Lee County Manatee Zones

[The Chairman]

FWC RE-ESTABLISHES AND AMENDS

LEE COUNTY MANATEE ZONES,

MAY READJUST ONE



The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted Friday to revisit part of a rule they passed Thursday that re-established and amended manatee protection speed zones in Lee County.

Some of the affected zones, at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River and in other areas, were held to be invalid by a Lee County Court judge in January 2003. These zones were re-established yesterday by Commissioners after hearing new data and analysis that supported their adoption. Several of the re-established zones have been modified from what was originally adopted in 1999.

By an amendment on Thursday, FWC created a 25-mph zone in a large portion of Matlacha Pass. Friday, Commissioners agreed to reconsider the Matlacha Pass amendment. The other speed zones that FWC approved are not affected by the reconsideration motion.

Ken Haddad, FWC executive director, asked Commissioners to reconsider this issue in relation to the overall goals of county protection zones, including the fact that this is a federal zone that has little likelihood of becoming solely a state zone if the amendment remains.

“The Commission will carefully consider the Matlacha Pass issue, and Commissioners will address it at their June meeting,” Haddad said.

The other areas affected by Thursday’s vote include waters in the Estero Bay area, Sanibel Island and the York and Galt islands at the south end of Pine Island Sound, the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River, and San Carlos Bay. The additional restrictions on the Caloosahatchee River at Redfish Point that the Commissioners added on Thursday were not contained in the original proposal; however, this area has been regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) since 2003.

The areas affected by the county court ruling were also recently established as permanent federal manatee protection zones by the FWS. The Commission has directed staff to ask the FWS to review and modify federal zones now that state protections in these areas have been enacted.

Boaters are reminded that while state protections are not yet in effect, federal rules are in effect and being enforced by both state and federal officers in these areas.

 

[CBulla]

There are people around here who are going to be SOOOO thrilled! As it stands, the FWC and other agencies whom are tasked with the enforcement of the laws here are busy with more than they can keep up with, this should really get things going!

 

[JustJoe]

The very worst part of this whole debacle is that manatee's are not native to the Caloosahatchee. They came here as a result of the FPL Power Plant discharging warm water to the river and making temperatures suitable for them as winter residents.

Now for the irony. FPL changed the technology and rebuilt the coolings system at the Fort Myers Plant some time ago. The results created a situation where FPL did not need to discharge warm water. Perfect most environmentalists would say. But the groups devoted to the manatee realized without the warm water discharge, manatees would no longer frequent this area. They would continue to go North to the actual natural habitat, Crystal River and other spring fed rivers. So these groups made a deal with FPL to continue discharging warm water.

I love the manatee. It is a marvelous animal. I understand the need to protect the species. I am unsure if we should alter the environment to keep them here or if the removal of this area as a winter resting place would harm them.

Joe