The annual “Delicate Balance of Nature” free weekly lecture series will begin its 19th season at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13 at the Visitor Center inside John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Mile Marker 102.5 ocean side.”The topics range from pythons and native Keys snakes, to birds of the Keys, from ethnobotany to the Overseas Heritage Trail history,” Park Manager Pat Wells said.
Park gates will reopen after hours at 7 p.m. and remain open as long as there are seats in the auditorium, which is wheelchair accessible. Seating is limited, so be on time; bring a seat cushion for added comfort. The program is sponsored by Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park. For more information, call Elena Muratori at 305-451-1202.
KEY LARGO — A resurgent Florida Keys Wild Bird Center has hired a hospital coordinator to care for injured and sick birds and found a new location for its medical facility.
“It’s clear sailing from here,” said Bob Gintel, the new chairman of the center’s board of directors.
The turnaround comes just two months after the near closure of the facility due to funding shortfalls. But local media publicity, an infusion of donations and a reorganization of the board has kept the center afloat.
“People on the board stepped up to the plate and we are using the money we collected,” Gintel said. “There was an outpouring of money and we were able to pay off all of the vendors.”
The Ocean Reef Foundation and two other Ocean Reef Club members donated $22,000, an anonymous Islamorada resident donated $25,000 and Gintel himself ponied up $10,000 to get the non-profit rescue center back on an even keel.
In response to licensing and federal flood-plain concerns, the center has signed a one-year lease to use a vacant veterinary clinic at mile marker 94 as the center’s hospital and office. The new facility opened Monday.
However, the gift shop, wild bird educational exhibit and the daily 3:30 p.m. feeding will remain at mile marker 93.6, bayside.
Virginia Bowen, formerly of the now-defunct Folke Peterson Wildlife Center in Broward County, has been hired as the wildlife care manager. Vered Nosrad, past director of that same Broward facility, is the new director of the hospital.
“They bring a licence with them and they are highly regarded by the regulators,” Gintel said. “We’re not going to have all the flaunting of the laws as they did in the past.” [Interesting]
Hospital assistant Staci Dillis will continue to help with surgeries and rehabilitation.
Veterinarians at the Miami Seaquarium are rehabilitating a young manatee found emaciated near his dead mother in the mangroves near Tavernier Creek on Thursday.
The 5- to 6-month old calf, named Kahiki after the Kahiki Harbor subdivision on Plantation Key where it was brought to shore, weighed just 77 pounds — nearly half the weight of a healthy calf.
“That’s near a birth weight almost,” said Seaquarium veterinarian Maya Rodriguez. “It’s because he was not getting any nutrients from the mother.”
The mother appeared to have been struck by a boat propeller and suffered extensive internal damage, according to officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Residents reportedly spotted the mother and calf more than a month ago in marinas and neighborhood canals near Tavernier Creek.
“At that time, it appeared the mother was moving and feeding OK,” FWC manatee biologist John Cassady said. “The decision was to let them go and let the calf get a little bigger so we wouldn’t put the stress of a capture on it.”
On Wednesday, Cassady responded to another sighting of the pair and said he knew the mother was near death. Cassady placed a radio transmitter on the mother’s tail to locate them on Thursday for a rescue.
Wildlife officials followed the signal to the mother’s body, which was rolled over on its back in mangrove roots with the calf still by her side.
“She had died just within a day. If we had not gotten that call [on Wednesday] and put the tag on her, we would’ve never found the calf,” Cassady said.
The calf is receiving daily antibiotic treatments and formula feeding in a heated pool at the Seaquarium, and his health has improved slightly, but he remains in critical condition, Rodriguez said.
If the calf recovers, it would likely stay at the Seaquarium for two years before it is large enough to be released into the wild, Rodriguez added.
The Miami Seaquarium is one of only three critical-care facilities for injured manatees in the state. This is the 10th manatee rescued and brought to the Seaquarium this year.
Residents who spot injured or distressed manatees and other wildlife are encouraged to call the FWC’s wildlife alert hotline at (888) 404-3922.
KEY LARGO, Florida Keys — According to history and legend, the pirate Black Caesar roved Florida’s coastal waters in the early 19th century. According to the organizers of the Key Largo Pirates Festival, set for October 23-25, the notorious pirate will make a comeback during the festival.
The festivities are to kick off Friday, Oct. 23, with a parade down U.S. Highway 1. The procession is expected to gather at 5:30 p.m. along Caribbean Drive, ending at the Holiday Inn Tiki Bar, mile marker (MM) 100 oceanside — not far from the place where Black Caesar is thought to have maintained a harem and buried treasure worth millions of dollars.
Float judging and a costume contest are to begin at the Tiki Bar at 7 p.m., along with a Pirate Bash on the Bay with live music. Tickets for the bash are $20 per person plus tax and gratuity.
Those eager to come face-to-face with the fearsome pirate — or at least his modern-day stand-in — are likely to do so Saturday, Oct. 24, from noon to 11 p.m. at MM 104 bayside. Caesar and his buccaneer brethren might be spotted haunting the Pirate Bazaar and Thieves’ Market, set to begin at noon at the Big Chill, Sundowners, Cactus Jacks & Señor Frijoles. Pirate paraphernalia, memorabilia and art are to be among the attractions for attendees.
Also Saturday, scallywags are to take to the high seas for underwater treasure hunts and an underwater poker tournament. Along with an above-water contest open to the public, the underwater action is part of a three-day Pirates’ Poker Challenge that coincides with the festival.
For nongambling types, a concert on the water on Blackwater Sound commences at 2 p.m. off Sundowners and the Big Chill bayside complex.
The pillaging and plundering is to intensify at 6 p.m. as pirates invade Key Largo in a professionally choreographed re-enactment of Black Caesar’s return — complete with artillery line, encampments, battles and skits on Blackwater Sound.
Like the concert, these can be viewed from Sundowners and the Big Chill. Grog, grooves and golden treasure are to abound as the bazaar continues well past the blasts of festive fireworks set for 9 p.m.
The action Sunday, Oct. 25, is to include Black Caesar’s By-Land-or-Sea Poker Run beginning at 11 a.m. at Sundowners, MM 104. Pirates are expected to hit ports of call such as the Bayside Grille, Snappers, Mandalay, Pilot House, Coconuts and Gilbert’s Resort.
Key Largo Pirates Festival organizers also plan to host The Good, The Bad & The Ugly costume contest at a location yet to be determined. Prizes await the sexiest and scariest pirates, best buccaneer and best wench. In addition, revelers can enter conveyances including bikes, cars and boats in a contest for best-decorated conveyance.
The pirate festival is to culminate in a Buccaneer Finale at the Caribbean Club, MM 104 bayside. Attendees can expect to find wild-eyed pirates jiving to live music and imbibing the island’s grub and grog before the climactic handing over of the loot.
For a complete parade route and more festival information, visit www.keylargopiratesfest.com or call Sue Finney at (305) 394-3736.
For information on area accommodations, call the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce at (800) 822-1088 or (305) 451-4747, or visit the official Florida Keys & Key West Web site at www.fla-keys.com
July 31, 2009
Contact: Gabriella Ferraro, 772-215-9459
Biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and the Dolphin Research Center rescued a female manatee today at Gilbert’s Marina in Key Largo.
Biologists captured the animal so they could remove monofilament fishing line that was embedded in the manatee’s right flipper. If left untreated, the entanglement could lead to the loss of the flipper.
A Miami Seaquarium veterinarian removed the line, treated the wound and deemed the animal healthy enough for immediate return to the wild.
Monofilament fishing line can cause serious injury or death for a variety of Florida wildlife. Florida’s Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Program is a statewide effort to educate the public about the problems caused by monofilament line left in the environment, to encourage recycling through a network of line-recycling bins and drop-off locations, and to conduct volunteer fishing line cleanup events. For more information, visit www.fishinglinerecycling.org.
To report a dead or distressed manatee, call the FWC’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).
Applicants must be capable of passing an AAUS diving physical examination and swim test upon employment.
Position is located in Key Largo, Florida.
Performs topside and underwater technical support for the Aquarius underwater laboratory. The Aquarius undersea laboratory is a unique tool that is used to support marine science in the Florida Keys. The undersea laboratory is part of a world-class research program; safety is paramount.
Services, maintains, and operates all underwater laboratory equipment and support systems (for example, high and low pressure gas systems, life support components, environmental control units). Services and maintains diving equipment, small boats, and diesel and outboard engines. Assists scientists/aquanauts in the accomplishment of underwater tasks.
High School diploma or equivalent, and demonstration of ability to meet certification standards to dive through American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS), recreational or military equivalent.
All diplomas and degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.
General knowledge and technical skills to effectively and safely carry out previously determined methodologies.
Knowledge of basic study design and general diving methods of data collection applicable in scientific operations.
Working knowledge of safe scientific diving procedures, practices and standards.
Certified SCUBA diver is desirable.
May vary
Monday – Friday (Weekends and evenings may be required)
12 months
$31,777
$44,773
NG
Contributing
PLEASE NOTE: You will be required to attach a resume to successfully apply for this position. To receive full consideration, please be sure you have completed the ‘Work History’ section of the application before you submit it.
For NC State employees with RIF priority re-employment rights, this job is considered a salary grade 68.
Any doubt about the prevalence of lionfish in Florida Keys waters ended July 5. The largest lionfish yet captured in the Keys — 9 inches total length — was netted at The Elbow Reef off Key Largo. It was the eighth exotic lionfish taken in Keys waters since the first capture in January, an average of better than one a month.
“This was the largest Keys fish so far, and certainly reproductively capable,” said Lad Akins, special projects director at the Reef Environmental Education Foundation. “We’re getting lionfish sightings with more frequency,” said Karrie Carnes, information officer for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
A response team formed by the sanctuary and REEF headed to The Elbow after the big lionfish was spotted around 11 a.m. July 5 by Quiescence Diving Services instructor Chelyn Shaw. Quiescence staff volunteered a boat and crew.
“At 3:30 p.m. the fish was located in exactly the same location as reported,” Akins said. “The fish was first noted resting upside down under a ledge, but during the removal dive it was found hovering over the sand bottom under the ledge, hunting.” It took divers just eight minutes to find and net the fish, the most efficient capture yet, Carnes said. Read more »
Due to resurfacing and other roadwork, the north lane of U.S. 1 on the 18 Mile Stretch from Mile Marker 109 to 113 will be shifted onto the 10-foot wide evacuation lane from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday
The work is part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s Jewfish Creek Bridge construction project from Lake Surprise Boulevard, Mile Marker 106 in Key Largo, north to the Miami-Dade/Monroe County line, Mile Marker 113. The schedule is tentative and may change due to bad weather or other factors.
Motorists are encouraged to call 511 or visit www.fl511.com to get real-time traffic and lane closure information.
The northbound lane of the 18-Mile Stretch connecting Key Largo to the mainland is now open, after being closed around the clock since June 18 for repairs.
After the northbound U.S. 1 closure caused a massive traffic jam for weekend visitors heading home June 21, the state Department of Transportation had mandated the road be opened from 10 a.m. to midnight this past Sunday. But it opened earlier, and is now fully open. “They were way ahead of schedule Sunday morning. This is great news,” says Abby Kelley, a spokeswoman for the project’s construction firm. She says some “loose odds and ends” work still needs to be done, but the lanes should stay open.
While the Stretch was closed northbound, traffic was detoured to Card Sound Road, the only other road leading into and out of the Keys. Tolls on Card Sound were suspended but are now being charged. “There is a bit more work for the contractor to do to smooth out some bumps so the [Stretch] meets our specifications,” said Charles Phinizy, a DOT project manager based in the Keys. “That work is to be accomplished late at night and any traffic can be routed on the shoulder around workers and equipment.
The northbound lanes closed June 18 so Granite Construction can repair an underground road divider that failed along the reconstructed U.S. 1.
