boating Access Task Force is considering building a boat ramp, but not a marina, on Travatine Island. But when the county bought the island in 1989, it said the island would be left in its natural state.

Some budding environmental activists are aiming to preserve an island near their neighborhood partly because it's a "backyard" issue for them, but also because they consider protected lands to be everyone's back yard.

"This is what makes Pinellas County beautiful," said Janet Martin, pointing to Travatine Island, an 80-acre parcel along the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway just south of Park Boulevard.

"They don't have this in Miami or Fort Lauderdale. I want my kids' kids to be able to come and see this."

Martin and her neighbor Elaine Kuehn rose to Travatine's defense when they heard it was a candidate site for the county's Boating Access Task Force, which is trying to improve boating possibilities as waterfront is gobbled up for development.

They found it ironic that an island the county fought to protect 16 years ago was now being considered for construction. They were particularly alarmed when they thought the county was considering building a marina on the site, but they think even a boat ramp is inappropriate.

"It is not a good place for that," said Kuehn, standing at the Park Boulevard Boat Ramp a few dozen yards across the Intracoastal from Travatine in a channel so svelte it is called the Narrows. "The other options are much better."

Assistant County Administrator Jake Stowers said Travatine is just that, an option, one of at least four the county is studying. He also said fears of a marina are misplaced because there was never a plan for wet slips on the island.

"I have no idea where that came from," he said. "There is no way we'd put in a slip marina."

Travatine is a spoil island left over from when the Intracoastal was dredged, Stowers said.

It is home to mangroves and birds and other valued environmental assets, but also to invasive species like Brazilian pepper and Australian pine. It was once the center of a controversy that saw the county fight a developer in court before paying $2-million for the property.

"The most we'll ever do out there is put in a scenic overlook," then-County Administrator Fred Marquis said in 1989. "At this point, the (County Commission) has no plans. It will be left in its natural state."

The original owner, Evis Suarez, fought the county over rights to build luxury homes on the island.

The county denied the request, in part because the development would require a bridge through wetlands. Suarez later lost the property through bankruptcy, and the county bought it from the new owner.

There was also some controversy over that sale concerning funds used for the purchase, but the county satisfied a judge that it was using money dedicated for preserving environmentally sensitive lands.

The proposals being studied now, though, would require a bridge from Park Boulevard over those same wetlands the county sought to protect.

While a slip marina is off the table, the county is considering a high-and-dry storage for the site, as well as parking for boaters using a ramp.

"This is one of the largest mangrove stands in the county," Martin said. "To put a bridge through there doesn't make any sense."

Martin and Kuehn have rallied a handful of neighbors and are circulating petitions to fend off the possibility of any kind of development on Travatine.

They've launched a Web site, savetravatineisland.com, and are preparing a presentation they plan to make to the County Commission in February.

"We want to head it off before it becomes a plan," Martin said.

Stowers said the task force he heads is trying to consider options for boaters in a market that makes access difficult, especially for people with smaller boats.

"Water is a huge quality-of-life issue in Pinellas County," he said. "The idea is to maintain access. Will we ever accommodate everybody? Probably not, but we're working on it."

Martin and Kuehn say they understand the issues. They both own boats and trailer them to ramps that are sometimes overcrowded or even inaccessible.

"There are times when I can't find a space too," Kuehn said. "It's part of living here."

Martin and Kuehn, a self-described "army of two," say the county should focus on its other sites. They note how environmentalists' opposition to a boat ramp on Honeymoon Island killed that idea.

Stowers said the task force is evaluating use of another county-owned site near St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport that would be suitable for a wet-slip marina and likely little else.

The task force is also considering Hurricane Hole, a St. Petersburg College-owned site at Seminole and Bay Pines boulevards and the Madeira Beach Causeway. The Stauffer Chemical Superfund site in Tarpon Springs is also a candidate because its contaminated soil would prevent residential development along its Anclote River shoreline.

The county could buy the private properties and let a business run them with guarantees of public access.

There are also ongoing discussions with private marinas about similar partnerships for redevelopment, Stowers said.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 14:31:21]