FLORIDA KEYS:

LIFE IN THE CONCH REPUBLIC

by Lee Foster

Bonefish Bob's practiced fingers wrap another strand of green thread around a hook shank destined to become one of the 4,000 fishing flies he ties each year. Today Bonefish Bob's mission is to tie a few Clouser Minnow flies, his favorite lure for the bonefish, which abound in the Florida Keys, a string of coral islands extending southwest off the tip of Florida.

"The bonefish is the most difficult fish on the planet to catch," says Bonefish Bob, as he sits in an easy chair at his shop in the town of Islamorada, his flying-tying apparatus in front of him. "It's really more like hunting than fishing. You spot the bonefish, then present the lure to it. You don't eat this fish, of course. It's all bones. Bonefishing is catch-and-release, pure sport."

Bonefish Bob's thick white beard makes one suspect he might be Santa Claus residing in Florida during the off-season. His shop personifies tranquillity, with its heirloom 80-year-old bamboo flyrods and turn-of-the-century Abercrombie & Fitch leather flyrod cases. If any anxiety intrudes into the world of Bonefish Bob, it's his caring about the overall health of the ecosystem of the bonefish, the Florida Keys.

"We've got to keep these clean waters healthy," says Bonefish Bob, who also goes by the name Bob Berger. "We've got a wonderful resource here, but we need to keep it clean. That means managing the nutrient-rich farm runoff in Florida and handling the human sewage in the Keys. These are the greatest fishing waters in the world. You can catch 25 species on the Atlantic side of the Keys and another 25 species on the Gulf of Mexico side."

Bonefish Bob completes tying his Clouser Minnow fly. The sun is sinking across the road from the shop. It is a good sunset, even by the Florida Keys' demanding standards. Down the highway that links this island to the final island, Key West, the locals are probably applauding the sun setting, as is their custom. Another peaceful day has ended in Bonefish Bob's town of Islamorada in the Florida Keys.

However, not every day in Islamorada is a moment in paradise. Across from Bonefish Bob's place and down the road a quarter-mile is a monument to the victims of the great hurricane of 1935. At that time a 17-foot tidal wave swept over the town and killed 578 people, who were assembled with the hopes of escaping the Keys on the railroad. The railroad preceded the highway as a link between the islands, but the hurricane tossed the rail cars wantonly into the ocean, possibly frightening the bonefish, which are said to be skittish.

NATURE IN THE KEYS

One of the best ways to immerse yourself in the natural world of the Keys is to take a kayak trip with an informed naturalist, such as Dan McConnell of Mosquito Coast Outfitters in Key West.

McConnell guided me out from Geiger Key Marina to the red mangrove forests and served up the natural lore of the Keys. McConnell's own passion for the Keys includes a scientific discipline in evaluating the ecosystem. Like many residents in the Keys, McConnell believes more in education than regulation. He articulates caution about government regulation, especially if regulators are not adequately funded or supported by scientific data.

Among the wondrous observations gleaned from McConnell is his knowledge about the plants, such as the red mangrove, the first tree to colonize these islands and the last that will disappear if sea waters rise inexorably in the projected future. Another intriguing plant is the turtle grass that grows in the shallows. Standing in the total saltwater environment on a remote island, McConnell pulled up a small root, call the pith, of a turtle grass. He broke open the pith and sucked out the water.

"The pith of the sea grass is 80 percent fresh water," he said. "If you were dying of thirst out here, you could survive on sea grass."

Over the years the red mangroves have been harvested to make charcoal and for furniture production. Today they are protected.

In evaluating the overall environmental risk to the Keys, McConnell stresses a few salient issues.

"Casarina trees are a terribly invasive plant here," said McConnell. "They were planted as windbreaks and quickly took off, suppressing the native plants. We're now involved in widespread eradication of them."

One of the most delicate environmental problems here is the handling of human sewage. The rich nutrients in human wastes can seep through the porous soil, the "driftbank limestone formation" as the Keys are technically described. Nutrients overburden the natural system. Thrusting the human wastes into the soil with deep injection wells could present problems that, once apparent, would be impossible to eradicate because the nutrients would have permeated the ground.

Agricultural runoff from Florida also creates a nutrient-overburdened environment and promotes excessive algal growth. Algal bloom reduces water clarity and instigates a chain of undesirable effects. The reduced freshwater outflows from Florida rivers also inhibit the natural renewal process in the Keys.

McConnell takes the long view of the geologist in seeing man's place in the Keys.

"The sea has risen and dropped about 400 feet in the various cooling and warming periods of the past," says McConnell. "We're now clearly in a warming period. Our own contribution to ongoing global warming, the current trend, may be incidental. We know the seas have risen 10-12 inches in the last 200 years. Real estate in the Keys will probably be unusable in a couple of centuries because of the rising waters."

McConnell points out that the Poseidon satellite, put up in 1993, has been devoted to making the first accurate measurements of sea water rise. According to Poseidon observations, says McConnell, the seas rose 3.4 millimeters in the last two years.

With McConnell, a kayaker can see many of the birds of the Keys, such as pelicans, osprey, herons, egrets, and frigate birds. However, the best place to see birds up close is at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center in Islamorada. At this privately-funded facility injured birds are treated and released or else kept on public display if they can't be returned to the wilds. Here an observer can learn that the large white birds with black legs are egrets and those with yellow legs are great white herons. Other colorful residents include cormorants, with their sleek black bodies and emerald eyes set in orange cheeks, or roseate spoonbills, with their large shovel bills.

Much of the Keys is now protected as part of a Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, one of 14 such entities in the U.S. One section of the Keys, Key Largo, already has 20 years of experience as a National Marine Sanctuary. That was before the 1990 law that vastly increased the Keys sanctuary area to 2,600 square nautical miles, protecting primarily the 128-mile-long coral reef. The community now goes through the lengthy process of determining how to preserve the biological diversity of the Keys, the only tropical coral islands in the contiguous U.S. The goal is to preserve the resource while maintaining the diverse economy, much of it dependent on the environment, whether the user be a boater, diver, fisherman, or treasure hunter. Each group of users has its impact. For example, accidental boat groundings on the reef and anchor gouging of the coral have been ameliorated by better education of new boaters as to where the reefs are and by permanent placement of mooring buoys on the reef, eliminating the need to anchor.

Regulators managing the Keys have found their task difficult because of the national anti-government mood, the skepticism and suspicion about government bureaucracy, the lack of past experience about zoning on water (as opposed to land), and the local distaste with efforts to regulate a major Keys industry, treasure salvaging. The Keys is also a complex human story, populated by conservative Methodists in the Upper Keys and by more liberal New Yorkers and Atlantans in the Lower Keys, where a sizable portion of the community is gay.

MAN IN THE KEYS

When the first Europeans arrived here, they found the unburied corpses of Arawak and Calusa Indians, the losers in local skirmishes, and named Key West "bone island."

Over the centuries, the Keys' most noted industry has been wreck salvaging, as ships ran aground on the reefs. The most celebrated wrecks, of course, were the Spanish treasure ships that regularly left Havana bound for Spain and occasionally were blown off course by hurricanes and destroyed on the coral reefs. For centuries, one of these ships, the Atocha, haunted the imagination of treasure hunters. After two decades of searching, in 1985, Mel Fisher of Key West discovered the Atocha and a sister ship, the Santa Margarita, which went onto the reef in a hurricane in 1622. Fisher wrestled an estimated 400 millions of dollars in gold and silver coins, crosses, jewelry, plates, and precious-metal bars from the wreck. Today a visitor can see much of this treasure at the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum in Key West. The gift shop sells some of the treasures as jewelry and as collector items.

A visionary railroad builder, Henry Flagler, dreamed of running a railroad south from Florida to Key West, moving from island to island, mainly to take advantage of the Panama Canal trade that could be offloaded at this southernmost point in the U.S. Flagler finished his railroad in 1912. Stop at Pigeon Key, a former railroad worker headquarters island, to learn of the rail story. When the great hurricane of 1935 wiped out the railroad, the state of Florida stepped in and bought the railbed, putting in a two-lane highway to Key West by 1938. The road was modernized in 1982 and boasts 43 bridges that leap from island to island, including one span seven miles long.

Ernest Hemingway settled in Key West in 1931 to fish and write. Some of his major works were written here, such as FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS. The Hemingway house can be toured. Look for about 55 descendants of the six-toed cats that flourished here in Hemingway's era. The Hemingway Days Festival in July sponsors a Hemingway look-alike contest and a short story competition.

Harry Truman popularized the Keys by establishing his vacation Little White House here, spending a total of 175 days at Key West in 11 trips. Today a traveler can visit the Truman White House and see the poker table, open bar, pictures of his ship Williamsburg, the piano he played 20 minutes a day for relaxation, and his personal desk. The Truman story is touching, especially the pact between Harry and Bess Truman to write each other every night when they were separated. On one occasion Truman wrote his wife, "Tomorrow I return to the slavery of the White House. My only consolation is my sweetheart of 35 years."

Other historic threads in the Key West story include the founding of Pan Am in a building now housing Kelly's restaurant in Key West. Key West architecture is intriguing, especially the 1890s Bahamian houses built in the Bahamas, disassembled, then rebuilt here. The houses typically have tin roofs to protect against both rot and fire. Several of the early houses are now restored and used as B&Bs. Cigar, sponge, and pineapple industries have flourished at various times. Key West, closer to Havana than Miami, now awaits the normalization of trade with Cuba.

In recent years, the Keys have survived mainly from tourism, about 4-6 million visitors per year. Snorkelers, divers, and fishermen form the biggest contingent. More than a million snorkelers and divers come to the Keys each year, making the Keys the most popular site in the world for diving. Relaxing with a drink in one of Key West's 250 bars, probably within view of one of Duval Street's 75 T-shirt shops, is another main activity on the terminal island. The party of parties each year is Fantasy Fest, 10 days in October, a Keys mutation of Halloween.

Residents of the Keys work hard to cultivate the notion that they are living in The Conch Republic, almost a separate country from the U.S. The call themselves Conchs, naming the local high school football team The Conchs. The high school dance team is the Conchettes.

AMENITIES IN THE KEYS

One of the delights of Key West is the nightly performance, just prior to sunset, on Mallory Square. Jugglers, fireblowers, high wire acts, escape artists, magicians, and a character with house cats trained as lions entertain visitors. This is innovative, wacko street theater at its best.

About three out of four visitors arrive by car from Florida. Air travelers fly into Key West from Miami, getting a good orientation to the layout of emerald waters and green islands, a necklace joined together by the highway. Visitors who fly into Key West can rent a car one way, if they wish, and leave it at the Miami airport.

Culinary delights here include stone crab, a large crab claw, which is taken from the crab without killing it, allowing this prolific producer to re-grow the claw. The other special shellfish seafood is Florida lobster, possibly grilled and dipped in drawn butter. Seafood restaurants abound, such as Martha's in Key West or Lorelei in Islamorada. The signature dessert is key lime pie.

Lodgings in all price categories can be found. Upscale lodgings offer all amenities.

It's not easy for businesses to turn a profit and individuals to save in the Keys because expenses are high. Rents are pricey on the precious and limited land. Real estate prices in Key West are astronomical. Water, electricity, and imported food add to the daily costs.

Life in the Conch Republic is destined to be a pleasing travel subject, at least for the next couple of centuries, until projected sea rise inundates the islands. An opulent natural environment and a colorful human history make the Florida Keys a destination of major interest.

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THE FLORIDA KEYS: IF YOU GO

For further information, contact the Florida Keys & Key West Visitors Bureau, P.O. Box 1147, Key West, FL 33041, 800/352-5397, 305/296-1552, www.fla-keys.com.

This article was written by Lee Foster of Foster Travel Publishing. Contact him at his website www.fostertravel.com or via email at lee@fostertravel.com. Copyright Lee Foster.

Lee Foster's most recent travel guidebooks are Northern California History Weekends (Globe Pequot), which won a Lowell Thomas Award, and Adventure Guide to Northern California (Hunter Publishing).

Lee Foster's new literary book is Travels in an American Imagination: The Spiritual Geography of Our Time.

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