MIAMI – The potential sale of Bird Key, a tiny island in Biscayne Bay, is causing feathers to fly and has local environmentalists very concerned. The unique gem is located in the heart of the northern bay, just south of the 79th Street Causeway.
The island was once a historic rookery that is still a critical habitat for South Florida’s diverse marine birds. On an average morning, kayakers near the island can see cormorants, brown pelicans, herons, and frigatebirds.
While this may sound like a natural preserve, right now it’s not protected. That’s why the recent listing has many nature lovers very worried about exactly who a potential buyer could be.
Laura Reynolds, the vice president of Friends of Biscayne Bay, stresses the importance of keeping this wild space, wild.
“It’s one of two natural islands in Biscayne Bay and it is magnificent,” Reynolds said. “It can’t be a nightclub, it can’t be an exclusive residential address, it needs to be here for wildlife and for public good.”
Bird Key owner Finlay Matheson bought the island with an investor back in 1986 for only $36,000.
“I’m 80 years old and now is the time (to sell),” he said.
Now Matheson is selling the piece of property for a whopping $31.5 million in a listing that describes it as a “golden opportunity.”
Reynolds is worried that the island’s hefty price tag could entice a wealthy developer to swoop in and damage an already fragile ecosystem. That’s why she’s calling on all nature lovers to step up.
“It’s unprecedented and I really think the community should come together, bring together some capital and purchase this island for public good, bring it into public ownership,” said Reynolds.
Her fears are not unfounded. Although the 50-year-old Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserves protects most of the watershed from ever being touched by builders, Bird Key and its 37 acres of bay bottom are excluded.
“This is one of those historic holdouts,” explained Reynolds.
“My biggest fear is that it will be developed and that will scare away all of our marine and wildlife,” said Sandy Moise of the Urban Paradise Guild. “I can’t imagine anyone wanting to come here and destroy what nature created.”
Moise herself has seen it happen.
In 2019, an increase in human pressure from boaters and water enthusiasts scared away the birds that historically used to nest here and gave the island its name. Wildlife experts warn that any more disruption would prevent any chance of this longtime rookery from ever bouncing back.
“If we disturb these habitats, it has an impact,” said Chloe Chelz, the acting executive director of Pelican Harbor Seabird Station. “You could say it’s just one island that doesn’t really matter, but it does. It’s all interconnected and has a direct impact on the wildlife that we care for every day.”
Can this natural paradise really be developed?
The county’s regulatory agencies would have to sign off on whatever can be built here. There are sea grasses and protected mangroves on the property. Still, conservationists fear that there are loopholes that leave this wild space vulnerable.
“I mean, we are in the state of Florida, where property rights reign supreme, I would hope that our regulations could stop that kind of activity,” explained Reynolds. “But you know, this is property rights, they own the bay bottom.”
A bottom of healthy seagrass beds that Reynolds warns could potentially be filled in, but Matheson says he’s not worried.
“If they wanted to build a series of condominiums, that’s not the place to go, there are plenty of places to go,” he remarked.
“Why are you selling this island now?” asked Local 10 anchor and Environmental Advocate Louis Aguirre.
“Because it’s a hot real estate market,” Matheson responded.
If his last name sounds familiar, it should. He is the great-grandson of William John Matheson, who donated the land for Miami-Dade’s first public park, Matheson Hammock, in 1930.
Ten years later, the family donated some 800 acres in Key Biscayne for the county’s Crandon Park.
“And I still haven’t given the county anything except, I guess, ruffled some feathers as you said,” remarked Matheson.
Bird Key and the surrounding acreage are zoned residential. Matheson had hoped the land could be used for mitigation, but that never happened.
Mitigation is a process where a developer preserves a piece of land in order to offset known impacts to an existing resource.
After all this time, Matheson says not the state nor the county has stepped up to buy the property.
“I don’t have a guilty conscience at all by putting it on the market,” said Matheson. “The environmental groups, including the county and the state have had ample time – you know they’ve had 36 years.”
Although Bird Key is on the acquisition wish list for Miami-Dade’s Environmentally Endangered Lands program, Matheson says an offer that the county made through the Nature Conservancy fell way short.
“Well it was ridiculous,” remarked Matheson.
“What was the offer,” asked Aguirre.
“$300,000,” Matheson responded.
So now he’s considering other offers with the fate of Bird Key and Northern Biscayne Bay both hanging in the balance.
“Everything is negotiable,” said Matheson.
“This is a public treasure,” Reynolds said. “Just like we did with Chicken Key where the state finally purchased it, we should do the same thing here with Bird Key and I do think it should be in conservation for perpetuity.”
Miami-Dade County and the office of Mayor Daniella Levine Cava say conversations with Matheson to procure Bird Key are ongoing.
You can read their full statements below.
Miami-Dade County’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources, Division of Environmental Resources Management, is charged with the Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program, which focuses on the protection and conservation of endangered lands. The EEL Program works with willing sellers of private property to purchase lands listed on the EEL Acquisition List through The Nature Conservancy to negotiate purchases on behalf of the County. Bird Key Island is home to native birds and precious mangroves. Bird Key Island has been listed on the EEL Acquisition list since 1993. An offer to purchase the environmentally sensitive island was made as recently as last year. The Nature Conservancy reported that the County’s offer to purchase Bird Key Island was not accepted. The County is exploring other options available to bring the property under the County’s ownership.
-Miami-Dade County’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources
“My administration has been closely following the process at Bird Key and made a purchase offer that unfortunately did not meet the owner’s expectations. Biscayne Bay is both a recreational oasis and an economic engine for our county, but it is also home to some of Florida’s most iconic species, including birds, marine life, and storm-reducing mangroves. And so, an opportunity to restore our bay and protect its wildlife through land acquisition is something my administration will always consider. We are eager to find alternatives, including state or federal support, to purchase this property and expand the footprint of our Biscayne Bay protection programs.”
-Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava