Dear all,

This report came from Ellie Lahn, who visited what used to be one of the
best intertidal shelling spots on the East coast of Florida last Saturday.
How sad...


You might be interested to hear about the Miami Club's trip to Peanut Island
yesterday. Palm Beach County has gentrified the island. The perimeter is now
a public park, with paved pathways lamposts, bathrooms, showers, an office,
fenced campsites ($16.50/night), and picnic tables surrounded by planted and
propped-up palm trees. They have mowed the middle of the hill that was
formerly covered with Australian pines, so there's no shade facing the flat.
They've installed a boat dock and a pier, where the water taxis and
everybody else in the world docks their boats, and boats can anchor all
along the flat and motor through the channel all the time.

The shelling was poor. The olives disappeared off the flat years ago, and I
think the stuff under the rocks on the east side too -- but now what used to
be an abundant colony of fighting conchs has virtually disappeared. We each
found one or two live ones and several dead ones. The water was clear and
made for good swimming (along with half the world and their kids and dogs)

It seems to me that the county in installing all that construction has done
more to wipe out a colony of shells than anything a few humans could do.

Peggy

                     Visit my website at http://www.shelltrips.com
                                  Peggy Williams
                                   Shell Elegant
                                    PO Box 575
                                Tallevast FL 34270
                                   (941) 355-2291
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