 GOOD START ON MARINAS Palm Beach Post -- Thursday, April 26, 2001 Boaters and St. Lucie County commissioners have questioned a plan to concentrate more new marinas near the Fort Pierce Inlet to help protect manatees. They should listen to all reasonable comments before they approve a final version. The biologist who prepared the plan based it on state requirements and studies of boat-traffic patterns and favorite manatee hangouts, he said, plus comments from boaters and fishermen. The report that Peter Merritt, with Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, wrote for commissioners seems sound. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission dictates some of the plan's requirements, but maintaining the delicate balance between protecting manatees and allowing boaters to use the waterways isn't always easy. Mr. Merritt met with marine industries representatives and other local groups to prepare the plan. It suggests that more marinas should be near the inlet, where most of the developable marina sites are and where most the boating activity occurs. Mr. Merritt said a 1995 study of boating activity in the area pinpointed the area near the inlet as a busy spot. While the study did not include boater destinations, similar studies in Martin and Palm Beach counties show most boaters are headed out the inlets to the ocean. Studies also show that manatees congregate in four main areas Ð near Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution north of Fort Pierce, near the Queen's Cove residential development on the east side of the Indian River Lagoon, near Taylor Creek and near Moore's Creek, where the Fort Pierce Utilities Authority power plant sometimes discharges warm water. Since both the Taylor Creek and Moore's Creek locations are close to the inlet, boaters and manatees may be on a collision course if more marinas are permitted there. Port St. Lucie resident Ed Jeffords also complains that the only boat ramps now available are in Fort Pierce and Jensen Beach. He hopes the proposed Walton Road Bridge to Hutchinson Island will be built and wants to "preserve the right to put a boat ramp near it." Mr. Jeffords also disputes the report's list of favorite manatee hangouts, wants manatees removed from endangered species lists and would more strictly enforce boat speed limits. Mr. Merritt will meet with St. Lucie County staff and commissioners over the next few weeks to hear recommendations for changes to the plan. Mr. Jeffords' concerns are less urgent than taking a second look at allowing more marinas near Taylor Creek and Moore's Creek. Copyright (c) 2001, The Palm Beach Post |