Big Pine Key's Little Brother - No Name Key

Most talk is how Big Pine Key is trying to keep from being overrun by the "Big City" Keys they are squeezed between, Marathon and http://floridakeystreasures.com/keywest/You might be amazed to find out that there are Islands that see Big Pine Key as the "Big City" Key they are trying not to emulate.

Even in a chain of islands whose residents have been known for their odd manners and general aversion to conformity, No Name Key has always stood out. Or rather it has tried not stand out. The residents of the island prefer anonymity to celebrity, and want to stay that way. But huge interest in properties on the island and its bigger neighbour, Big Pine Key, is giving them a headache.

No Name Key, has lovely waterfront homes but no electricity. Residents have fought for years to keep their refuge off the grid. Now the rocketing price of properties on the neighbouring island has led developers and City types to No Name, and the newbies want to change it, reports the Miami Herald.
"The locals who have been here for 30 years are moving out because they can no longer afford to pay the property taxes," said one resident.

In 1968 there were about 500 people on Big Pine Key and No Name Keys — the two primary Keys where the majority of the tiny indigenous key deer population is found. Today there’s about 5,000.
The local key deer population is under threat from human growth. “Big Pine Key and No Name Key are the main emphasis of the herd, because they’re the only significant Keys that have standing fresh water on it. And while the deer can withstand brackish water, certainly they prefer fresh water, ” says Kevin Pierce of Florida Environment.

The problem starts on Big Pine Key. Nestled between Marathon and Key West, Big Pine Key, one of the widest islands in the Keys, has long been the haunt of hippies, fishermen, dope smugglers, equestrians, the working class and those choosing to forgo convention.

"You can come in here with a foot-long beard and nobody looks at you or anything. You can come in here with any kind of clothes as long as you have clothes on," said Capt. Dan McLaughlin, owner of the Key Deer Bar & Grill, named after the federally protected white-tailed critter that darts through this island’s back streets. "They are eccentric, and they have got their own ways, and you are not going to change them."

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Big Pine Key Eagle Nest Missing

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission biologist Steve Nesbitt was hopeful but unsure about what to expect last week when he and fellow state biologist John White and their pilot flew over the Keys hunting for eagle nests. Armed with a hand-held global-positioning satellite system that told him where the nests were located last year, Nesbitt wanted to know if hurricanes Wilma and Katrina had torn down nests that were then not rebuilt.

The results were good: Out of 11 nests he was looking for from Key West to just north of Key Largo, seven were active, and he saw another that may have been.
At one place near where a nest had been, a lone bird sat ''standing watch,'' suggesting the likely presence of a nest under construction.

Two nests were missing, one on Big Pine Key and the other on the mainland in the northern part of Monroe County.

''It was extremely productive and very encouraging that the birds are doing so well,'' Nesbitt said. The Keys results are further proof that eagles statewide continue to make a strong comeback after two years of pounding by hurricane winds.

Full Article

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No Name Pub - The Oldest Bar on Big Pine Key

No Name Pub history began in 1931 when it was a general store and bait and tackle shop. That continued until 1936 when the owners added a small room on to the
main structure which became an eatery. Thus the Pub was born.

Early customers included people from all walks of life, world travelers that arrived from the mainland via Ferry to the local Fisherman. The late 1930s brought an interesting twist to the No Name Pub history.

In an effort to increase business the upstairs storage room was converted into a Brothel. This venture failed after several years as the local fisherman were reported to be better looking than the ladies.

Click Here for more information about No Name Pub.

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