I've lived here 31 years, and Tierra Verde is exactly where I'd be if money isn't a concern. Great access to everywhere.

Cuda,
I`ll second that..............Tierra Verde is top on my list..I would have to sell the boat if housing was a priority...

Maybe you guys can offer some advise. We are looking for a small quite town more rural. The kind of town with an ice cream parlor and some antique stores. Close enough to the water so that we could trailer over or pick up a condo for weekends. Looking for a town with character. The only thing Ive seen that looks like it may fit is Arcadia but its tough to tell from interenet descriptions. We leave to visit some areas and start unting in about a month.

i would say naples

Anything on the West Coast from Tampa south is has our "California" brothers say "the shizzz". We hang around Marco Island when we go down.

Arcadia has a nice home town flavor, but I wouldn't want to live that far from the water. Homosassa, Crystal Rive, and Yankeetown are smaller communities on the water, a bit farther north. The bad thing up there is a LOT of SHALLOW water.

I hope you guys can stop this!


State Plans More Manatee Zones
By YVETTE C. HAMMETT [email protected]
Published: Jul 16, 2003





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ST. PETERSBURG - Nearly every chunk of the Tampa Bay coastline not already blanketed with a slow speed zone for manatee protection would be, under a state proposal unveiled Tuesday.
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission staff presented its plan to a local stakeholders' committee charged with reviewing the proposal and then making a recommendation to the governor-appointed fish and wildlife commission.

The committee has 60 days to make its recommendation. New manatee protection measures could be in place within a year.

While the Save the Manatee Club, which sued the state for not doing enough to protect the endangered marine mammals, was ``pleasantly surprised,'' the proposal, at first glance, left some boating enthusiasts horrified at its breadth.

``The manatee population is rising 14 1/2 times as fast as the mortality rate,'' said Ted Forsgren, a stakeholder committee member who is also executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of Florida, representing local sport fishermen throughout the state. ``I expected to see some tweaks on the existing zones, but these are huge.

``I don't understand why a huge amount of new additional zones are being proposed in Tampa Bay where there really isn't a problem,'' Forsgren said.

Patti Thompson, Save the Manatee's director of science and conservation, on the other hand, said some of the proposal didn't go far enough to protect the sea cows. Thompson represents the Save the Manatee group on the stakeholder committee.

``I'm concerned about the Manatee River, particularly, where they are proposing 25 miles per hour. That's a very shallow, narrow river where a lot of houses are being proposed. If your boat drafts 2 1/2 feet in 3 feet of water, that leaves 6 inches for a manatee.''

She said she was happy to see the state proposing a mandatory slow speed zone along Cockroach Bay, an area used heavily by both boaters and manatees, south of the Alafia River.

There is currently a voluntary slow speed zone in that area, said state biologist Scott Calleson. But voluntary isn't good enough, he said.

The Cockroach Bay proposal could end up being one of the most contentious zones proposed for Hillsborough County, Thompson said.

Another proposal raising a few eyebrows was the area between the Howard Frankland and Gandy bridges, where a mile-wide slow speed zone is proposed on each side of the bay.

The committee, made up of dock builders, environmentalists, boaters, fishermen and other interested citizens, from Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee counties, will address the zones in Hillsborough County at a meeting from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. It will take up manatee protection for Pinellas County on Aug. 12 and consider changes in Manatee County on Aug. 19.

A public hearing is tentatively set for Aug. 26. All the meetings will take place at the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, 9455 Koger Blvd., Suite 219, in St. Petersburg.

This will be the first time a new state law mandating the local stakeholders' review has been put to use, said David Arnold, chief of the state Bureau of Protected Species Management.

``From now on, any time there is a [manatee] rule debated, it will have to go through a local committee,'' Arnold said.

Once the committee makes its recommendation, the fish and wildlife commission staff will write a response either favoring the recommendation or explaining why it does not, Calleson said. The recommendation and the response are expected to go before the commission in November.

When the Save the Manatee Club sued the state and federal governments over a lack of manatee protection in 2001, the state settled the suit and promised to take a closer look at manatee rules in Tampa Bay. Tuesday's proposal is a result of that agreement.

Arnold said it is imperative citizens realize that what was presented Tuesday is just a first step in the process. ``The proposal could change a lot before it's over.''

``We've put everything out there that we think is necessary for manatee protection, rather than having to add more areas later,'' Arnold said.

Even after the committee turns in its recommendation, the public will have at least three more opportunities to speak on the issue before any final decision is made, he said.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532.



We have had no luck in stopping ANY of the new Manatee Zones!

MD

I have been around here all my life. If you need any info let me know. I love it here. Sometimes I wish there were more to do socially. But, I am 1.5 hours from Micky Mouse, Less than that from Tampa and 2.5 hours from Jacksonville.

Gator, shoot me a number where I can reach you.
[email protected]