Manatee update, Look out SW Florida!
 

Here it is!!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-l...202nov02.story

In a one area, 4200 ACRES are now a MASSIVE Manatee zone!
And the $MC is still not happy!
MD

And more BAD MANATEE NEWS,

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...,7444797.story

How ridiculus is (2) 72 MILE LONG Manatee Zones on each side of the Indian River, these zones run the entire length of Brevard County! Especially since NO ONE can prove Manatee zones help protect Manatees! Earlier this year the USFWS made the whole Barge canal a 9 MILE long Manatee zone, and since then, 6 MORE Manatees have SUPPOSEDLY died in the Barge Canal! It's pretty obvious that Manatee zones are NOT STOPPING barges and Tugs from killing Manatees!

Not to mention the cost $314,000 and the hazard to navigation! Our tax dollars hard at work!

You can forget Fishing in the flats now too!!

MD:mad:

Unreal :( Dean I am not super familiar with the area. How does this effect the Ft. Meyers area? My friend owns a vacation house that I ussually travel down to once or twice a year to do some boating. He lives off the (I think Kalusahatchy?) river basically across the way from Shooters. I know there is a manatee zone in that area, all out in front of shooters and also on the other side of the river. Just wondering if it has changed any.

Jon

Jon,
I'm not all that familiar with the Ft. Myers area either, so can't really add much to this, Maybe DanB can shed some light on this? I'm really torn on how to vote tommorrow, we feel ABANDONDED by JEB on this issue, BUT I can't vote for McBride, the Dem. Maybe I'll just write in a name?:cool:
MD

MEAN DEAN FOR GOV!!!!!!!! :D:D

I would like to hear more about how this is effecting my vacation area. Not looking good down there. May have to start to go some were else. It is a freeking long enough no wake out there as it is..... ESPECIALLY when it is hot.

Jon

ttt

Holy $hit!!!
Now, that sure is a slap in the face! This has got to be one of the single biggest all-time hits we've taken!

Is there a map or chart somewhere that better defines these zones. Nonetheless, your coast is hit really hard now! What's left??:( :mad:

I'm with you Dean! I'm can't being myself for either one of those lieing sons-of-*****es!!! Jeb has proven himself worthless, while whats-his-face is working really hard at doing the same! :mad:

BD,
Latest update on "What's his face" is, Jimmy Buffet is in town, (O'town) today, pitching for Mcbride, who the $MC is backing, plus see this from the Standing-watch website.
http://www.standing-watch.org/main.html

They seem pretty chummy with JEB!
MD
PS, we are seriously thinking about selling the boat and house and moving to a ranch for the girls to have horses!

I heard about that this morning...Local radio DJ was calling on his listeners to hold a protesting demonstration against Mcbride.

It would be a shame for you to give up the water...but what good is it now?

Have the new zones made it worse in your area?
Do you happen to know where the changes affect Pinellas County?

They have closed a popular boating area in Homosassa.

That's a damn shame, Gator...I know the springs up there. Popular is right! :(

This is getting a little out of hand... I am just waiting for the day that they close down the St. Johns river because of this also... :mad:

ChrisK,
What makes you think it's not "Out of hand " now?
The fact of the matter is if you go research what the $MC wants to do and if they get their way, the St. Johns will be a LONG, VERY LONG IDLE ZONE! Enjoy the river while you can.

Here is some of what the $MC WANTS!


"Regulatory Changes As Proposed By

Save The Manatee Club 10/02/01


THESE CHANGES ARE IN ADDITION TO ZONES

PROPOSED IN THE FWC & USFW SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS




In a memo obtained on Tuesday, 10/2/01, Save the Manatee urges people to turn out for the Charlotte County Commission meeting next Tuesday, the 9th of October. Folks are urged to attend to help SMC "persuade" the Commissioners to adopt the following rules for Charlotte County:


Peace River _ North of I-75 Bridge including Shell Creek _ "Slow Speed"
Peace River _ Between I-75 & U.S. 41 Bridge _ 25 MPH channel, "Slow Speed outside of channel
U.S. 41 to the mouth of the River _ º mile "Slow Speed" buffer zone, 25 MPH outside of buffer.
Turtle Bay _ Southern Portion _ "Motorboats Prohibited"
Turtle Bay _ Southeast corner outside of shoal area _ "Slow Speed" in channels
Turtle Bay _ Western Shoreline _ 300 foot "slow Speed" buffer
Turtle Bay _ Eastern Shoreline _ 500 foot "Slow Speed" buffer
Pirate Harbor _ "Slow Speed" throughout
Again, these proposed regulations are to be implemented IN ADDITION to State

plans to regulate areas of Lemon Bay and the Peace River.

We ask that interested boaters, business owners, and property owners attend this meeting to ask that reason, and balance, be considered when drafting any new regulations. As well, attendance will help you see what will eventually happen in your county. The public has got to stand up to this flagrant abuse of the manatee species as it is being used as a "growth management" tool by the radical animal rights groups, and the so-called "environmental" coalition.

The meeting will be held in the Charlotte County Administration Center, 18500 Murdock Circle, Port Charlotte, Florida _ meeting begins at 10:00. Please attend if you can.

As we have seen in Brevard County, Save the Manatee Club will not stop until all motorboat traffic in Florida is either totally regulated, severely reduced, or eliminated altogether. With the ink on the Settlement agreement with the State of Florida barely dry, the club is aggressively going County by County to fill in the gaps left by settlement language.


If the above scenario doesn¹t convince you, please note the following areas also mentioned in this same memo:

Jacksonville _ Reddie Point to Fuller Warren Bridge
Duval County _ the St. John¹s River
Duval County _ Goodby¹s Creek
Volusia County _ Tomoka River
Brevard County _ Banana River, Canaveral Sewer, Indian River, Railroad Bridge SE side of Causeway, Haulover Canal Observation area, Haulover Canal
Palm Beach _ Riviera Beach FPL Plant, ICW
Manatee County _ Braden River/manatee River
Lee County _ Bokeelia Point, Charlotte Harbor, Southern portion of San Carlos Bay, Caloosahatchee River, Mullock Creek / Ten Mile Canal, Estero Bay
Collier County _ Everglades National Park, Ten Thousand Islands, Fakaunion Canal, Chokoloskee Bay
The only way that we can defeat this two-decade long regulatory initiative is to

Stand up as a State-wide organization now _ at this meeting in Charlotte County. Then, we will stand up at the next venue _ possibly in Volusia, Lee, Hillsborough, or Collier County. We will then take our case to our Senators and Representatives, and ask for legislative relief from this abuse of the Endangered Species Act.

Please attend this meeting if you are able. If not, please watch for the next posted notice for a meeting in your area. We also ask that you contribute to the Standing Watch Legal Trust Fund, and help finance the defense of your rights as citizens, residents, tax-payers, and voters of the State of Florida.

Call toll-free (866)263-5015, or write to P.O Box 8357, Naples, Florida 34101-8357. You may e-mail us via standing-watch.org . Please support your fellow boaters."


See, what I'm talking about, the $MC will NEVER stop until all POWER BOATS are off the inland waterways in FL!!
MD

My Dad retired 4 years ago and live by the US 41 bridge on the Pease River. Never seen a sea cow yet and he fishes 2-3 times a week. He would like to see one. But this is just stupid.:mad:

Dean , Whats going on , besides all the manatee problems with Fl. ,How are you and the misses doing , No Fl with the boat this year due to lack of funds, but I will be down in Feb. for the boat show and the 500. Tom

L D,
Sorry to hear your dad is going to have to deal with all these new Manatee Zones.

Here's a letter to the local liberal rag newspaper this morning.



Boat restrictions are too excessive
By Robin Turner, Cocoa Beach

One of the claims the anti-boating forces make is that boat-speed restrictions are a minor inconvenience that do nothing to diminish the value of, or the ability to, use a boat.

So that nonboaters can better understand, I offer this land-based analogy:

Suppose in order to cut down the number of children being hit by cars, we changed the speed limits on our roads.

If we made changes similar to Brevard's boating restrictions, then Interstate 95, U.S. 1 and Wickham Road would be restricted to 30 mph.

All other multi-lane roads would be "idle speed." This speed would not be based on any set numerical rate of travel in miles per hour, but on a law-enforcement officer's subjective opinion that you are exceeding "idle speed."

It would, however, definitely not be any speed over 6 mph. In addition, all two-lane residential roads would become "sanctuaries."

In these areas, you would not be allowed to use your car's engine. You would have to get out and push. And, if you wanted to build a garage for a car, you'd first have to prove that the car would never hit a child.

The first violation of these rules would result in a $100 fine. After the third violation you would become a convicted felon. You would lose your car, your right to vote and probably your job.

This analogy is based on today's waterway restrictions. No one would want to use a car under these conditions. Yet tens of thousands of boaters are expected to live like this. This is a gross injustice that needs to be corrected.



Another interesting comparison is boaters have to idle @ ~6 MPH in Manatee zones, BUT you can SPEED thru a school zones in FL. @ 15-20 MPH!! Are Manatees more precious than our childern? The $MC thinks so!:mad:

Tom FTM,
We are doing great, how's Barbara? Give us a call when you finalize your Miami Boat show/Daytona 500 plans and we will get together. How's the OL running? I doubt we'll be going to the boat show, as you can see we don't have much motivation to buy a new/bigger boat! Shoveling horse $hit might be in my future!:D
Take care,
MD

Dean - I just got my latest BoatUS magazine the other day (a "mainstream" boating publication if there ever was one), and there was a pretty good article in there about an organization called "Standing Watch". It seems to be a loose but formal organization of Florida boaters and boating groups dedicated to looking out for the boaters' interests in Florida on all matters, including manatees. The general point of the article was that the $MC was getting out of bounds in its activities, was made up primarily of out-of-staters, and seemed to be focused more on justifying its existence than helping the manatee. The overall tone was that there was soon gong to be a major bacvklash against the $MC. Let's hope so.

C-,
I belong to Standing- Watch and CFW, and we are trying to "De-program" the general population from 20+ years of the $MC propaganda, and get the Fl/US gov't to use REAL SCIENCE and not $MC hype to study the Manatee. It's just getting old, and we are SO restricted on our boating activities NOW, that I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth it or not? At least out on a horse ranch, no one can tell us how FAST we can ride the horses!
MD

I agree, this crap has to end!!

look out SW Florida
 

We all complain but do nothing. $mc organized and collects $ from sympathetic (pathetic) people. They want to reduce the 20% that are hit by boats while 80% die from other causes. Wouldn't it make sense if they spent their money on research instead of lobbying? Their stated goal was a "return to a boatless origin untouched by man" as stated in the Press several years ago and no one took them serious.

Still crazy,
Has a good point! We need to band to together, by joining Standing-watch, and CFW. These groups are leading the FIGHT against the $MC and FFWCC, and the USFWS. My wife and myself have personally contributed over $500 to the legal defense funds and have attended EVERY public input meeting. I would really like to see some other OSO members and OSO FL. $PONSERS to step up and join the fight. Please help yourself by joining these organizations and try to bring some sanity to this issue.

www.standing-watch.org

www.cfwbrevard.org.

Q's let me know.

MD:cool:

Well,
IT's only going to get worse, if we don't get more organized!:mad: Look out Volusia Co.!! $MC is still in court and will NEVER STOP SUEING!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...me%2Dheadlines

Hopefully, JEB will start listening to common sense and REAL science.
MD

Yesterdays election should send a clear message to the $STM and all of the tree huggers out there.

Only time will tell.

FG,
Most people with a little common sense would say, "Hey, the politians are beginning to distance themselves from us", BUT the $MC's lively hood is on the line here!! If they can't convince the general population, gov't agencies, politians, that the Manatee is STILL endangered, then they will lose their reason for existing!! Common sense has never been one of the $MC's criteria.
Right now the $MC is fighting for their jobs/livelyhood, not the Manatee!
MD

Dean, you're absolutely right. I can only thinkof one mannattee fatality from a boat in my area in many years and they are closing down popular boating areas this year.

FG,
I feel your pain brother, we live off Sykes Creek here on Merritt Island, and have a 7-9 mile IDLE if we go north, and 2 mile IDLE if we go south! The USFWS and FFWCC are closing down ALL the popular watersking spots here in Brevard Co.
Some good news was accomplished yesterday, we backed the CFW President, Dr. Ron Pritchard, and he WON the district 2 . seat on the Brevard Co. Commision, and Rep. Bob Allen was re-elected in a landslide, (Rep. Allen is trying to introduce Leg. to FORCE the power plants to COOL their water discharges into the rivers, allowing the Manatee to return to it's natural migration patterns!
Two very good men, who will continue to fight the FFWCC and the $MC! We are making gains, BUT we have to fight HARDER/SMARTER than the $MC!
MD