2024 President's Letter: Time and Tide Wait for No Man But the Future is Bright

October 13, 2024

When Geoffrey Chaucer pended his famous Time and Tide quote in 1395, he did not realize that he was talking about our beloved Lovers Key State Park.


On the time side it has now been more than two years since the devastation of Hurricane Ian.

On the tide front, the storm surge from hurricane Helene and Milton provided an unwelcome anniversary present for all of us.


As I write this on October 13th, the park is without power, has sustained significant damage and will reopen as soon as conditions allow. As we know, we have an incredible park staff who will be working nonstop to reopen the park as soon as practical.


Friends of Lovers Key (FOLK) have spent the last two years since the unfortunate damage to the park by Ian, doing everything possible to assist the park the Rangers and the community to recover and thrive going into the future.


FOLKs is positioned to continue assisting the Park the Rangers and the community going forward due to the incredible generosity of the numerous donors who provided significant resources to provide assistance. So, the process of moving forward will continue because of “folks” like you. Pun intended. 


FOLK is planning a series of educational and other events to occur during the fall and winter season. We are also planning for our third annual gala to be held on February 22nd. Just as important we want to reach out to our current and former members to welcome you back to enjoy the beauty, the educational and other activities and to volunteer to help with this tremendous effort we are making going forward.


It is important that each former member return to the fold. Lovers Key State Park has become the number one environmental destination in southwest Florida.


We want you to be a part of our future and to Love Lovers Key again.


As always, the best to you all and I look forward to seeing you and maybe even Chaucer on the trails or the beach in the near future.

 ~ Jim

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The Incredible Importance of the Horseshoe Crab: Nature’s Ancient Guardian

By Christy Hennessey, Board Secretary, Friends of Lovers Key • October 28, 2025
If you’ve ever wandered along the shore near Lovers Key State Park and spotted a strange, helmet-shaped shell washed up on the sand, you’ve had a close encounter with one of the ocean’s oldest and most remarkable creatures — the horseshoe crab . Though its name might make you think it’s related to crabs or lobsters, this living fossil is actually more closely related to spiders and scorpions . And while it may look a bit like something from a science fiction movie, the horseshoe crab is one of nature’s greatest success stories — and one of the most important creatures in the sea. A Living Fossil That Has Stood the Test of Time The horseshoe crab has been on Earth for over 450 million years — long before the dinosaurs appeared and hundreds of millions of years before humans walked the planet. That makes it one of the oldest surviving species on Earth. Over all that time, its body design has barely changed. Clearly, evolution got it right the first time. The hard, curved shell protects it from predators, while its long, pointed tail — called a telson — helps it flip over if it gets stuck upside down. Despite their slightly intimidating appearance, horseshoe crabs are completely harmless. They don’t sting, bite, or pinch. Instead, they quietly roam the shallow ocean floor, feeding on clams, worms, and other small organisms. Here in Southwest Florida , they’re a familiar but often overlooked part of our coastal ecosystem. Every spring, these ancient creatures crawl ashore during high tides to spawn and lay eggs , continuing a cycle that has endured for nearly half a billion years.

Sand, Sea—and Careful Timing: Beach Renourishment at Lovers Key State Park

By Christy Hennessey, Board Secretary, Friends of Lovers Key • October 28, 2025
Lovers Key State Park a true coastal treasures: a string of barrier islands, wide white-sand beaches, mangrove-lined estuaries and a rich cast of wildlife.