Australian Pines Get Their Own Bill: Saunders Files to Protect Trees at Fort Taylor
Posted on: Monday, 3 March 2008, 12:00 CST
By Alyson Crean, Florida Keys Keynoter, Marathon
Mar. 1--If the Florida Department of Environmental Protection won't listen to a group of locals that wants to keep the trees at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, maybe the Legislature will get their attention.
A bill sponsored by state Rep. Ron Saunders would require the protection, maintenance and preservation of the Australian pines at the park at the end of Southard Street.
"This bill would only affect this park," he said. "It's an isolated situation."
Local governments - the city of Key West and Monroe County - have passed resolutions supporting locals who have fought to keep the trees, saying their shade and ambiance create an oasis on the busy island. But DEP has a strict policy against invasive exotic species and says they should be cut down.
"The only way we could do anything is through legislative action," Saunders said.
The Save Our Pines group has been working for several years to get the park treated as an exception so the pines could be maintained. Initially, park officials agreed to allow the trees to remain and allow attrition to eventually eradicate them. But a management plan released late last year outlined a more aggressive approach to removing the trees, and many residents were incensed.
 

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