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Letter to the editor

It's official: No dogs or Wild Turkey at Shell Key

The ban on dogs and alcohol is effective immediately, but enforcement of new rules won't come for at least two months. After that, watch out.

By NICK JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
Published December 20, 2007

Pinellas County is revising the Shell Key Preserve Management Plan, which will ban dogs and booze from the entire nature preserve, including its surrounding waters.
	[Pinellas County]

ADVERTISEMENT [Martha Rial | Times] Jazmine, a Jack Russell mix belonging to Lori Dumal of Crystal River, played along the shoreline on Shell Key Preserve in September. [Scott Keeler | Times] This sign shows a list of the old rules; new signs will go up around the preserve.

The 2007 Shell Key Preserve Management Plan received the approval of the Acquisition and Registration Council of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection last week, making the ban on dogs and alcohol official.

The change is effective immediately, but the new restrictions will not be enforced at the popular boating destination until the county has time to post new signs around the preserve's boundary and give sufficient warning to boaters who frequent it.

"Once we get the signs up, that will give the deputies power to give out warnings," said Pam Lasure, the environmental program manager who oversees the preserve.

"There will be a several-month grace period, at least two months, then they will start issuing tickets."

The new plan includes stricter regulation of camping on the island, which will now require a permit, and a complete ban on dogs and alcohol from the entire preserve.

Alcohol has long been restricted on the island itself, but it was previously allowed in the surrounding waterways, a policy that recently came under criticism when the county staff and sheriff's deputies who patrol the preserve claimed that partying there had gotten out of hand.

Despite harsh criticism from boaters who frequent the area, the decision was made to ban pets and parties in an attempt to protect nesting birds that also use the preserve.

"It was a disappointing experience because we were not heard," said Dick Granger, a local boater who started an advocacy group out of frustration over the decision.

Granger and many other boaters thought the decision was an attempt by environmentalists to scare away recreational boaters with increased restrictions.

"So the next step is we see this incrementalism, and before long Shell Key is no longer a preserve and it becomes a sanctuary," Granger said.

Still, county staffers say the decision was made to protect an increasingly rare ecosystem and the wildlife that relies on it.

"We have to decide as a Gulf Coast community how to decrease our ecological footprint, and a good place to start are these barrier islands that are already designated preserves," said Bruce Rinker, county director of the Department of Environmental Management.

The county hopes to have the signs in place and begin enforcing the new rules before the next shore bird nesting season in March.

Nick Johnson can be reached at nickjohnson@sptimes.com or 893-8361.

[Last modified December 20, 2007, 01:51:15]