Filed at November 4, 2007 under Animals and Environment and Florida Keys and Upper Keys and Islamorada by Keys
A Gambian pouch rat found dead on Upper Matecumbe Thursday, 11-1-07, is the first ever confirmed sighting of the raccoon-sized exotic rodent in the wild outside of Grassy Key. Wildlife officials fear if the world’s largest rat establishes itself in other parts of the Florida Keys, it could out-compete endangered native rodents such as the Key Largo and Lower Keys marsh rabbit. Of greater long-term concern is its potential to wreak havoc on agriculture should it make its way to the mainland.
“They have the potential to be a huge pest for agriculture in South Florida and they could also establish themselves throughout the southeastern United States,” said Scott Hardin, exotic species coordinator for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Since 2004, when officials documented the Grassy Key breeding population as the first of its kind in the United States, the wildlife commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture have spent about $250,000 on eradication efforts. “We think we are down to a few rats,” Hardin said. Read more »
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Filed at under Florida Keys and Upper Keys and Key Largo and On the Water by Keys
The Monroe County Planning Commission has approved preliminary plans for an upscale condominium project in Key Largo, despite concerns about losing a historical dinghy port at Rock Harbor and not gaining any affordable housing. Mandalay Bay, a project by Ocean Sunrise Associates, which is related to EarthMark Cos., is proposed to comprise 22 market-rate and three transient units at Mile Marker 97.5 oceanside, the site of two former trailer courts. “Transient boaters have used that landing area for at least 41 years,” said Planning Commissioner Randy Wall, whose parents once owned the marina next-door to the development site. “I’m concerned that this agreement will shut down or limit dinghy access to that street.”
County Commissioner Sylvia Murphy, speaking as a 54-year Key Largo resident and “a frequent visitor to Mandalay,” said the developer’s proposal to maintain the end of Second Avenue leading to the boat landing area is fraught with risk. “Boats have always been there. The plan for Second Avenue is a way of controlling it,” she said. “They own their property on both sides of that road and there will be a temptation to control it. We do not give any of this away. The county maintains hundreds of roads and they can maintain this.” Sailor Gil Grove, who lives on his boat, said the project robs people of their rights. Read more »
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