This is important

[FlightPlanDan]

A meeting was held last Tuesday evening at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, FL. Local people organized the meeting to protest the beach driving ban at Matanzas inlet. EPA was not there, but six SJRWMD (water management district) people were there.

The reason this is important to pwc people is that plans were revealed to ban ALL motorized craft from the inlet. (from the intracoastal fork on the north end thru and includung the bay and out under the bridge). For environmental reasons.

Only law enforcement and the national park ferry will be exempt.
This will effectively close the secret spot.

In the coming battle, I'm sure the fisherman will be on our side as well.

I will update as I get more details.

Step one will be a petition of some sort.

 

[chriselmore_1]

that sux... florida will be like california in no time..... kin tree huggers

 

[sportfish258]

Better organize boys........ here they come . Not only does SHi... roll down hill it also rolls from west to east . Good luck ... unite with the inshore fishermen they have way more pull .

 

[Idok]

I will make every pt that walks through the door sign!

 

[dbredleader]

Ban on Water Craft

AWA might help, as they have been fighting this sort of thing on the west coast for years. Tree huggers suck.:bad3:

 

[yamaslut]

I left a message with Chris Manthos a few minutes ago...
AWA will jump on it!!!

 

[FlightPlanDan]

Here is a related article. However, it does not mention the motorized craft ban.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/...an_water_label_forces_choice_on_cost_benefits


A DEP fact sheet about that "outstanding Florida waters" designatio....

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/WATER/wqssp/ofwfs.htm

 

[The Penguin]

get the surfers involved too. When it comes to things like closures - we all have to work together:

http://www.surfrider.org/

 

[FlightPlanDan]

get the surfers involved too. When it comes to things like closures - we all have to work together:

http://www.surfrider.org/

from what I understand, surfers would not be affected.

I've left a message with Steve Patterson,(wrote the article above), and e-mailed him to try and clarify some facts.

DEP states in thier own fact sheet that they can't regulate boat speeds etc...

Also the area mapped out includes navigable waterways used by commercial barges etc.....however, barges haven't used the "inlet area" since rattlesnake island was built by the army corps, and the intracoastal dug behind it.

Friends who were at the meeting said that conoes & kayaks & kite surfers would be the only traffic allowed if SACA gets it's way. (south anastasia communities association)

 

[junkyardj]

dude that sucks it seems like whatever the fun your having there is always someone there to kill it... this was a major reason why i got out of dirtbiking seemed like the places to ride were getting smaller and smaller well the tickets were bigger and bigger!

i hope you guy's ralley together because it sounds like thats the place to ride! best of luck

 

[X2Pilot]

The original ban of 2 strokes at Lake Mead here in Nevada was shot down because the parties (blue water network) were forced to show proof that PWC were actually harming the environment. Once the study was completed, it was shown that PWC pose no risk to the environment greater than that of any other watercraft that was allowed on the lake, which was neglible at best. This bought us 10 years, which is coming to an end very quickly, but it was 10 years that we would not have been able to ride on the lake.

You must force this issue with the complaintant and make them PROVE that harm is being done, otherwise they cannot discriminate againt the watercraft. Just saying that its to protect the environment doesnt cut it, they must show proof! The lake mead study took almost 2 years to complete. The AWA was instrumental in overturning the ban.
Join the AWA now, they are the only ones fighting for your right to ride. And dont just join. Donate to them, get involved if you can! $25 bucks is nothing, thats 5 gallons of gas and oil for a couple hours of riding time, but it goes a long way in enabling you to ride at all....think about it.....

JOIN NOW!!! http://www.awahq.org/

 

[Kalwren]

A meeting was held last Tuesday evening at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, FL. Local people organized the meeting to protest the beach driving ban at Matanzas inlet. EPA was not there, but six SJRWMD (water management district) people were there.

The reason this is important to pwc people is that plans were revealed to ban ALL motorized craft from the inlet. (from the intracoastal fork on the north end thru and includung the bay and out under the bridge). For environmental reasons.

Only law enforcement and the national park ferry will be exempt.
This will effectively close the secret spot.

In the coming battle, I'm sure the fisherman will be on our side as well.

I will update as I get more details.

Step one will be a petition of some sort.

I appreciate you following up with this.

I'm curious though - did they state which "environmental issues" they're citing?
Whats the problem that they're protesting?

 

[FlightPlanDan]

I appreciate you following up with this.

I'm curious though - did they state which "environmental issues" they're citing?
Whats the problem that they're protesting?

They are using The Florida Outstanding waters designation to start with. (see links in post #7)
The idea is that the water is pretty good there, so they want to protect it. They say it's much easier and cheaper than cleaning up after something is polluted.

 

[Kalwren]

They are using The Florida Outstanding waters designation to start with. (see links in post #7)
The idea is that the water is pretty good there, so they want to protect it. They say it's much easier and cheaper than cleaning up after something is polluted.

While I agree with it being cheaper to prevent it rather than clean it up - I totally on board with them having proof.

A jetski is not an oil tanker spill.

Thanks for the links.

 

[chasingdaylight]

Thanks for looking into this dan keep us informed :rant:

 

[FlightPlanDan]

Received a reply from Mr. Patterson. He said that the "OFW" designation will mostly focus on dock construction and marsh conservation. He is not aware of a motorized vessel ban.
However, banning motorized vessels was discussed at the meeting. Even DEP's own fact sheet says that "they" don't have authority to do that.
This would not be just 2 stroke, not just pwc, but fishing vessels as well. (which is why I find it hard to believe that it could really happen)
Other governmental agencies are involved that may possibly have the authority. SJRWMD & EPA.

 

[jman89]

Isn't there a better way to preserve the beaches/waterways besides banning motorized craft? I mean seriously... yes... internal combustion engines pollute in negligible amounts (be it 2 or 4 stroke engine). OTOH, industrial pollution (especially where I live) is way more widespread.

My grandfather used to work for the county health dept... he personally inspected our local (electrical) steam plant years ago before he retired. He told me of all the poop they knowingly, and willingly, dump into the river delta. Whenever they were presented with a major fine/infraction, they simply threaten to shut down the plant. No electricity for the entire South Alabama region... so obviously he couldn't do anything about it.

Sorry for the story, but I just used it as an example. We got far worse problems then watercraft of any sort. I'm not a tree hugger by any means, nor do I drink the "green movement" kool-aid.... but it pisses me off when ppl/corporations do stuff like that. IMO that is our biggest problem.

 

[Boris]

I hope one day I can ride in the secret spot.

What a sad statement in light of what might happen.

 

[FlightPlanDan]

Isn't there a better way to preserve the beaches/waterways besides banning motorized craft? I mean seriously... yes... internal combustion engines pollute in negligible amounts (be it 2 or 4 stroke engine). OTOH, industrial pollution (especially where I live) is way more widespread.

My grandfather used to work for the county health dept... he personally inspected our local (electrical) steam plant years ago before he retired. He told me of all the poop they knowingly, and willingly, dump into the river delta. Whenever they were presented with a major fine/infraction, they simply threaten to shut down the plant. No electricity for the entire South Alabama region... so obviously he couldn't do anything about it.

Sorry for the story, but I just used it as an example. We got far worse problems then watercraft of any sort. I'm not a tree hugger by any means, nor do I drink the "green movement" kool-aid.... but it pisses me off when ppl/corporations do stuff like that. IMO that is our biggest problem.

between you and me and the fence post.... We all know this isn't really about the environment. It's SACA using gov't environmental agencies to achieve thier goals. (one of which is to keep all pesky peasants away from "thier" little piece of heaven)

 

[FlightPlanDan]

I hope one day I can ride in the secret spot.

What a sad statement in light of what might happen.

I still believe it's a major "long-shot" for them to be successful in this. If you knew what happened before (when Summer Island was built and they tried to close off what is now the park that the spot is in).....Those Flagler county fisherman used chainsaws to cut the posts and put in there anyway.....many sets of posts! The county finally made it a park.