Early Conservationists
Perhaps the most famous early Florida Keys environmentalist was John James Audubon (1785–1851), who was an early 19th-century naturalist and painter who spent weeks in the Florida Keys in 1832. He documented and painted numerous local bird species, such as the Great White Heron, and visited remote areas like Sandy Key and the Dry Tortugas.
John
Audubon
A few years after Audubon‘s death, George Bird Grinnell (1849–1938): Founder of the first Audubon Society in 1886, he led early national efforts to protect Florida's birds from plume hunting, a major environmental threat in the Keys and Everglades at the turn of the century.
Pioneers, like William Dutcher (early 1900s) joined the cause and was crucial in passing Florida's Audubon Model Law to ban plume hunting and hired wardens to protect birds including hiring lighthouse keepers in the Keys and Dry Tortugas for bird protection.
And then there was Dagny Johnson in the late 20s, who formed the Upper Key Citizens Association to stop development in North Key Largo. Her efforts eventually led to the creation of Dagney Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park.
Alongside her was a man named Lancelot Jones, who was a key figure in preserving Biscayne Bay and its islands (like Porgy Key). He educated visitors, asked for key lime pie as payment for tours, and significantly influenced the establishment of Biscayne National Park.
John D. Pennekamp (1897–1978) was an associate editor of the Miami Herald and a powerful conservation advocate. He played a pivotal role in the 1960 establishment of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the first undersea park in the United States. The "Christ of the Abyss" statue is a bronze replica of an Italian original, donated by Italian divers and installed in 1965 as a symbol of peace and a memorial to those lost at sea, becoming a famous underwater landmark for divers and snorkelers.
Dr. Gilbert Voss (1918–1989), a marine biologist from the University of Miami who, in the late 1950s, first documented extensive damage to Keys reefs caused by souvenir collection and overfishing. His scientific research provided the justification for creating the marine preserve that bears Pennekamp's name. Voss and Pennekamp knew each other and were close friends. They famously "joined forces" in the late 1950s to protect the Florida Keys' coral reefs from commercial exploitation.
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Everyone seemed to remember Jack Watson (1905–1984), in active environmentalist in the 1950s and 60s. He was a pioneer for the protection of the endangered Key deer. In 1905, his father Robert Watson homesteaded on Big Pine Key, and the family eventually deeded land to the North American Wildlife Foundation, which helped form the National Key Deer Refuge in 1957.
Ernest Hemingway
While primarily known as a writer and sportsman during his residency from 1928 to 1940, Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) is recognized as an early "preservationist". He maintained meticulous field notes and fishing logs that provided early scientific-style observations of the Gulf Stream and local marine life.
An early friend of the fledgling Florida Keys Board of Directors was Alexander “Sandy” Sprunt IV (1928 - 2007), who became research director at Taverner Key for Audubon Florida and conducted studies of the bald eagle reproduction and pesticide effects. Today, Florida has the largest population of bald eagles in the continental United States with over 1000 nesting pairs, greatly in part to Sprunt’s efforts. “Eagles Five”, FKC‘s homebase, was named after the five nesting bald eagles on nearby Nest Key in the late 1980s.
The year the Florida Keys Conservancy was established, Archie Carr (1909–1987) passed away. Several of FKC‘s board members knew Archie, and he was widely regarded as the "father of sea turtle research.” His work in the mid-20th century was foundational for protecting marine turtle nesting sites throughout Florida, including the Keys.
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By the early 80s, it seemed people really started caring about conservation in the Florida Keys. The Save the Manatee Club was co-founded in 1981 by singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett (1946 -2023) and former Florida Governor (and U.S. Senator) Bob Graham (1936 -2024), to protect manatees and their aquatic habitats. The Club later became a strategic partner of FKC. Several of our board members knew Buffett before he became famous. A book titled The Troubadour’s Tour can be purchased at BookBaby Bookshop and about the early 1980s in Key West. It benefits several of our strategic partners and Jimmy's favorite nonprofits.
Jimmy Buffett believed educating youth on conservation was vital, emphasizing that connecting kids to the ocean through hands-on experiences like sailing and supporting marine ecosystems creates lifelong advocates for nature. He often said, "We live in paradise, and paradise is in peril.” Buffett actively supported youth programs, knowing that teaching the next generation about marine life and ecosystems fostered a culture of stewardship for the fragile places they call home.
The early FKC board realized Buffett was on to something, and what a better place to reach more young men than the Boy Scouts of America. Several of the board members were prominent in scouting and knew about the Sea Base, a premier high-adventure program in the Florida Keys offering sailing, scuba, fishing, and island camping on the end of lower Matecumbe Key. It was originally known as the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, and was the brainchild in 1980 of its founder, Sam Wampler. Wampler (1913- 1989), was a notable professional Scouter from the South Florida Council, where several of the FKC board members also served on that board.