More on Biscayne Bay.

A Park Service Welcome
When hundreds of crisp white sails punctuate Biscayne Bay's aquamarine waters each October, it's a sure sign that the Columbus Day Regatta is in full swing. It is my pleasure to welcome sailors back to one of this nation's premiere natural areas as you compete for honors in this year's race.
Protecting the park's fragile resources, while providing a safe, enjoyable weekend for racers, spectators, and visitors from around the world can be a challenge. The Regatta Committee and park staff have worked together to ensure that the Columbus Day Cruising Regatta continues its long, proud tradition here.
Good luck and safe sailing.
Linda Canzanelli,
Superintendent Biscayne National Park

What Might Have Been 
By Gary A. Bremen, 
Biscayne National Park Ranger

South Biscayne Bay's clear water and expansive vistas draw hundreds of thousands of people to Biscayne National Park every year. Many arrive under power of wind, gliding quietly across the surface of a place so special and unique that it was designated a national park, a title it shares with only 56 other places in the entire nation. Looking to the south and east, the place is pure "Old Florida." To the north and west, though, buildings, power plants and landfills serve as constant reminders of what might have been.

As early as 1917, county commissioners considered a request for a causeway from Florida City to "Elliott's Key." No action was taken, but by 1936, ads for vacation homesites that offered "comfort, contentment and health to the lover of the sea and the great out-of-doors" began to appear, and by the 1950s, there were no fewer than four proposals for Biscayne Bay causeways. A 1958 scheme called for dredging between Soldier Key and the Ragged Keys to create an 8,000-acre jetport in the bay. Next in the development lineup was Seadade, a huge seaport and industrial complex to be constructed south of Black Point. The plan included an oil refinery, a 300-foot-wide shipping channel across to Caesar Creek, and "Port Ludwig," an anchorage nearly 2 miles long, 1/2 mile wide and 40-feet deep. The City of Islandia, which includes Elliott, Sands, Old Rhodes, Totten and other keys, incorporated in 1961. The proposed land use map released the following year had labels like "amusement center," "intensive tourist," and "regional retail center." In the spring of 1965, creation of "Silver Isle" began with dredging and filling on Triumph Reef. Plans there called for a casino and a fueling station.

Had any of the proposals come to fruition, South Biscayne Bay would have much in common with north bay: drawbridges, increased noise levels and boat traffic, reduced tidal flow, murkier water, and a shoreline fringed with hotels, condos and other buildings. Often, it was boaters, anglers and others who knew and loved the area that fought to protect it. Their efforts were rewarded in 1968, when Congress made this "rare combination of terrestrial, marine and amphibious life in a tropical setting of great natural beauty" part of the National Park System.

Shakespeare wrote "what's past is prologue," and that statement is certainly true of Biscayne National Park. Development proposals adjacent to the park in just the past few years have included new landfills, a power plant and an airport. Protecting the park requires constant vigilance. Taken cumulatively, even small threats can be detrimental.

Biscayne National Park is one of our community's, and our nation's, true gems. On this busy weekend, take a moment to contemplate how different your experience here would be if this place were not a national park. Take time, too, to offer a quiet word of gratitude to those who, like you, saw something special here and wanted to see it protected forever.