on the War Department and obtain another permit. After returning from Washington, Couch secured the able assistance of Capt. Robert Hardee and Frank Vickers and all three went to Tallahassee to push through a bill that was essentially identical to the failed Indian River Inlet Bill of the previous year. The biggest difference in the two was in the land area to be encompassed by the tax district. Because north Brevard county had defeated the previous bill it was left out and the districts boundaries encompassed only those precincts in Brevard and St. Lucie counties that had voted for the Indian River Inlet Bill. Couch, Hardee and Vickers stayed in Tallahassee until the bill was signed by Governor Catts. The Sebastian Inlet Tax District came into being in 1919 after the new bill had been approved in an election and on August 31, 1920 this new agency was granted a permit to dig which would remain valid until December 31, 1923. The Tax District's first $100,000 bond issue was delayed by court injunctions brought by some wealthy property owners and the F.E.C. but not even that delay stopped work on the inlet. Within several years the bond issue was approved, the inlet was opened sometime in June 1923 and several months later the Sebastian Inlet Tax District obtained permission from the land owner (Milton Hardee) to dig the inlet. It has been a continual struggle of man against the elements ever since just to keep the inlet open. In 1924 jetties made of coquina rock were completed. They only lasted until the first big storm though when big waves rolled almost all the rocks away. Eventually granite, a much denser rock than coquina, was used and the jetties became a permanent fixture. The 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet wrecked in this area. The site where the survivors camped was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on August 12, 1970, under the title of Spanish Fleet Survivors and Salvors Camp Site. Today, the McLarty Treasure Museum (a part of the park) exhibits artifacts relating to the wreck. In 2010, unwanted lionfish were found to have invaded local waters. They are a threat to native species. See also Sebastian, Florida Sebastian Inlet Bridge References External links Sebastian Inlet State Park Bodies of water of Indian River County, Florida Inlets of Florida Bodies of water of Brevard County, Florida Surfing locations