Paddling Everglades and Biscayne National Parks by Roger L. Hammer

Author:Roger L. Hammer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Falcon Guides
Published: 2020-03-03T00:00:00+00:00

ABOUT COOT BAY

Coot Bay was named for the American coot, a black, duck-like bird that can be found in huge rafts of hundreds, or even thousands, of birds in winter. When coots take off, they literally run across the water with their feet as they flap their wings to gain speed and flight. They are prey for predatory birds like peregrine falcons and bald eagles, and also alligators and crocodiles.

Coot Bay was once mostly freshwater prior to the dredging of Buttonwood Canal in 1922, to allow direct access for boaters to the vast Everglades backcountry from Flamingo. The dredge was described by workers as a “dilapidated spectacle” that required constant repair. One story relates to a dredgeman who got so drunk on whiskey that he passed out in the mud on the way back to camp. Although the other workers left him there, they did show a bit of compassion by placing a smoking smudge pot on his chest to keep the mosquitoes away.

Following the dredging of Buttonwood Canal, Coot Bay was suddenly subjected to tidal flow directly from Florida Bay for the first time, so the salinity rose dramatically, killing off freshwater plants, fish, and other organisms. Ecological changes were swift as freshwater bass, gar, and sunfish were replaced by snook, redfish, spotted seatrout, tarpon, and other saltwater fish.

In order to correct this environmental boondoggle, in 1982 a concrete dam was built across Buttonwood Canal at the Flamingo marina to return the salinity to historic levels in Coot Bay and southern Whitewater Bay. In response, American coots have returned to Coot Bay in great flocks.

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