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Manatee
Speed Zones! CCA
Florida Manatee Chapter has been actively involved in the manatee protection and
speed zone issues for many months now. The county staff, its commissioners and a
group of seriously concerned citizens have been working together to resolve the
manatee slow speed issues. All this in efforts to protect manatees, while at the
same time trying to maintain reasonable access for saltwater anglers and
recreational boaters. In January
2000, environmental and animal rights groups led by the Save the Manatee Club
filed lawsuits claiming that state and federal agencies had failed to adopt
sufficient manatee protection regulations and, as a result, they were
"causing manatees to sink further toward extinction."
On the contrary, the manatee population has been on a steady increase,
more than doubling its numbers since 1991.
Unfortunately, Manatee County did not have a current manatee protection
plan in place, and because of that, has fallen victim to the lawsuit. That is
why boat dock permits are not being released. Over the last
several months, the county staff has done a great job of taking into
consideration input from hundreds of citizens, numerous organizations, manatee
sightings statistical data and input from law enforcement agencies to write and
unanimously approve a new county ordinance. On April 14th,
the FWC Commissioners met and heard comments from its staff regarding additional
changes they would like to see to our new ordinance. I was there, along with a
small group of concerned Manatee Co. citizens. We all had our three minutes to
say our piece, and so did the opposition. The county must have “adequate
manatee protection” in place, posted and enforceable before dock permits will
be released. Numerous new
regulations have already been agreed upon, however there are still areas in the
negotiating stages between state and county staff. These areas include
Warner’s Bayou, Anna Maria Sound, and the Braden River. Some of the changes
being proposed take manatee safety into consideration over the potential hazards
and safety concerns of the boating public. We need to have designated water
sports and recreational areas in protected areas for human concern and safety,
as much as we need slow speed zones for the manatees in areas where they
frequent. These areas where I have mentioned have been known as “traditional
recreational water sport areas”, and they mean just that. Water sport
enthusiasts have used them for generations, with little to no adverse impact on
the manatees. I urge you to get involved and educate
yourself on the true issues with manatee protection zones. Please visit the CCA
website at; www.CCAFlorida.org and
read the article titled “Why CCA Florida became involved in Manatee
Protection issues”. This information is well written and critical to the
issues at hand. I also
encourage you to visit the FWC Website at http://floridaconservation.org/commission/2004/april/TB_FWC%20Apr-04.pdf This will give you a detailed
explanation of what the FWC staff proposes as changes to the county ordinance.
You may also contact the Manatee Co. department of Environmental services at
941-742-5980. They can provide you with the current county ordinance 04-44 and
detailed area maps. We encourage
you to contact the FWC commissioners with your specific comments.
http://myfwc.com/aboutus/commiss.html Please take
the time to look at these websites and maps and support what the county has
done! Remember, something has to and will be done, with or without citizen
input. The county has to do something in effort to have dock permits released by
the US Department of the Interior. The CCA believes that the county has already
made the necessary changes in effort to accomplish adequate manatee protection.
No one wants to see harm come to these magnificent creatures. The animal
activists groups, FWC staff and the US Fish and Wildlife Service feel that these
new protective measures are not enough and are asking for additional areas to be
closed to recreational water sport activities. These areas will be made entirely
slow speed zones unless we do something about it. It’s not to late! We do not have
to sacrifice human safety and the quality of our boating activities in order to
insure needed protection for manatees. Recreational boating and manatees can
co-exist in our local waters. However, to make sure that is what happens we need
you to become involved. FWC
staff will continue to take public comment in writing up to July 23rd.
The more people that speak up, the better our chances are to keep these
areas open to recreational boating and fishing! FWC
Bureau of Protected Species Management, 620 South Meridian St. (DOW-BPS),
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600 |
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