Day & Night Magazine 2015-16 New Smyrna Beach | Page 44

A Place bySet Spellman, Park Ranger Forever
Aside
Kathleen
Canaveral National Seashore - [phone]

I
n 1955 a National Park Service study of the Atlantic and Gulf Shore coastlines
was conducted. What they sought were prime natural areas that could be
obtained and set aside to provide for public recreational opportunities. In Florida,
the region of Cape Canaveral and Mosquito Lagoon was identified as just such an
area. In 1965 the state of Florida requested that the lands be chosen, purchased
and a National Seashore established. In January of 1975 the lands that were to be
Canaveral National Seashore were set aside by congress.
As with the establishment of all national parks. Canaveral National Seashore
had to possess several features that would make it of “national” significance - a
piece of our American heritage. These special features are contained within the
park’s approximately 57,000 acres. They’re yours to discover. First, these 24 miles
of Florida’s Atlantic shoreline will be the only significant stretch left in its natural
state. It will be forever a sandy beach to wander. A place to fish, surf, swim, sun
and beach comb.
Mosquito Lagoon, that shallow body of water sheltered by the sandy barrier
beach, is a fertile estuary. Do you enjoy Florida seafood? It is from coastal
estuaries such as this lagoon that come our large pink shrimp, sweet blue crabs, mouth-watering hard shelled clams,
oysters, mullet, sea trout, redfish and more. Many visitors seek this area for a lazy day of hunting these tasty delights.
For those who enjoy a look into America’s past, Canaveral National Seashore contains sites that show humans
have called this area home from at least the year one. These early people were attracted by Mosquito Lagoon’s
food resources.
The oldest human sites are shell mounds - piles of oyster or sometimes clam shells - formed into dwelling or burial
places. There are over fifty of these old sites protected within the Seashore’s boundaries. Turtle Mound (circa 600 A.D. 14 A.D. ) is one of the largest shell mounds in the park and on the National Historic Register. It is a double mound with
two high overlooks of thirty - three feet above sea level. A boardwalk trail protects the mound and makes the walk to
the top easy.
A more recent past is found at the old post civil war town site of Eldora. It was founded in 1877 along what was
then the Intracoastal Waterway when the waterways were filled with
people moving south. Access to this town was by water only but the
town prospered until the water route south was changed. The town then
vanished into the past. A handful of houses still remain from that time.
Among them, The Eldora State House, which has been restored and
become a visitor’s center.
Wildlife? The Cape Canaveral area of Florida is a mixing zone of tropical
and subtropical climate and vegetation. This produces a habitat at the
National Seashore, that supports a wide variety of animal species. There
are over 3,385 different kinds of birds, reptiles and mammals that use
the Seashore, thirteen of which are listed on the Federal Endangered and
Threatened Species List.
The endangered manatee use the waters of Mosquito Lagoon for
feeding and to bear their young. Woodstorks, brown pelicans and bald eagles nest here each year while peregrine
falcons use the park as a stop on their yearly migrations.
Loggerhead, green and leatherback sea turtles nest on our beach. The loggerheads are the most numerous with
3,000 nest sites last year. The endangered Kemps Ridley sea turtles use the park area for feeding.
The alligator and saltmarsh snake of our marshes and the large indigo snake of the coastal forest are also
threatened species.
Endangered forty foot right whales appear just beyond the breaking surf each February using this area for calving
grounds before their return trip north.
All features make this one of those special places that was sought after over twenty years ago. A place now set
aside forever.
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