A Perfect Conflict
Where Power and Pristine Collide
Conflict between characters is a prerequisite of a good story. To take that concept one step further in my Kurt Hunter Mystery series the locations themselves are full of conflict. What is bad for the park is good for storytelling.
Biscayne National Park, where Kurt is special agent in charge, is in constant conflict and faces problems that most National Parks never experience. There is no doubting the beauty of the park waters, shorelines and barrier islands, but unlike other parks Biscayne was created to control man rather than protect areas for the enjoyment of men.
In the shadow of Miami, just twenty miles away, and with the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant on its shores the pristine waters of the park are in constant danger. Originally the park was created as Biscayne National Monument in 1968 in the face of several development threats. The designation was changed to National Park in 1980.
Biscayne Bay was mostly undeveloped until the 1960s when several businessmen proposed to turn the barrier islands, which separate the bay from the Atlantic Ocean, into Islandia. The utopian sounding community would have connected the mainland and the Keys by bridges. Plans also included dredging a deepwater channel.
Originally inhabited by the Tequesta Indians, the area saw little use or development until the beginning of the twentieth century when several pineapple farms were set up on Elliot Key. The farms flourished until they were wiped out by the storm surge from the 1906 Hurricane.
Prohibition caused the next influx of people into the area, this time in the form of offshore gambling and drinking resorts. The Cocolobo Cay Club on Adams Key was host to four presidents before being demolished. Stiltsville the water-bound community of stilt houses provided the same kind of entertainment. The community thrived until Hurricane Betty came through in 1965. After the storm the twenty-odd structures which included the Bikini Club, Crawfish Eddies, and the Calvert Club, were reduced to the seven which remain today. In 1985 the bottom land underneath the structures was brought into the park.
Where businessmen failed to capitalize on the current park’s lands, Florida Power and Light succeeded. Construction for the Turkey Point Power Plant began in 1967 and the plant has been in continuous operation since then. It has grown to include two nuclear generating plants and three traditionally fired plants providing power for a large portion of Miami-Dade County.
A unique feature of the facility which is a conflict in itself is the ten square mile network of cooling canals built in place of a cooling tower. The system has created several problems including seepage into the Biscayne Aquifer and overheated water entering the bay. This same warm water has created a breeding environment for the threatened American Crocodile. At the same time as they are damaging the economy the canals offer a lifeline to the crocodiles.
Sharing the same waters with a major metropolitan area only twenty miles away and the power plant on its shores places the managers of the Park in a difficult situation.
In writing fiction based in this area, I try and show both sides of the issues. From the need for the power generated by the Turkey Point Plant to the necessary protection of the American Crocodiles.
As Miami has grown so have the parks problems. Sandbar parties, increased fishing pressure, and irresponsible boating have plagued the park.
In the Kurt Hunter Mystery series, my characters are forced to deal with some of these conflicts.