Bill, A couple of weeks ago, I had a chance to go to Cedar Key--the islet
10 minutes off the tourist strip. Part of the key was posted off-limits.
Maybe that was related to the fact that a tourist had found the skeletons
of 3 native Americans: man, woman and child from a couple of hundred years
ago washing out of the sand a few weeks before.

I saw lots of broken and bleached shells, but no grit. I couldn't figure
out how I was missing anything if it was there -- because the Jacksonville
website to lists 153 species. Any clues why the discrepancy? Was there a
particular spot? Were most of the listed species dredged?
--David K.

>Despite all the hype, while the tides were lower than usual, they were
>not all that low.  About 6 years ago, the tides here in Florida were in
>fact very low - the lowest this century. While the Jacksonville Shell
>Club had routinely shelled Cedar Key with tides that were only in
>the minus 1+ foot range, during that period they were nearly minus
>2 feet.  Surprisingly, the difference between a minus 1 plus foot
>tide and a minus 2 plus foot tide didn't translate well to the amount
>of substrate available.
>
>Specific tidal measurements and dates are available upon request.
>
>Bill F.