![]() Wilder, president of the New Smyrna Beach Chamber of Commerce, put together a Seashore Park sub-committee, acting on a recommendation by the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council to follow up on the park service's report.īut it wasn't until 1968 that the Volusia County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution asking the Department of the Interior to establish the National Seashore.Ĭongress passed the Seashore Act in December 1974 and with President Gerald Ford's signature in early 1975, the Canaveral National Seashore was born. and 1400 A.D.Ī National Park Service survey team visited the Turtle Mound area in 1955, writing a glowing report of the unique natural resources they found there.Ī decade later, T. Semi-tropical climate merges with the temperate climate zone, creating a diversity of plants and animals found few other places in the world.īiologists have documented more than 310 species of birds, including the bald eagle, wood stork, the Florida scrub jay, and roseate spoonbills.Ĭanaveral National Seashore also logs more than 4,000 sea turtle nests each season, drawing waiting lists for guided nighttime turtle walks to witness mamma turtles digging nests and laying eggs.Īrcheologists long marveled at Turtle Mound, a 35-foot-high pile of oyster shells constructed by Native Americans between 800 A.D. Two divergent climate zones collide there. Scientists have long known about the biological value of the beaches at and near Cape Canaveral. The park includes 58,000 acres of barrier island, open lagoon, coastal hammock, pine flat woods and 24 miles of undeveloped beach. "The idea of shooting rockets across a national park is just extraordinary."Ĭongress created Canaveral National Seashore in 1975. ![]() "I don't think anyone in America would tolerate launching rockets across the Grand Canyon," he added. "The idea of launching rockets over Mosquito Lagoon and Canaveral National Seashore is still a significant threat," Henderson said. Henderson, who will be among the guest speakers, worries most about a proposal to build commercial launch pads in a publicly accessible part of the nearby Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, known as Shiloh. On Saturday, park officials will hold a 40th anniversary celebration at the park. NASA decisions have an impact on us, especially in Brevard," Laura Henning, the park's chief of interpretation, said of the future threats. Now, as Canaveral National Seashore turns 40, the park - which straddles the border of Brevard and Volusia counties -faces a litany of emerging threats: rising tides, invasive species and encroaching rockets, to name a few. Business and civic leaders fought for years to preserve this unique coastal haven that provides habitat for 310 bird species, a pristine playground for 1 million yearly visitors and a remote beach buffer for rocket launches. There was a proposal for a large mobile home development on the north end." "There were several plans for development. "New Smyrna in the early '70s was marching south - condo row as we call it," recalls Clay Henderson, an Orlando attorney who helped found a nonprofit that supports what is now Canaveral National Seashore. It seemed the longest stretch of undeveloped beach on Florida's East Coast faced the inevitable arrival of bulldozers and building cranes. View Gallery: Photos: Canaveral National Seashore at 40
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