2000-255A - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

40 Indian River County Manatee Protection and Boating Safety Comprehensive Management Plan The Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, Subsection 370.12(2), Florida Statutes, provides for manatee protection. State responsibilities for manatee protection fall under the jurisdiction of the FWC and, to a lesser extent, the FDEP. The implementing policies and procedures of these two agencies are found in Chapters 39 and 68 of the Florida Administrative Code, respectively. The FDEP regulates certain uses to specific areas of the IRL through an Aquatic Preserve Program, which FDEP is responsible for managing. Indian River County shares two (2) Aquatic Preserves with neighboring counties (Figure 1). Aquatic Preserve "Number 7" extends from Malabar in Brevard County, to the northern City limits of Vero Beach, Indian River County, Aquatic Preserve "A-9" extends from the southern City limits of Vero Reach, to the Ft. Pierce Inlet, in St. Lucie County. These aquatic preserves were created by the State of Florida Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, in October of 1969. According to State law, an Aquatic Preserve is defined as: "An exceptional area of submerged lands and its associated waters set aside for being maintained essentially in its natural or existing condition (S.S. 258.35)". Furthermore, the FDEP is charged with presenting recommendations for priority acquisition of critical manatee use areas under the Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) and Preservation 2000 programs, and with strengthening aquatic preserve management plans for seagrass protection. Indian River County Between 1989 and t992, Indian River County, in cooperation with the FDEP Division of Marine Resources, Bureau of Protected Species Management, (now FWC) established manatee protection boating speed zones throughout the Indian River County portion of the IRL. After a series of county advisory committee reviews and public hearings, these speed zones were adopted by the Governor and Cabinet in July, 1992. Sign posting was completed in July 1993. Since that time, speed zones in the IRL have not changed. In early 1990, the Indian River County BCC adopted a number policies to protect the aquatic and wildlife resources of the county. The development of a manatee protection/awareness program was specified under Policy 1.7 of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan Coastal Management Element. Since adoption of the 2010 Comprehensive Plan, additional objectives and policies that address the general aspects of manatee protection, boating safety, and marina facility siting have been incorporated into the 2020 Comprehensive Plan. These objectives and policies can be found in the following areas of the 2020 Comprehensive Plan: Conservation Element, Objective 7, Wildlife and Marine Habitat Coastal Management Element, Policy 1.12 Coastal Management Element, Objective 3, Boat/Marina Facility Siting PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION Federal, 'State, Private & Non-profit Educational Programs Although manatee education and awareness programs have been ongoing since the early 1970's, these programs are not targeted to particular user groups. Organizations such as Community Development Department Page 7