THE PAST AND FUTURE OF CEDAR KEYS
November 23, 2019
by Libby Cagle
It was a real treat to have Jeff Moates, West Central Region Director, and his crew from Florida Public Archeology Network come to Cedar Key for a fact gathering session at the Library on 14 November. According to their website:
“The Florida Public Archaeology Network is dedicated to the protection of cultural resources, both on land and underwater, and to involving the public in the study of their past. Regional centers around Florida serve as clearinghouses for information, institutions for learning and training, and headquarters for public participation in archaeology. "
This was an interactive forum where the thirty or so participants were divided into groups and asked six thought provoking questions about our coastal heritage. The first question, “What is significant to me about Cedar Key and its coastal heritage?” The answers in our group ranged from working waterfronts to art to birding to natural resources to its fragility to water quality to military history and shipping ports.
Next we answered what we thought the threats are. These include inconsistent weather, storms, sea level rise, oil spills, red tide, overpopulation, politics, invasive species and how all these affect the water quality that impacts both our drinking water and Gulf and River waters where many people make their living.
The third question asked us where we would take action if we could not address all the issues already discussed. This was a tough one but there was a sort of consensus that protecting the water quality was the priority because it would be instrumental in protecting what we have. Fortunately Cedar Key is already working on that with the living shorelines project, the Shark Aquaculture Life Training (SALT) at Cedar Key School, and through the various programs and citizen science projects sponsored by local non profit and public organizations.
Now for a two part question, “What are the aspirations to meet by 2030 and what needs to happen to realize them”? Finish the living shorelines around the island rebuild the oyster reefs, continue with the education through the school and community, and keep funding coming for research. And, of course, become politically aware and proactive especially when it comes to protecting the environment including offshore drilling
Where do roles and responsibilities lie to achieve these goals? We have to be cognizant that local decisions filter up. This area is fortunate to have so much public lands and city, county, state and federal organizations that are working to protect this cultural and archaeological heritage. Local non-profit groups such as the community garden, FNCC, Refuge Friends, Garden Club, Aquaculture, and CK Audubon all work to protect this way of life.
The last question was what would be the impact on CK if we lost the coastal heritage. Our answer to that is that Cedar Key would no longer exist. Everyone would move inland.
The data of our input and input from several other areas will be compiled and a report issued in the near future. It will be published on flpublicarchaeology.org/about/
When the public participation was finished, Ginessa Mahar, PhD of the University of Florida George A Smathers Libraries spoke about her experiences on studying the region while earning her doctorate. She feels that the term “Nature Coast” is not accurate because our coastline has been shaped by human connections. Think of the shell mounds that are prominent in our landscape. A more appropriate moniker would be “Anthropogenic Coast”.
Dr. Mahar gave us some hints on how to locate historical sights. It is all in the shells. Cedar trees need the alkalinity that shells create and are therefore a good place to check. As our shores are disturbed by erosion and sea water rise, more specimens are revealed and infrastructure of sights is being undercut. Salvage archeology needs to happen before more disappears.
Palmetto Mound, a small island off of Shell Mound, was used as a burial sight. Although many of the remains have been disturbed and removed, there is evidence that it is “snow birds” that were buried there. Ed Allen discovered fish ponds by Richard’s Island. Proving the aquaculture has been here for 2000 years. Over 1.2 billion oysters were consumed to build Shell Mound. Only one shell was deposited in the mound. The other was put back into the water for use by other oysters. It only took a couple of generations to build.
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