Passage Key Wilderness

A violent hurricane swept through this area in 1920, transforming Passage Key — a mangrove island containing a freshwater lake — into a meandering, slightly vegetated sandbar. Situated within one of three refuges comprising the Tampa Bay Refuges, the Passage Key Wilderness stands at the mouth of Tampa Bay, where it faces the full force of storms off the gulf. In the last few years erosion has erased most of the island; at low tide, small portions still occasionally rise above the waterline. This one island represented Tampa Bay's last remaining nesting site for laughing gulls, black skimmers, and royal terns. With no more land above water on a regular basis, there is no more bird breeding on the island. Easily accessible by boat from the Tampa/Saint Petersburg metropolitan sprawl, Passage Key was inundated with people to the point where the island had to be closed to all visitation. It must be observed from a distance of at least 200 feet. The Wilderness is in Florida, is managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, and was designated in 1970.