Save Our Pines at Ft. Zach in Key West

[imsixftsix]

Rip these damn weeds out!

[MisterRay11]

the public isn't always right

these trees are very bad and the land should be restored with native plant life

[jonalisa64]

CONGRATULATIONS!

KEY WEST CITIZENS HAVE SAVED THE TREES!

(what's left after some were already removed)

brilliant. Well done!

[KwautLizard]

Congratulations on preserving this really relaxing corner of an island I came to love and once called my home. I hope to get back someday to enjoy the Pine shade after a nice swim off of Fort Zach. What is up with the bird sanctuary, The Pond, has that area been cleared and readied for development? I hope not as it seems to be the only home for one of the islands namesakes, the Key West Quail Dove.

[KwautLizard]

Seems an easy compromise could be reached by slowly reintroducing native species, showing their efficacy, while fazing out introduce'ds. Possibly leaving the Casuarina on the beach walks and beachfront where they have thwarted erosion, unlike many native species their crowns are high enough to not encumber the view, and their shade is highly appreciated. The bulldozer mentality executed by the Parks Service is totally unwarranted from both a people use and ecological perspective.

[SouthernWasp]

I agree that in the majority of cases the bulldozer mentality does more harm than

good. But the Casuarina ia an invasive plant that will choke out any native or local species wich is why they must be removed first. (coconut palms were never mentioned) How about other types of palms? Royal Poinciana trees? A tropical plant that are not only beautiful but provide great shade and habitats for many animals and birds. They are also very well suited for our climate and storms. A variety maybe?

[KwautLizard]

Again a gradual reintroduction process would be most favourable but the immediate decimation of these trees is most unwarranted. I have noted many dead birds unable to survive the crossing, only to succumb upon arrival. One less place for birds to rest, roost, lower their metabolism or forage, and no interim period as the area is re-vegetated. This reclaimed land-fill, completed in 1964 does not constitute a natural habitat being preserved but man-made habitat further altered & poorly executed!

[SouthernWasp]

Since,as YOU say, it is "not a natural habitat" but a "man-made habitat further altered & poorly executed" than there is no reason to preserve this "poorly executed" folly that was planted prior to the awareness of this species damage. And they topple quite easily in high winds and the ground is soaked.

P.S. Where did these birds go prior to 1964?

[KwautLizard]

The birds took advantage of 'extant' mangroves, 'extant' vegetation on surrounding islands, and a strict area set aside for them, Key West Bird Sanctuary dubbed The Salt Pond by developers and directly behind my house, also colonised by Casuarina equisitifolia. The adverb was further i.e. further altered and further poorly executed. Further altering the only beach with sheltering trees on the entire island to create a revenue stream, in one of the few profitable parks in all of the US. IRONIC!

[KwautLizard]

These are not pine trees as the name implies but Casuarina equisetifolia, not related at all. This tree does run a tap root making it somewhat wind resistant, bears nitrogen fixing nodules on its roots, is resistant to local pests and parasites, and they are planted on reclaimed land. I spearfishe'd mackerel off of that beach for years and enjoyed the cool and refreshing shade these trees offered, it is a special local spot on an island that offers very little, dare I say it, 'natural' shade.

[SouthernWasp]

Also, take a look at what was done to "Beer Can island" at the Boynton Beach inlet. A VERY generous family removed the Australian Pines and re-landscaped it at their own expense and have given a perfect example of what can be done when NATIVE species are re-introduced to a southern Florida island.

Please do your research and look at the long term benefits of RESTORATION over non-native PRESERVATION.

Thank you for researching your responses as well.

[KwautLizard]

Royal Poinciana is also an introduced species that originally ranges from Mexico to Brazil. This highlights another inherent problem, people associate the pretty species that they enjoy looking at with the place they first observed them. Not for the intrinsic value that those species have for local fauna and other flora. Look at Hawaii.

I think the major concern here is that the Park Service does not duplicate suburban uglification, especially in a one of the countries few profitable parks.

[KwautLizard]

My apology, Royal Poinciana's were introduced to Florida in 1937 from Madagascar.

[KwautLizard]

There are no Park Service pogroms to eliminate Royal Poincina's, Coconut Palms, Canary Island Date Palms, Euycalyptus alba, Melaluca alternifolia, or any of the other hundreds of 'pretty' introduced trees that dot all of Florida. Ironically, Australian Pines have been Florida inhabitants as long as the aforementioned ornamentals associated with the state. Another irony is that few Americans seem to be acknowledging Global Warming and Sea Level Rises. Key West is a continental low-island.

[raluka3]

You are right , kwautlizard!

[SouthernWasp]

I agree that concrete should NOT be put in its place.

A Palm tree grove would be more suitable than a non-native Australian pine.

Palms can endure MUCH better.

"OUR" lifetime is not important...our future generations ARE!

Let us make it better for them and not let childhood memories cloud rational decisions.

[KwautLizard]

Incidentally palms have not 'endured better' and were nearly wiped out by 'Lethal Yellowing' disease in the 70's and 80's. Red Ring disease, coconut mites, coconut scale are'current' plagues.

FYI Coconuts were introduced into Florida in the 1880's by a shipwreck off of what is now known as Palm Beach, they flourished gaving the place its name.

And the place is far from 'Childhood Memories', my mother sent me an e-mail just 3 days ago telling me how much she enjoyed sitting there that day.

[arey1186]

Australian Pines ARE invasive- they take over the land native specices used to flourish on. One of the biggest problems associated wtih the pines are their shallow roots, which allow the trees to be easily up-rooted by hurricane winds. They also have few if any natural predators in the area which means their population spreads extremely quickly. It's fine if you like the pines, but don't say they are not invasive when they are.

[KwautLizard]

But this land is reclaimed fill, in a residential area and on an island with little remaining shade. It is also a respite for migratory birds before and after they make the hazardous journey across the Florida Straits.

[bfreestyle69]

Stop drinking flouride, Chlorine, arsenics Nitrates, and Pharmacueticals NOW! Go to MahaffeyITI . com They offer Atmospheric water generators that make pure drinking water from the air in your own home ! MUst see 6 stage filtration and UV which resirculates every hour to ensure freshness & purity. Stop drinking Reclaimed waste water !! MahaffeyITI . Com They will help you!

[yourmaidgotlaid9]

Very well put...I don't understand why they would want to get rid of them.

[EdvardasK]

of course its better they preserved the trees

[imwinggang]

very beautiful

[Tigerhose3]

I was born and raised in Key West and I have been going to Fort Zach all my life, my family has been having family gatherings out there for years, the trees are beautiful, please don't take down my trees!!

[19nazmy90]

fuck...

[Annonymous10]

Turning that island strip into a hot desert will not "help" anything. It will destroy a place that looks like a bit of heaven. Who would go there if it had no trees, or just thin tiny trees that provide hardly any shade, and NO shade for 100 years. And who is going to pay someone to go water the trees for the rest of eternity? That's just stupid. Leave the trees alone, they're beautiful and provide shade and nesting area for living things.

[Annonymous10]

Sweetpsaltery - they are *not* destroying the everglades AT ALL. Watch the video again. You sound fanatic and illogical.

That little bit of island needs some shade and the trees clean the air. Leave the trees alone. Clearcutting hurts the air.

[Umbree61]

I agree, it makes it pretty, it's nice to see how much people can care, the tree's need to stay, they have where there first and it just a small patch, they should just be left there.

[attickstars101]

Just keep the trees. And why is this a problem in the first place?? Just having some trees on a beach what big deal.

[sweetpsaltery]

I understand how people might become attached to these pines and that they provide shade. But do you realize that they are a highly invasive species damaging the Everglades! The Everglades is a unique habitat, found nowhere else on earth...but plants, like these pines, are destroying it and the animals that need the Everglades. Do you want the unique Everglades habitat to continue on this planet, or do you want invasive trees that are helping to destroying the delicate balance of nature?

[digitalisland]

What we are doing is saving one small strand of trees.  Trees that where planted on Fill from when the harbor was dredged. Key west is 150 miles south of the everglades and there are a lot of Pines between here and there. These pines are not allowed to reproduce and will be slowly thinned out as they die off.

[njteech]

Congrats on the victory for the trees and the people of this nation!

[kwshoes]

And so the battle continues leading, perhaps, to revolution. "When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, ..."

Leave our pines alone!

[akeffo]

Unbelievable. They can't do this. It's a beautiful part of the park and the shade is needed.

[DreamIbiza]

Australian pines have been here for over a hundred years not hurting us but rather providing shade, shelter for wildlife, oxygen and root structures which we NEED to hold together this sand founded state. We would fall into the ocean over time. Unless everyone wants Florida to be a marshland, cutting these beautiful pines serves no purpose. Birds carry seeds, the pines are everywhere because of the way nature has evolved. Don't destroy something out of your hands, leave nature be please.

[DreamIbiza]

We need the pines. The entire state of Florida is planing to excavate these beautiful trees over the argument that they are non-native. Are most of the people here in Florida native? no. Are many species of animals, palm trees that give the tropics their character, parking lots and shopping malls native? No. This isn't about what's right for the environment, it's about making money. continued...

[kayaker976]

Fort Zach is an amazing place and the pines are part of what makes it that way. YOU CAN'T REMOVE THE TREES.

[dancekeywest]

I hope the State of Florida will recognize that Key West IS still part of the United States of America where we have government by the people, FOR the people . . . . not AGAINST the people.

[mattpig69]

When "We the People" make the decisions, democracy is in place. When the government , in this case, State Park Service, acts unilaterally, despite what the people (in this case, overwhelmingly) want, you have fascism. Any questions? Are you ready to fight for your rights? America needs to walk it, instead of talk it.

[Thefloridalorax]

This video demonstrates the environmental distortions propagated by Florida and "experts" masquerading as "environmentalsts." Other than in Florida, where killing trees is BIG BUSINESS, reputable scientists don't get in bed with government to spend millions annually killing trees that grow hardily in poor conditions and without gas-guzzling landscaping machinery and water guzzling irrigation systems. Florida's functionaries in Tallahassee need to get an education in common sense.

[ecomike64]

You people who want to keep the pines are kin to the nuts that want to keep the 1,000 or so feral cats at the Ocean Reef Club on Key Largo.

[tep3333]

Get a clue "eco" mike. Feral cats damage native animals and are a risk to native species. The contained pines at fort zack are not. Florida has much bigger problems then cutting down a few hundred pines that almost all locals and visitors love. The State Park Service is out of control. They have expanded the parking areas and want to turn this park into another landscaped resort to maximize income. Go back and hang out with the feral cats or go save The Everglades and leave our park alone.

[JAL1956NEW]

A BEAUTIFUL PARK WITH THE PINES --- just another place without the pines. Let's focus our intention on clarity & harmony filling this park and the pines living on in this beautiful park by the ocean.

[Amy0225]

Keep the pines!!!!!!! There is no reason to cut them down! They have been here and love going there to read under the trees, but the real question is concrete or trees? Just think about it!

[gleaf73]

No, the park service is not evil. No, science is not evil. But park service biologists and others *do* have plenty of science to show that where these "pines" grow, our beautiful native flora cannot. Keys residents don't care about their irreplacable natural heritage?? I'm really disappointed.

PS- the video doesn't show you what the dunes can look like AFTER the trees are removed and the native vegetation is restored. Now THAT would be something worthy of your pride and protection.

[jajobalo]

Native Vegetation? The Pines where planted on Fill from when the channel was dredged.

The Pines are the soul of what Fort Zach is. Cutting down the Pines is akin to ripping out that soul that so many people in our community have come to love.

Why doesn't the park service replant their "native" vegetation on the big open area towards the outer mole?

[MarcusArelius6666]

This is an example of someone who has never seen this park and does not know what they are talking about. Most Key Westers support native rehabitation. Haever, this is an exception. Native trees will never grow succesfully here. The land is fill and most of the replanted trees have died. After many years, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, we will be left with concrete pavillions and a bunch of non native coconut trees, where today there is a beautiful forest of pines.

[katydid5]

DUNES? We will never have dunes! We have a reef which surrounds the island and breaks up all natural beach-creating waves. We have to truck sand in to have any type of sandy beaches for the tourists. Ft. Zachary Taylor has a natural beach - rocky with lost of broken up fragments of coral for the reefs which surround the island. Much of the park is landfill from Navy dredging (hardly native.) Try checking your facts before you make comments like above!

[fortzach]

Honestly, you have no clue what you're talking about. Please come see our park and then you'll understand. There will never be a dune here, the ground is made of fill dredged from the channel, the beach is made of fake sand that is trucked in. This land didn't exist before, this is a very delicate and stressed spot. We're just saying leave it like it is and don't mess with it- spending tax dollars on expensive irrigation and the purchasing of new trees for a whole park.

[jeffpaulson]

Australian pines are an invasive species, and they do not belong in the state of Florida-ESPECIALLY a State Park!! Do your research, get your heads out of your butts and Get over it!

[DreamIbiza]

You're a sheep. And I'm laughing at you. I'll laugh even harder if you're not native to Florida.

[digitalisland]

By definition, a state park is owned by the people of that state. OK, show of hands, how many people want to keep the pines?

[MarcusArelius6666]

Are you serious? Coconut Palms are invasive as well. Almost every tree in Key West is invasive. Most of Key West was originally a mangrove island. I guess you are entitled to your opinion, but you dont need to be rude.

[ltweedell]

ltweedell ,first the park trees ,next the trees outside of my front door for flagler ave. sidewalks.I have not renewed my family park pass in protest, my option for my home? move?

[hgreffard]

This video is inspirational! How could our Park Service, created to protect nature, come up with this ridiculous plan to destroy the pines? Please, please keep this park intact. Leave it be!

[aa00za9]

we need those trees for their beauty,shade,and landscape. please let nature be. this seems to be a money issue. where some make money at the cost of nature. please keep nature grow, trees be. the beauty of the park is because of these trees. let them live.

[violagail1]

It would be a tragedy to take down these pines.

[drbarnes62]

What possible logic does the park service use to justify the cutting of the pine trees? ... Nothing is obtained without a cost, and the cost here (cutting the trees) seems somewhat excessive for whatever perceived benefit the elimination of the trees might give. I haven't heard the arguments for cutting, but I can't imagine that boils down to anything more than development. That's what Key West really need, is more development. Yeah Right!!!

[lizzyradma]

Beautiful video, well done! And to Madam

Nature, fight back girl,and we'll try to help you. Today's "gummint" is hard at work sending America and all its riches down the drain hole. Surely, among the men who run our state, there must be someone left without a chainsaw brain!

[bigonno]

I try to spend several weeks a year in Key West--my favorite vacation destination and Fort Zach is where i always end up to work on my tan, but i also like to sit in the shade and THE PINES are what makes it so enjoyable--please leave them alone..............

[kassmarypatterson]

We live in Colorado and vacation in Key West because of its beauty...Fort Zach is a gem worth conservation. Please listen to the residents of Key West! Less pavement, more preservation!

[shobbins]

The Ft. Zach beach and water serve as my husband's religion. He swims there every morning possible. When the time comes, his ashes will be scattered there. To think that this beautiful shady, magical place will be ruined in the name of ecology is tragic. If there is any chance at all to save this little special environment, I urge the ones in power to DO IT!

[CBRussellkwf]

It is time to STOP destroying nature on our home - planet earth - and START PRESERVING and CONSERVING. With the severe drought and water shortage we have in the southeastern US, why would anyone (even a bureaucrat) suggest cutting down beatiful trees that require no water, only to replace them with small little trees needing great amounts of our precious resource - water. It's OUR taxes, OUR park and OUR trees - leave them alone!

[bandesus]

Why spend money, time and effort to fix something that is not broke?

[bizzareoworld]

Classic case of have versus have not. If the pines are cut down and the pavillions are built, big money "Destination" wedding business's benefit, and "Joe Average" loses.

Leave the trees alone!

[RosanneGP]

I think the images of the island, so dry and developed for most of its length and then suddenly sprouting out in green pines is inspiring in itself. How can a park service cut down the very trees that provide the reason that people come to that park?

Please Governor Crist and the Florida Legislature, make this exception.

What a wonderful piece of argumentation; the use of both still images and live action to make the points is so well done.

Rosanne Potter

[MarcusArelius6666]

important

[SUSIBSUGAR]

I love this park, and have never seen a more beautiful forest offering a poetic shadey haven by the sea. thank you for this film. i hope everybody sees it, and backs up the effort to SAVE OUR PINES! real estate over development in the Keys seems vastly more threatening than these beautiful pines!

[kekodachrome]

I live in Boca Raton and the environmentalists here have are butchering the Australian Pines in our beach parks. They are destroying all the shade and turning the beach parks into deserts!

[npog99]

Are the Florida State people retarded?! Another case of the state not serving its people as it should. The people of Key West should have the final say in this matter.

[MarcusArelius6666]

If our Pines are lost it will be the worst thing that has ever happened to our Island. Everything else has already been lost, this would be the final tragedy!!

[sculpturo]

Excellent presentation. A case of overly zealous environmentalism turned facist. EcoNazism rules.

[resistorman]

Bureaucracy at its finest! A one-size-fits-all mentality has no place in any situation, let alone in matters of ecology.

[nilsmuench]

excellent  important

[fortzach]

Wow, this video looks great! Let's not let them f... up our park!! It's all we have!!