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Tag: Jack Davis

Protecting paradise

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to call where we live paradise. I hear first-time visitors say that all the time. Many, including me, never leave and that’s part of the problem that can and needs to be part of the solution.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author to speak

When I read Jack Davis’ book “Gulf, The Making of an American Sea,” I was amazed to learn what a paradise this was at one time. After reading Davis’ book, one might at first change their opinion of the area to “paradise lost” if not for the message of hope that it portrays. Consider the fact that some areas of the Gulf coast including Tampa Bay at one time had lost over 80% of their vital seagrass habitat. That was due mostly to wastewater discharges from sewage plants and dredging for ports and residential waterfronts. Today the seagrasses have recovered to almost historical levels. That’s the good news; the bad news is that the trend is starting to reverse. That’s concerning, especially when you consider that some 2.3 million people live in the counties bordering Tampa Bay (including Anna Maria), nearly six times the 1950 population of around 400,000 people. The current population has increased by 13% in just 10 years and is projected to increase at a faster rate.

Protecting paradise
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jack Davis addresses “Brunch For The Bay” supporters. – Rusty Chinnis | Sun

That’s why I was attending Suncoast Waterkeeper’s yearly fundraiser, “Brunch for The Bay,” on Sunday, March 8 at the Bradenton Yacht Club. Suncoast Waterkeeper (suncoastwaterkeeper.com) is a Sarasota-based organization that is leading the way in helping to hold polluters of our coastal waters accountable. Davis was the event’s guest speaker and his talk echoed the message of the book. If I had to sum it up in a few words it was there’s hope, but only if the people who call this paradise home get involved. That’s just what Suncoast Waterkeeper’s “Sick of Sewage” campaign is doing. In the last three years the organization, founded by environmental attorney Justin Bloom, has successfully filed lawsuits holding municipalities including Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Safety Harbor accountable under the statutes of the Clean Water Act.

The problem now is the aging infrastructure that has resulted, in Sarasota County’s case, in the release during the last decade of over a billion gallons of partially-treated, nitrogen-rich wastewater into Philippi Creek and Sarasota Bay. When confronted with the issue, the county did the right thing settling with the stipulation that they would convert to an advanced wastewater system and contribute to organizations like the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program that work to enhance and protect the bay.

One of the big takeaways I got from listening to Davis speak was that we should all refrain from using the term red tide and instead refer to it as what it is, a harmful algae bloom. The term red tide has been used to dismiss these devastating events as natural and therefore attempting to absolve those responsible for the increased nutrients that have led to over a 500% increase in the number of blooms, their intensity and duration since 1950. That’s a number directly proportional to the population growth, according to marine researchers.

The take-home message was that we all need to get involved in protecting paradise. The solution begins at home by limiting the use of fertilizers and pesticides and eliminating grass on our lawns. At the same time, we should all support groups like Suncoast Waterkeeper, which are holding polluters accountable, initiating water testing in public waterways used by the public and committing to environmental education. The same goes for Sarasota Bay Watch, an organization with plans to release 1 million clams in the bay in 2020 that work to clean our waterways and bay islands. Their motto, “A Healthy Bay is Everybody’s Business,” rings true. Paradise lost should never be an option.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author to speak

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

There has never been a more important time for residents of our Gulf coast region to understand the importance of the resource that brought us to the area and that fuels both our passion and our economy. This March, we’ll have the opportunity to learn about the history of our coast, the forces that shaped it and the threats that have transformed it from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jack Davis.

Jack Davis’s new novel, “The Gulf, The Making of An American Sea” is the grand, sweeping history of the whole Gulf of Mexico that can give insight into the need to protect the natural bounty we are surrounded by. Davis, a history professor at the University of Florida, won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 2018 and will be on hand at The Seafood Shack on Thursday, March 14 at 6 p.m. for a Fishing for Our Future fundraising event for the Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author to speak
Participants at the Seafood Shack fundraising event will get a chance to meet the Pulitzer Prize-winning author while supporting the Florida Maritime Museum in Cortez. – Submitted

The dinner and author talk are a tremendous opportunity to learn from and ask questions of one of the most engaging authors I’ve read in many years. As I mentioned in a book review in a prior column, I have been captivated with the beauty and the fish that surround us and reading “Gulf” has expanded my vision of the coastal resources we are blessed with and given me the insight to see it with new eyes. For me reading “The Gulf” shined a brighter light on what we have, what we’ve lost and the importance of protecting it.

From the geological beginnings to the present day, we learn the history of the nearly 8 million acres and the native Americans that first inhabited it, followed by the Spanish explorers, the French, British and Cubans. The descriptions of the vast schools of fish and flocks of birds that would blacken the sky hint at the incredible diversity and density of marine life and wildlife that once inhabited the Gulf and its estuaries.

Davis recounts how the tarpon, not warm weather and white sand beaches, brought the first tourists to Florida. The great silver fish was the impetus that introduced wealthy adventurers, artists and, indirectly, a wave of tourists to the Gulf coast. The influx of humans into the Gulf region in the 1800s began a period of intense exploitation that continues to this day.

Davis recounts records of armed passenger tourists on the Ocklawaha River that shot birds and wildlife indiscriminately for sport. At the same time, the plume trade was responsible for the killing of huge numbers of birds Gulf-wide. During this same period, the harvesting of eggs from seabird nests exacerbated the decline of the once-vast flocks of birds. Davis paints a picture with words that makes it hard to overstate the effects of this dark period. Fortunately, the resulting outcry from conservationists and birders resulted in the creation of 51 bird sanctuaries and the founding of the National Audubon Society. Passage Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay is one of those sanctuaries.

As the history of the Gulf unfolded, the exploitation moved from birds to oil and then chemicals that devastated the coastal estuaries of Louisiana and Mississippi. Davis recounts the effects of pulp mills, oil spills and hurricanes before the rush of development that resulted in massive dredge and fill operations. “The Gulf” serves as a cautionary tale of the importance of protecting, preserving and enhancing the place we call home. The opportunity to meet Davis in person is one not to be missed.

For sponsorship and ticket information, visit The Florida Maritime Museum online. Ticket prices start at $45 and all proceeds up to $34,000 will be matched and benefit The Florida Maritime Museum.

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Protecting and preserving the Gulf

Written by Rusty Chinnis on . Posted in Outdoors, Reel Time.

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes. – Marcel Proust

As I read Jack Davis’ new novel, “Gulf, The Making of An American Sea” this quote by the seminal French novelist Marcel Proust repeatedly came to mind. Having lived on Florida’s Gulf coast for close to 40 years and been privileged to explore its rivers, bays and enigmatic estuaries, I have been captivated with its beauty and the fish that swim its waters. Over the years I’ve also explored the coastal waters of the Bahamas, Belize, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Panama and other more far-flung destinations. The opportunity to expand my vision of the coastal resources we are blessed with and having the luxury of time to see them in decline has spurred an interest in working to protect this watery world. Still, being immersed in this wonderland, my sensibilities have been unknowingly dulled by the familiarity of place. Reading “Gulf” shined a brighter light on what we have, what we’ve lost and the importance of protecting and enhancing our beguiling home.

Reel Time Gulf book
The book highlights the importance of protecting and enhancing the Gulf of Mexico. – Submitted | Sun

Davis’s novel begins 150,000,000 years ago when the geological forces of an evolving Earth began shaping the Gulf we know today. In part one, he introduces us to the Calusa in Florida and the Karankawa, who inhabited present-day Texas, original natives of “one of the largest estuarine regions in the world, encompassing more than two hundred estuaries and occupying nearly eight million acres.” The book then traces the impact of the early Spanish explorers, who led the way for the French and British. The descriptions of the vast schools of fish and flocks of birds that would “blacken the sky” hint at the incredible diversity and density of marine life and wildlife that once inhabited the Gulf and its estuaries.

In a chapter entitled “The Wild Fish That Tamed the Coast” Davis recounts how the tarpon, not warm weather and white sand beaches, brought the first tourists to Florida. The records are unclear about who took the first tarpon with a rod and reel. Some say it was New York Architect William Halsey Wood fishing in Pine Island Sound in 1885. Others claim it was Anthony Weston Dimock with a fish he caught at the mouth of the Homosassa River. That first tarpon aside, the great silver fish was the impetus that introduced wealthy adventurers, artists and, indirectly, a wave of tourists to the Gulf coast.

In subsequent chapters, the influx of humans into the Gulf region begins a period of intense exploitation in the 1800s that continues to this day. Davis recounts records of armed passengers – “tourists” – on the Ocklawaha River that shot birds and wildlife indiscriminately for sport. At the same time, the plume trade was responsible for the killing of huge numbers of birds Gulf-wide.  In 1902, one trade house reported an inventory of 50,000 ounces of feathers. At about that time ornithologist Frank Chapman spent two afternoons walking Manhattan’s retail district counting 542 feathered hats representing 174 species of birds.

During this same period, the harvesting of eggs from seabird nests exacerbated the decline of the once vast flocks of birds. Davis paints a picture with words that makes it hard to overstate the effects of this dark period. Fortunately, this gloomy picture is brightened by the light ignited by the resulting outcry from conservationists and birders. As a result, bird sanctuaries were set aside by an executive order from President Theodore Roosevelt for the protection of birds, and chapters of the National Audubon Society were born, including the Florida Chapter in 1900. During that period Roosevelt fostered the creation of 51 bird reservations, including Passage Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay.

As the history of the Gulf unfolded, the exploitation moved from birds to oil and then chemicals that devastated the coastal estuaries of Louisiana and Mississippi. Davis then recounts the effects of pulp mills, oil spills, and hurricanes before the rush of development that resulted in massive dredge and fill operations. This rush to the Gulf coastal areas scoured seagrasses from bay bottoms and leveled thousands of acres of marshes and mangroves creating islands and communities – Marco Island, Cape Coral, Bird Key and Terra Verde – where natural abundance once dominated.

While much of the book centers on the degradation of the Gulf and its bays, estuaries and barrier islands, it also points out its resilience and serves as a cautionary tale of the importance of protecting, preserving and enhancing it today. As a result of reading this book, I’m reminded that most of us who call the Gulf home today and consider it paradise have no idea of the paradise that’s been lost. “Gulf, The Making of an American Sea” is helping me to see my home with new eyes.