No more diving, boating or fishing. State parks are now closed amid the coronavirus
State officials closed all state parks throughout Florida Monday in an effort to tamp down the coronavirus, impacting such popular spots as Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne and John Pennekamp in Key Largo and prohibiting fishing from all bridges in the Florida Keys.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Capt. David Dipre, the agency’s top official in the island chain, broke the news to government officials and business leaders during a conference call Monday morning.
He said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which runs state parks, made the decision.
“We recognized right away that these would be a hot spot, in the Upper Keys in particular,” Dipre said.
State park maintained trails and greenways, which pass over the bridges, will remain open, Dipre said.
In Miami-Dade County, three parks will be affected: Bill Baggs in Key Biscayne, Oleta River State Park off 163rd Street in Northeast Miami-Dade and The Barnacle in Coconut Grove.
In Broward County, two state parks will be closed: Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Fort Lauderdale and Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park in Dania Beach.
In Monroe County, nine state parks will be closed, including popular spots for divers and snorkelers such as John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and Bahia Honda State Park in Big Pine Key. In Key West, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, a Civil War-era fort, also is closed. To see a full list of the parks closed, click here.
Broward County also closed all of its parks effective 11:59 p.m. Monday .The decision includes all county regional, neighborhood and specialty parks, nature centers and natural areas, according to a press release.
The one exception is C.B. Smith Park at 900 North Flamingo Road in Pembroke Pines, which is a Florida National Guard and Memorial Healthcare System COVID-19 drive-through testing site. More than 740 people showed up for testing at the park on Friday, the first day of testing.
Miami-Dade County closed all of its parks, beaches and marinas late last week.
The decision to close Keys fishing bridges comes the same day Monroe County closed all public boat ramps to visitors.
Monroe County last week ordered all hotels and short-term vacation rentals in the Keys to close and not take any more reservations. The order went into effect at 6 p.m. Sunday.
For now, the decision does not include plans to place a manned checkpoint at the top of the 18 Mile Stretch in Florida City to prevent people from driving into the Keys.
Officials said that over the weekend, scores of people left the Keys. Traffic on U.S. 1, the Keys’ only highway, is down about 50 percent, said Shannon Weiner, director of Monroe County Emergency Management.
And county Mayor Heather Carruthers said air travel has basically come to a complete halt.
“Planes are flying into Key West with no one on board,” she said.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 1:15 PM with the headline "No more diving, boating or fishing. State parks are now closed amid the coronavirus."
