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Anclote Key State Preserve The Anclote Key State Preserve is located on an island at the northeastern edge of Tarpon Springs. Its remoteness makes it unique in that visitors must take a boat trip in order to experience this natural wonder of nature.
The Anclote
Key Lighthouse is at the island’s southern end.
It served as a guide to ships for years and is still a landmark for area
boaters. President Grover Cleveland declared the Key a lighthouse
reservation in 1886 and a year later, the 101-foot Anclote lighthouse and two
houses for its keepers were completed. These
were occupied until automation took over the lighthouse in 1933.
The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1984 after modern technology made
the beam obsolete. The island is
home to at least 43 species of birds, including the American oystercatcher, bald
eagle and piping plover. Endangered
loggerhead and green turtles are occasionally spotted. The Key
displays six distinct biological communities:
marine sands, beach-dune, maritime hammock, mesic flatwoods, tidal marsh,
and swamp. For
additional information, check out www.dep.state.fl.us/parks
or www.gulfislands.org.
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City of Tarpon Springs |
