While the Gulf Coast is known as a tourist and retirement destination, that was not its original character at all. There are two spots along these barrier islands where the original nature of the land is on display -- the small nature reserve in Indian Rocks Beach, and the much larger Fort de Soto County Park at the southern end of the chain.
The Indian Rocks Beach Nature Preserve is a small strip of land between two residential areas which has escaped development. It's on the inland side of Gulf Boulevard (State 699), facing Boca Ciega Bay. Here, you can see a sample of the mangrove marshes which took up most of the entire chain's eastern side. The mangroves are mighty builders and stabilizers of land, due to their ability to survive and thrive in varying depths of tidal waters. Without them, these islands probably wouldn't exist at all. The beautiful beaches were able to hang on against the ocean largely due to the stability and resilience provided by the mangrove marshes.
The urge to drain, fill, and develop has led to almost all mangrove marshes on the islands disappearing, which makes this one a special treasure. The preserve has an elevated boardwalk leading from the parking area to the shores of Boca Ciega, and then circling around before returning. There's also a side entrance from the 10th Street Park near the bay end of the boardwalk. Interpretive signs explain the life of the mangroves, and introduce the various birds and animals you can see here.
Along the walkway, there are numerous places where you can see the mangroves, and the angled extra roots which they put down into the water to support themselves. It's the ability of those roots to trap and hold soil which allows land to gradually solidify and become habitable for tree species which aren't quite so water tolerant.
There are also a number of mounds like this. These are the remains of early attempts to drain this area as so much of the region has had to be painfully dredged and drained to create solid land out of marshes. Interpretive signs explain how these spoil tips have developed their own distinctive little micro-environments distinct from the marshlands around them.
At the outer end of the walkway, you reach a lookout platform on Boca Ciega Bay, and you can see other small areas of natural shoreline here and there on the landward side. If you can imagine the modern buildings disappearing, you'll have an idea of what most of the landward sides of these barrier islands looked like in their natural state.
You'll also see proof positive that this is still an oceanic environment in the clusters of barnacles attached to the legs supporting the walkway.
The other great place is at Fort de Soto County Park. To reach this one, you have to leave St. Pete Beach via the Pinellas Bayway toll crossing. After crossing the high level bridge, you turn right onto State Route 679 and follow that all the way to the end of the road. Along the way you cross another toll bridge before reaching the park. Instead of collecting a fee at the park entrance, as in bygone years, the park now has parking ticket machines at all the major parking areas. These collect the single $5.00 fee which is valid for the entire day for all parking areas on Mullet Key.
Fort de Soto County Park takes up the entirety of several connected keys, of which Mullet Key is by far the largest. The multiple names for different areas of this single island show plainly that it wasn't always a single island. Since the entirety of Mullet Key is pretty much an overgrown sandbar, the beach stretches for literally miles along the island's southern and western sides.
At the east end of the road, the south beach provides a placid and stable environment, looking across the mouth of Tampa Bay with a view of the graceful Sunshine Skyway which crosses to the south shore.
The entire western shore of Mullet Key is a different matter. Here, the sand dunes are exposed to the open ocean, and provide the essential protection behind which the island can endure. In this environment, change is the only constant. This shallow inlet is a perfect example. It's been violently and completely remade by the actions of the recent storms. I had to look for several minutes to recognize what I was seeing. Only the exposed stumps in the distance show what used to be here.
The dunes, too, can be severely damaged by storm action, but even more by the feet and wheels of human visitors. The park has had to undertake a vigorous program of replanting vegetation to restore the dunes' ability to protect the land behind them. A sign explains the different kinds of plant life involved, and draws attention to the plant known as sea oats as a prime rebuilder of green cover.
With that information in hand, and with the aid of signs placed by the park staff, it becomes much easier to see how the green cover helps to hold the entire ecosystem of Mullet Key in place.
As you walk along the available trail near the shore, you are quite likely to see some wading and swimming birds in the shallow waters.
Fort de Soto Park undoubtedly becomes much more crowded in warmer weather -- the immense parking lots bear witness to that reality. I actually like coming here in the winter, when the lack of crowds helps me to focus on what a special place it is in its own right, and not just as a recreational platform.
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