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Why 'no pets allowed' signs are worth heeding

Shore birds nesting on barrier islands are sometimes harmed by contact with humans - and their pets. Some ask for tighter rules.

By THERESA BLACKWELL
Published June 30, 2006

Here's something to consider as you get the boat ready for a long Fourth of July weekend on the water:

You are not alone out there, especially on the barrier islands just off the Pinellas-Pasco coastline.

On most - Caladesi, Honeymoon, Three Rooker and Anclote Key - this is a critical time for colonies of beach-nesting birds, many of whom are listed as threatened or as species of special concern in Florida.

This time of year, parents are raising young chicks, and environmentalists say it doesn't take much to wreck a colony. One dog running through may be enough.

Most boaters know this and are responsible, said Capt. Doug Metko of Holiday, the general manager of a marine manufacturing company.

"The rules were simple enough, and we agreed to them: bird nesting areas posted, people keep out, dogs on a leash and no alcohol," said Metko, the director of operations for Save Our Sandbar, which negotiated with the state on rules for public access to North Anclote Bar. "We have no problem with those rules."

Honeymoon Island State Park biologist Sally Braem said most boaters do a good job of policing themselves and picking up their trash at the North Anclote Bar.

But there's still room for improvement on the barrier islands.

Just ask Lynne Bettley of Ozona.

Bettley, 54, was looking for a place to anchor at the south island of Three Rooker Bar on Sunday, when she saw something that horrified her. She had read in the St. Petersburg Times just that morning about how dogs can scare parent birds off beach nests, exposing chicks to harsh sun and predators. So she was alarmed when she saw a black Labrador retriever from a pontoon boat anchored nearby start swimming toward shore.

But it was worse, Bettley said.

The dog ran down the beach, scaring adult birds, likely laughing gulls, from their nests. Then it reached the small chicks that could not fly away and three adults who stayed with them. The Lab started snapping and killed at least four chicks, plus the adults. Bettley yelled at the boaters to get their dog off the beach, and a man came ashore and hauled the dog back to their boat.

"At least one of the birds was still alive, flopping around at the water's edge," said Bettley, a senior systems analyst at Bayfront Medical Center. "I was so upset I was shaking."

So, when it comes to practicing good stewardship on the barrier islands, is the problem too many people, irresponsible people or inadequate protections for these birds?

Maybe, to some degree, it's all three.

Metko worries that officials and "environmental extremists" could seize on the kind of incident that Bettley saw and use it as a justification to close access to even more of the barrier islands.

That, he said, would be a serious mistake.

Instead, he said, if officials open up more of the barrier islands to boaters and their dogs, it would take the pressure off the North Anclote Bar, which is the only other barrier island besides the dog park at Honeymoon Island where they can bring their dogs now. North Anclote Bar, which can see up to 600 boats a day, has colonies of least terns and plovers, among others, nesting at its north end.

Some wonder why anyone would want to bring a dog to a sand bar.

"My dog loves to go to the beach and swim - it's one of her favorite things to do," Metko said. "And I don't like to go anywhere without my dog."

Sometimes he and a group of friends bring families, dogs and kayaks. They cook out by campfire and camp on a spit of sand surrounded by clear, blue-green water.

"That's what Florida should be about," said Metko, 48. "I love being on the island."

He maintains control of his 10-year-old Rottweiler, Tori, who sleeps with him in the tent.

"I've been a responsible pet owner all my life," he said. "That's the way it should be."

As the number of boaters grows, especially with newcomers who don't know about the ecology of the gulf, Metko's group tries to educate them about the rules for using the North Anclote Bar and staying away from bird colonies. Though most are willing to listen, he said, it can be difficult.

Some people say it might help if the state could mark the colonies more conspicuously. Currently, state parks and volunteers mark almost every nesting site they can find, but with a single strand of string hung between signposts. It's hardly enough to stop a romping 90-pound dog chasing a Frisbee. Moreover, storms often wash out the posts and bring the string down.

Park officials say the nesting area signs and string are just meant to delineate where the colony is located. Their goal is to prevent intruders symbolically, not physically. The adult birds want to see the shoreline from their nests and the chicks need to be able to run to the beach.

If boaters new to the islands were more aware of the birds, perhaps scenes like the one Bettley witnessed could be prevented.

After the dog incident, Bettley watched a well-meaning couple walk into a posted bird colony to retrieve trash, unaware that they had frightened birds from the nest. One chick was lost from its parent for a bit before the parent found it again. The couple should have been more aware, Bettley said.

"They are not just birds," she said. "They are families. They are a society."

Theresa Blackwell can be reached at tblackwell@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4170.

[Last modified June 30, 2006, 00:05:04]