Feral Cat Trapping Delayed

National Key Deer Refuge officials announced this week that the trapping of feral cats on Big Pine Key has been delayed until June 4. Refuge Director Anne Morkill said an original date of May 21 was released in error.

The cat trapping will be done in an effort to protect the endangered marsh rabbits, silver rice rats and other animals and birds in the area, officials say. The feral cats will be trapped alive and brought to local animal shelters before they are relocated. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently received $50,000 to remove the cats from federal refuges on Big Pine and Key Largo.

The Rice Rat, a subspecies of the Marsh Rice Rat, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in Florida, where it lives in the westerly Keys. This rat historically lived in salt marsh habitat, and its decline came as its habitat was destroyed to make way for residential and commerical development in the Florida Keys. Much of Rice Rat's remaining habitat is within the National Key Deer Refuge, and thus is protected.

The Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit, a subspecies of the Marsh Rabbit, is on the U.S. Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered in Florida. As with a number of species native to the Florida Keys, this rabbit's decline coincided with the residential and commercial development of the string of islands off the coast of Florida. While it once lived on many of the lower Keys, it now lives on only a handful. The 250 or so individuals remaining face mortality from cats and automobiles, as well as the continued loss of habitat. Because they live west of the Seven Mile Bridge, they are essentially stranded while their habitat shrinks around them.



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Big Piner Caught Transporting

Nearly a half million dollars worth of marijuana was seized when a South Florida man was pulled over for reportedly weaving in and out of his lane while driving a motor home through Lafayette County, a small (Pop. 7,000) county in the Big Bend area of Florida between the panhandle and the peninsula. The traffic stop happened late Tuesday on State Road 20, according to Sheriff Carson McCall. Members of the county's drug interdiction team had pulled over a 1989 Winnebago when a drug dog alerted to indicate the presence of illicit drugs in the motorhome.

"We searched the Winnebago and found approximately 190 pounds of marijuana," McCall said. "We have estimated the street value to be about $456,000. We hope people get the message pretty soon that if you're doing drugs or transporting drugs you need to go somewhere else than Lafayette County."

The driver of the Winnebago was identified as Harold Edward Baranoff of Big Pine Key, who was arrested for trafficking in a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Winnebago was impounded by the Sheriff's Office.

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Big Pine Key Fire - Arson?

Someone may have set a brush fire on Big Pine Key that burned eight acres overnight Wednesday, state fire officials said Thursday. Investigators believe one source of the fire was an abandoned truck in the woods near 24th Street. "It looks like there may have been another area that was intentionally lit on fire as well," said Scott Peterich, Division of Forestry Wildfire mitigation specialist.

Residents told investigators an empty concrete structure near the burned older-model Ford pickup is a popular hangout for children, Monroe County's Assistant Fire Marshal Wally Romero said. The fire still was smouldering at press time Thursday, fueled by a combination of dense vegetation and extremely dry conditions, brought on by South Florida's severe drought. "There is a huge amount of flammable fuel out there," Peterich said, adding that the fire still needed constant attention. With several thousand hot spots and burning stumps, a windblown burning ember could ignite an unburned area.

The burned area is from Wilder Road to Cunningham Lane and from U.S. 1 to 24th Street. Firefighters from Big Pine Key, Sugarloaf and Marathon used heavy equipment to prevent the fire from spreading. Tanker trucks and several helicopters from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission dumped water on the area.

"It takes a lot of water," Peterich said. "Eight acres is a lot of land."

Citizen Staff Writer Ann Henson contributed to this report.
rbusweiler@keysnews.com

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Big Pine Burns

The wildfire crisis going on throughout Florida reached the Florida Keys, with a fire that burned in Big Pine Key on Wednesday. According to Monroe County Sheriff's Office reports the fire was somehow started by an abandoned vehicle just before 4 p.m. and then spread to the nearby brush. Fire investigators have not ruled out arson.

Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies, fire department officials and division of forestry rangers remained at the scene of the fire Thursday morning, monitoring the situation to make sure there were no flare-ups from the Wednesday night flames. Several residents of the area had to be evacuated but most have been allowed to return home already.

The Red Cross has been contacted to assist those who either cannot return to their homes or need to stay elsewhere because of the lingering smoke in the air.

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