Florida Senate - 2012                                    SM 1614
       
       
       
       By Senator Dean
       
       
       
       
       3-00786-12                                            20121614__
    1                           Senate Memorial                         
    2         A memorial to the Congress of the United States,
    3         urging Congress to direct the United States Fish and
    4         Wildlife Service to reconsider the proposed rule to
    5         designate Kings Bay as a manatee refuge and in lieu of
    6         the rule partner with the state and local governments
    7         in seeking joint long-term solutions to manatee
    8         protection.
    9  
   10         WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
   11  established the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge in 1983
   12  to provide protection and sanctuary for the endangered West
   13  Indian manatee within portions of Kings Bay in Crystal River,
   14  and
   15         WHEREAS, the rules currently in effect within the refuge
   16  have resulted in a significant increase in manatee population as
   17  evidenced by monitoring, sound science, and local data, and
   18         WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has
   19  proposed a rule to designate all of Kings Bay as a manatee
   20  refuge, and
   21         WHEREAS, adoption of the proposed rule will have a
   22  significant adverse impact on the tourism industry, which is a
   23  critical part of the Crystal River economy, at a time when its
   24  local economy is already seriously weakened by challenges within
   25  the national economy, and
   26         WHEREAS, adoption of the proposed rule will also have a
   27  significant adverse impact on the riparian rights of property
   28  owners adjacent to Kings Bay and the connecting waterways, and
   29         WHEREAS, prohibiting the use of any portion of Kings Bay
   30  for recreational boating activities, such as swimming, kayaking,
   31  and water skiing, will force such activities into the channel of
   32  Crystal River, subjecting participants to significant risks
   33  associated with sharing the channel with commercial fishing
   34  boats and other large watercraft, and
   35         WHEREAS, there are viable alternatives to the proposed
   36  rule, such as increased enforcement of the rules currently in
   37  effect, which would accomplish the desired outcome of a reduced
   38  incidence rate of manatee injury or death without unduly
   39  restricting public use of Kings Bay, a water body that has
   40  historically served as the heart of the Crystal River community,
   41  and
   42         WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Crystal River and
   43  the Board of County Commissioners of Citrus County passed
   44  unanimous resolutions requesting that the United States Fish and
   45  Wildlife Service reconsider the proposed rule, and
   46         WHEREAS, adoption of the proposed rule without a proper
   47  review of the impact on the City of Crystal River and the
   48  surrounding communities would be arbitrary and capricious, NOW,
   49  THEREFORE,
   50  
   51  Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   52  
   53         That the Congress of the Unites States is urged to direct
   54  the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider the
   55  proposed rule to designate Kings Bay as a manatee refuge and in
   56  lieu of the rule partner with the state and local governments in
   57  seeking joint long-term solutions to manatee protection.
   58         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
   59  dispatched to the President of the United States, to the
   60  President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the
   61  United States House of Representatives, and to each member of
   62  the Florida delegation to the United States Congress.