First Thousand Island Fest is Saturday
They could have been crowded with the typical Florida island mansions.
And yet, there were a thousand reasons to save them.
It wasn't cheap, but to Cocoa Beach and Indian River Lagoon lovers, buying the Thousand Islands was worth every penny.
On Saturday, March 16, at the Cocoa Beach Pool Pavilion, Friends of the Thousand Islands will host its first-ever festival to celebrate decades of protecting these unique islands. Developers could have cut the mangrove canopies to make way for dream homes but instead the area remained a paradise for kayakers, pontoon boaters and paddleboarders.
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What does Saturday's fest include?
Kayak tours; music; kids activities; Indian River Lagoon restoration hands-on demonstrations; lagoon expert talks; a scavenger hunt; geocaching; food trucks; beer and wine; and more.
How old are these islands?
Somewhere around 3,000 years ago, the islands formed as a tidal delta created by a "cataclysmic overwash" during a very big storm surge, said Joanie Regan, who served as Cocoa Beach's stormwater manager for more than two decades.
Why are the Thousand Islands special?
There are only a handful of natural islands like them in the Indian River Lagoon, and their mangrove fringes are important habitat for fish and other marine life. Most of the lagoon's islands are manmade: the product of the original dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway more than 60 years ago. The government allowed the spoil pumped from the lagoon bottom to be dumped back into the water, forming 137 spoil islands lagoon-wide.
Could the islands have been developed?
Many thought so. Six decades ago, two owners paid roughly $400,000 combined for the islands and marshlands south of Minutemen Causeway. About two decades ago, they were asking for six times that amount, or $2.4 million, for the land.
The scenario is common in Florida: Speculators buy small, low-lying islands with the idea of making big money on their resale or developing them. Environmental regulations make the islands more difficult and expensive to develop. But rules can change and the buyout prices can skyrocket beyond what local governments can afford to pay to protect such islands.
How did the public come to own them?
After years of haggling, in 1988, the city, county and state bought 600 acres of islands and marshlands north of the causeway for $3.23 million. The owners originally wanted $5 million.
The islands south of the causeway were more problematic. Glenn Reynolds of Rockville, Va., owned most of them, about 320 acres — including a strip of land along Fourth Street South. In 2004, Brevard County assessed property including the islands at a combined taxable value of $23,970. Crawford Homes Inc. of Memphis, Tenn., owned 63 acres — including islands to the north and about a dozen acres of uplands. The county had assessed that property at a taxable value of $4,730.
A deal to buy the Reynolds' islands, using a state grant, fell apart in 2001 when the state appraised the land at $200,000. The owners wanted more than $1 million.
Brevard's Environmentally Endangered Lands program bought the remaining islands in 2008 for $4.4 million in two land deals that totaled 338 acres. It was the only time EEL had paid more than the appraised value. It was a directive from then-County Commissioner Ron Pritchard.
Thousand Islands Fest
When: 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday, March 16
Where: Cocoa Beach Pool Pavilion, 4800 Tom Warriner Boulevard, Cocoa Beach, Florida
What: Island Boat & Kayak Tours;, music, kids activities; Indian River Lagoon restoration hands-on demos; lagoon expert talks; scavenger hunt; geocaching; food trucks; beer and wine; and much more.
Where can I learn more? Visit friendsofthethousandislands.org/events
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Thousand Island Fest comes to Cocoa Beach on Saturday, March 16
