Emerson Point preserves link to Florida's past

By NICK WALTER

nwalter@bradenton.com

SNEAD ISLAND --

ncient live oaks form a thick canopy over the Portavent Mound, where boardwalks criss-cross through history.

The canopy is a lush mixture of greens that provide native habitat, and the mound is simply a reminder of how life might have been 1,000 years ago where the Manatee River meets the Gulf of Mexico.

But the 365-acre Emerson Point Conservation Preserve is about more than just the mound - it has numerous multi-use trails that crawl through mangrove forests and often end at wooden decks overlooking Terra Ceia Bay, or to the observation tower that provides a macro-level view of the island and its surrounding waters, as well as the distant Sunshine Skyway bridge.

The preserve also has a boat dock and canoe launch, step-down ladders from the decks to provide opportunity for wade-fishermen, and bird-watching and picnic opportunities.

With the habitat-munching monster that is modern development bearing down on what little historical areas and natural habitats remain in Florida, the Emerson Point Preserve is a tribute to the dedicated work done by Manatee County to restore the island to a natural habitat.

And, if nothing else, to link us to this area's historic past.

From atop the Portavent Temple Mound, the largest shell mound in the Tampa Bay area, native Indians - known to this area as Amerindians since their name is unknown - were said to be for the chief or shaman to lead a ceremony to the villagers below. The mound is more than 150 feet long and 80 feet wide.

The Indians - possibly the Timucua - used natural resources and a spiritual lifestyle until their disappearance from southwest Florida in the late 1700s.

In 1814, Cuban Jose Maria Caldez settled on the north side of the Oyster River (before it was known as the Manatee River). Edward Sneed arrived to the island in the 1940s. His misspelled name was given to the island. Emerson Point is named after James Emerson, who settled on 6¾ acres on the extreme west point of the island.

In the 1970s, there was a proposal to build hotels and various developments. In 1991, the state of Florida and Manatee County purchased 357 acres, including the mound complex, from the Horton Estate. In 1996, almost an entire first floor of an eight-story condominium was built at that point. Then, assuming management of the property under a lease agreement with the state, Manatee County took action.

It cost the county $80,000 to knock down that first-floor concrete slab, which was at the site of the mound.

From there, county workers and even state inmates from the Hardee Corrections Facility worked to add shell trails and boardwalks and rid the island of invasive exotics such as Brazilian Peppers and Australian Pines.

Fences were added to guard the mound and sensitive archaeological sites. Keith Bettcher, the Manatee County Department of Lands Management Department Administrator, was the first full-time ranger at the site in 1999.

"I like to see the final product," he said.

It's a stunningly wild, lush-green scene that's an example of measured balance between habitat restoration and recreational access.

Simply put, it's an opportunity for a real outdoors adventure, old-Florida style.