2/6/1990 - Laserfiche WebLink

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M River; and the overall issue of a blanket speed zone on the Indian River with the exemption of the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) and the designated ski areas. They also discussed having a buffer zone from existing islands, and suggested that the northern ski area could be expanded substantially to extend more towards Ambersand Beach. Commissioner Scurlock felt that the most important thing here is that the eco -system of the entire river depends on the grass beds, and he understood from Commissioner Bowman that the manatees are here all year long, which gives the grass beds where they feed much more significance than the Intracoastal. Commissioner Bird understood that there have been 13 or so manatee deaths over an 11 -year period in this county, which is only about one death per year, and we are not sure just what contributed to those deaths. Commissioner Wheeler didn't feel it has been demonstrated that we need to close the Narrows to waterskiing or other water sports, and it seems that with this plan we would be giving in excess of 900 of the river to the manatees and leaving 10% for us to use. He strongly questions the necessity of closing down one of the prime spots in the river waterskiing and good family recreation. Commissioner Bird had hoped this study would identify the areas where the manatees congregate in the largest numbers and what we need to do to protect those areas, but it does seem like almost an overreaction to shut down the entire river from county line to county line. He felt that if we overreact to this by becoming too stringent throughout the river, we are talking about endangering man's freedoms and rights to get out and enjoy the environment. Commissioner Wheeler pointed out that people have a greater awareness of the manatees today than back in the 1970s. Commissioner Bowman emphasized that we are not talking about shutting down the river, we are talking about safe boating. She 0 6 1990 40 "J. ��°