ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In Florida's most crowded county, not far from a greyhound track and a busy thoroughfare, kayakers paddle through a labyrinth of trails that wind for miles under the dense canopy of a stunning mangrove forest.
Floating through those dark, cool tunnels, it's easy to forget that the gleaming high-rises of downtown Tampa loom just on the other side of the bay or that this chunk of Gulf Coast Florida is so developed that there's hardly any available land left.
That's part of the beauty of Weedon Island Preserve, one of the jewels of Pinellas County's patchwork of protected green spaces and wildlife conservation areas. These places account for more than one-tenth of the total land area in a 40-mile-long peninsula better known for white sand beaches and old folks than visionary efforts to protect its few remaining slices of natural Florida.
Given that Pinellas has packed in 3,300 souls per square mile - more than 10 times the average population density of the state - keeping development at bay is an ongoing challenge for the county's environmental planners, who have earned national recognition for their efforts to preserve and manage its wild open spaces.
DENSE POPULATION
"[Pinellas] is in redevelopment stage now because of this dense population," said Bruce Rinker, director of the county's Environmental Lands Division who once roamed Amazon rain forests for his studies. "Our goal is to try to contrive a model of urban ecology. And the idea is that if we can get it right here, we use that model to help our neighboring counties."
Pinellas' 925,000 residents make it the sixth most populous among Florida's 67 counties. In size, only one county in the state is smaller. That combination makes it one of the mostcrowded areas in the southeastern United States.
But there are still places to get away.
Besides the paddling trails, the nearly 6 square miles of Weedon Island Preserve in north St. Petersburg offer miles of hiking trails and an observation tower. Gopher tortoisesburrow here while reddish egrets, roseate spoonbills and other wading birds fish in saltwater ponds. Dolphins, sharks and manatees coexist peacefully with kayakers.
At the top of the county, hikers and equestrians can leave the surrounding suburbs and get lost in the pine flat-woods and freshwater swamps of Brooker Creek Preserve. Its 13 square miles are populated with redshouldered hawks, wild turkeys, bobcats, deer and dozens of threatened or endangered species.
Two other smaller preserves and 10 wildlife management areas are spread throughout the county, which maintains another two dozen public parks and beach access areas.
Pinellas tourism officials - who are accustomed to touting the 35 miles of gorgeous shoreline and 360 days of sunshine every year - are reworking their literature to play up backto-nature activities.
"People don't necessarilywant to sit on the beach for eight hours a day anymore," said G. Lee Daniel, deputy director of the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Convention and Visitors Bureau. "They want to come to the beach and enjoy it, but they also want to get out and have a lot of different types of experiences. One of the fastest growing parts of tourism is people going on vacations to learn, to really get involved."
ST. PETERSBURG-CLEARWATER AREA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU:
www.floridasbeach.com or (877) 352-3224.
WEEDON ISLAND PRESERVE CULTURAL AND NATURAL HISTORY CENTER:
1800 Weedon Drive N.E., St. Petersburg, www.weedon islandcenter.org or (727) 453-6500. Preserve open every day from dawn to dusk, free admission. Cultural and Natural History Center open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, free admission. Kayak vendor is Sweetwater Kayaks, 10000 Gandy Blvd., St. Petersburg, www.sweetwaterkayaks.com/rent als.html or (727) 570-4844. Kayak rental, half-day, $38.
BROOKER CREEK PRESERVE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER:
3940 Keystone Road, Tarpon Springs, www.friend sofbrookercreekpreserve. org or (727) 453-6800. Preserve open every day from dawn to dusk. Environmental Education Center open 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, free admission.
Travel, Pages 98 on 10/28/2007