Amelia Island Conservationist

Amelia Island Conservationist 130707

Thursday was the 4th of July and it was my first time on the island for this holiday. I've seen a lot of fireworks celebrations over the years and did not expect to see anything novel this year, especially since this is not a big city and fireworks shows cost a lot of money to put on.

I was wrong.

Just as dusk approached the booms began outside. As RS and I walked onto the sand, I saw fireworks exploding up and down the beach from Main Beach in the north to the Ritz-Carleton in the south. These were not just firecrackers either. They were the rockets that soared into the sky to explode in a glittery display. Some even had secondary explosions of light. For about 45 minutes the fireworks lit the sky. I would guess maybe ten or fifteen people had spent a considerable sum of money each to put on a remarkable display.

I loved it and so did the crowd of vacationers and residents.

The next morning RS and I were up early to walk on the beach. There before us was the downside of the celebration scattered on the beach ... paper rocket shells, plastic caps, empty water bottles, aluminum wrappers and assorted junk. In one evening a seemingly pristine beach was converted to a junky strip of sand.

That scene got me thinking about the city ordinance prohibiting fireworks on the beach and how it was not enforced. Maybe a better thing for the city to do would be to repeal the fireworks ordinance for the 4th of July and organize volunteer clean up crews the morning after to remove the junk from the beach. Both fireworks and clean-up seem to offer a way of being patriotic.

The following day (the 6th) RS and I took another walk on the beach. Since it was high tide, we chose to wear sneakers so we could easily walk on the shell hash. One of the characteristics of Amelia is that dogs are allowed on the beach. The city ordinance requires dogs to be on a leash, but like the fireworks rule, it never seems to be enforced. I have to say it's fun seeing dogs fetching balls from the surf or chasing each other in circles on the sand. Unfortunately, there is a downside to dogs on the beach and I found it on the bottom of my sneakers when I got home. It took a few minutes of scrubbing with a brush under the beach hose to get all the dog remains from the nooks and crags on the bottom of my shoes.

That got me thinking about how few dog owners seem to care about cleaning up after their dogs on the beach. RS, who is more observant than I, told me that most dog owners either leave the dog poop on the beach for all to see while others kick a bit of sand over the excrement. Either way, I don't like it.

This is where I began to think about conservation. Two days in a row something I liked had a downside that fouls the very reason why I choose to live here.

Today is Sunday the 7th and the final day of the July 4th weekend. Again RS and I were up early to walk on the beach. Almost the first thing I saw at the surf line was a crushed beer can. Someone had intentionally left the beer can on the sand and had crushed it so some sharp edges would stick out to cut a bare foot. Within about 25 feet from the beer can was something else that really surprised me. There was a half buried armadillo with its eyes poked out. Why would anyone do that?

As we walked on a balancing event showed up ... sea turtle tracks to and from a newly created nest. Wow! it was the first time we had seen that. Just hours before a large turtle with a leg spread of about three feet had been there to deposit eggs.

The July 4th revelers are now headed home and the beach is returning to the normal summer activity. But, here I sit thinking about whether I should become more active in keeping Amelia Island enjoyable and protecting this beautiful place. I suppose we all eventually face this conservationist dilemma.

- CR