HM 611

1	House 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.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.