Weedon Island Preserve on Yahoo! News Photos

A reddish egret takes flight June 28, 2007 at the Weedon Island ...

(AP) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:58:21 GMT

(AP) - A reddish egret takes flight June 28, 2007 at the Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg, Fla. . Weedon Island Preserve offers paddling trails, miles of hiking trails and an observation tower. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

With the city of St. Petersburg, Fla., in the distance, homes, ...

(AP) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:58:17 GMT

(AP) - With the city of St. Petersburg, Fla., in the distance, homes, seen June 28, 2007, are beginning to encroach on the Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg, Fla. Given that Pinellas has packed in 3,300 souls per square mile — more than 10 times the average population density of the state — keeping development at bay is an ongoing challenge for the county's environmental planners, who have earned national recognition for their efforts to preserve and manage its wild open spaces. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A couple floats in a kayak among the Mangrove trees June 28, ...

(AP) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:57:10 GMT

(AP) - A couple floats in a kayak among the Mangrove trees June 28, 2007 at the Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg, Fla. Besides the paddling trails, the nearly six square miles of Weedon Island Preserve offer miles of hiking trails and an observation tower. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Jennifer Moore, an education specialist at the Weedon Island ...

(AP) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 13:56:57 GMT

(AP) - Jennifer Moore, an education specialist at the Weedon Island Preserve, discusses the various type of mangrove trees during a tour of the preserve June 28, 2007, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Weedon Island Preserve offers paddling trails, miles of hiking trails and an observation tower. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)