The Australian Pines at Fort Zach

Pompous park service has ruined the beach

Dear Editor,

My husband and I have been frequent visitors to Key West over the past 15 years and have always enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere as well as the friendly people and the historic feel.

When we are in Key West, we visit Fort Zachary [Taylor] beach every day. This is one of the most scenic beaches we have ever seen — until now. We are completely outraged at the park service for cutting down the pine trees. Who cares if they were not indigenous to the area? They were attractive and provided a respite from the sun.

It was bad enough when the park service "sold out" the concession stand. Now the beach feels like an amusement park. What's next? Are they going to rent cabanas? More umbrellas?

We are only visitors to Key West, but it feels like a second home to us. We feel for the residents of Key West who regularly enjoyed the shade from the pine trees during a picnic or while reading a book.

Someone needs to kick the pompous park service in the butt. They have ruined the park. I hope they're happy with themselves.

Tammie McIntosh
Newell, W.V.

Three cheers for our community

Dear Editor,

After what seems a long dry spell in people taking back their community, it's a pleasure to write this type of letter.

First of all, I want to say congratulations to FIRM for a job well done. Yours is one of the greatest examples of how a grass-roots action can restore the will of the people.

Second, kudos to saveourpines.com. When did this change from being a government "of the people, by the people and for the people," to a government of the bureaucrats, by the bureaucrats and for the bureaucrats? I have never met a person in Key West who doesn't want to keep the pine trees out at Fort Zachary Taylor. OK, they're not indigenous — so what? It's what the citizens want and need. If laws like this get shoved down the throats of residents, then what's next?

Finally, I want to say congratulations to the entire School Board for standing tall in approving the housing at Sugarloaf School. We all give lip service to wanting the best education for our children but, unlike other communities, we have a particular need to make this happen — housing. Without housing, we will not have the quality of teachers that we want or the police and fire protection that we need.

It is my understanding that, contrary to the arguments of the few, the housing requests already received from schoolteachers exceeds the number of houses to be built. Is this any indication of the extraordinary need of people, who aren't looking to get rich — [just] want to teach and [have] a good quality of life for themselves and their families?

If there was ever an example of how, when and where residents of a community should stand up for themselves, these three instances are the best I've seen in a long time.

Chris Belland
Key West

Today's Citizen's Voice

"I read in today's paper that some invasive, exotic bird from the West Indies has been spotted at Fort Zach. Is the state on the way out there to shoot his sorry butt and drag him out with the Australian pines?"

Rare bird will not return without pines

Dear Editor,

We arrived at Fort Zach at 8:30 a.m. today, as we do every morning, to find a group of birders and press watching a loggerhead king bird, never before seen in [the U.S.], perched on the top branch of an Australian pine tree. Meanwhile below, the park staff and crew, with the Army Corps of Engineers' blessing, were frantically taking down the pine trees to make sure the bird won't come back again.

Remember the Corps was the one protecting New Orleans in 2005.

If all the trees come down, please, no new theme shelters stuffing everybody into one area. Let us spread out under the 4-foot-high indigenous plants.

Harry and Ruth Montague
Key West

Let's make a deal on Fort Zach pines

Dear Editor,

I suppose for people who feel the need to rid Florida parks of invasive species, those Australian pine tree stumps at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park on the front page of The Citizen of March 10 were a sign that the state is on the march toward creating a park full of native trees. That morning, I wrote Mr. George Jones [of] Florida Park Services a longer version of this letter, in which I recognized that some people see these pines as a non-native species with shallow-root structures that are both invasive, crowding out natives, and weak, vulnerable to blowing over in storms. In most settings, I would agree that native sea grapes, saw palmettos and silver buttonwood make a nice mix in sea-front parks.

Those of us who wish to save our pines are intelligent people, mostly members of the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, all kinds of environmental organizations — we know about "invasives," but tell you this is a special case. Fort Zach is not your normal park — it is a spit of land that used to be ocean bottom. This spit has had Australian pines on it for as long as there are records on the flora of the land around the fort. Other species have not been interested in setting up on this land.

These trees ... provide unparalleled shade and quiet; the beach at Fort Zach is one of the sacred places in this most profane of towns, a place where working people can find both seawater deep enough to swim in, trees to hang hammocks from and shade to cool off in from the brutal midday sun. The last time I was there, I was thrilled to see not only Sculpture Key West, but a red-tailed hawk flying from pine to pine, enjoying the shade and doubtless catching the small rodents attracted to the leavings of picnickers.

As a person who thinks that both sides in most disputes are 50 percent in the right, I believe there is a possible compromise. The field, known as the Grand Esplanade, is desperate for plantings, and needs shade. Why not plant natives on the esplanade and see how they do in this environment? If they thrive and create a canopy for hawks and shade for picnickers, then you win, and we will have to grant that natives are better; but in the meantime, let's have a moratorium on tree slaughter. Why not let nature and the visitors' usage tell you what the people want? You made an exception for Gulf Stream, Fla., in 1996; why not one for Key West in 2007?

We wonder why you come into our park and chain saw down healthy trees in the height of our tourist season. Surely there are dead Australian pines, maybe even live ones, that endanger people's homes or public buildings that need your attention before the 90 percent of healthy trees that are left at Fort Zach.

Rosanne Potter
Key West

Please don't change Fort Zach

Dear Editor,

My sons and I came down to Key West after the death of my wife earlier this month. We found ourselves going for a swim at Fort Zachary Taylor [State] Park. It had a most healing effect — the blue sky, the white coral sand and the beautiful shady pines.

We have become aware of plans to put down the pines and build pavilions. We hope that it will not happen. It is such a glorious and restorative place.

Please keep it as it is.

Barret Schleicher
Forest Hills, N.Y

From today's Key West Citizen