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 PennekampFifty01
PennekampFifty01
Katherine Wieland snorkels by the the "Christ of the Abyss" statue, an underwater icon for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State park, off Key Largo, Fla. Named after a former Miami newspaper editor, Pennekamp is the nation's first underwater preserve and is to celebrate its 50th anniversary Dec. 10, 2010. (Photo by Stephen Frink/Florida Keys News Bureau)
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PennekampFifty02
Katherine Wieland, left, and Cody Wagner, right snorkel over the "Christ of the Abyss" statue, an underwater icon for John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. off Key Largo, Fla. Named after a former Miami newspaper editor, Pennekamp is the nation's first underwater preserve and is to celebrate its 50th anniversary Dec. 10, 2010. (Photo by Stephen Frink/Florida Keys News Bureau)
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 PennekampFifty03
PennekampFifty03
A green sea turtle swims amid the Florida Keys coral reef tract near John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Fla. Pennekamp, the nation's first underwater preserve, is to mark its 50th anniversary Dec. 10, 2010. (Photo by Frazier Nivens/Florida Keys News Bureau)
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PennekampFifty04
Visitors on the Spirit of Pennekamp tour boat peer through viewing ports above the coral reef off Key Largo, Fla. The boat trip from a shoreside base at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a popular activity for tourists to observe underwater marine habitats without getting their feet wet. Pennekamp park is to celebrate its 50th anniversary Dec. 10, 2010. (Photo by Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau)
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 PennekampFifty05
PennekampFifty05
Visitors on the Spirit of Pennekamp "glass bottom" tour boat observe the marine environment as they venture to the coral reef off Key Largo, Fla. The boat trip from a shoreside base at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is a popular activity for tourists to observe underwater marine life without getting their feet wet. Pennekamp park is to mark its 50th anniversary Dec. 10, 2010. (Photo by Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau)
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 PennekampFifty06
PennekampFifty06
Visitors relax on Cannon Beach at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Fla.  Besides being the nation's first underwater preserve, Pennekamp features two beaches, a campground, boat rentals and a  land-based visitors center with snorkel, dive and glass bottom-boat excursions. The facility is to celebrate its 50th anniversary Dec. 10, 2010. (Photo by Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau)
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PennekampFifty07
Kayakers paddle along mangroves at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Fla. The nation's first underwater preserve encompasses 70 square miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests. Pennekamp is to celebrate its 50th anniversary Dec. 10, 2010. (Photo by Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau)
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 PennekampFifty08
PennekampFifty08
John Pennekamp (second from left) is shown an underwater camera at his namesake John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo, Fla. Others in the photo, from left, include  Johnny Johnston, then assistant Pennekamp park superintendent;  Ellison Hardee, then a district supervisor, but also Pennekamp's first park manager and  then park manager Joe Fredricks. Pennekamp park is to celebrate its 50th anniversary Dec. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Florida Keys News Bureau, Florida State Park Service 1966 file photo)

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