Everglade National Park Proposal Should Concern All Anglers

The public comment meetings have been held, and the decision is probably being made as of this writing, if it hasn’t already been made. What was and still is the premier shallow water fishery in the nation could conceivable be closed to all power boat traffic.

Everglades National Park is about to be changed, and regardless of where you live and where you fish, you need to know what is happening. The National Park service (NPS) has decided to try and restrict access to areas of the part that make up almost all of Florida bay.

Why should you be concerned? You may not live or fish in the park, but you need to be aware of the lengths that people who are apparently uneducated in the fishing traditions of our country are going to restrict boat traffic and ultimately fishing in the name of preservation.

Claims that sea grass is being destroyed by boaters are the most mentioned reason. But large areas of the park’s waters in Florida Bay are destined to be shut off to all but canoes and kayaks in perpetuity.

I agree that sea grass is damaged by the props of a few flagrant violators – I say violators because there are already laws on the books that make sea grass destruction a crime. But, to shut off the entire vastness of Florida Bay to all boat traffic because these violators are not punished seems pretty far fetched to me.

There are those who believe the NPS has already made up their mind to eliminate motor boats from the park, even before they came up with the public comment meetings. They may or may not have done that, but the proposals they offer sure do look like they want all boaters to stay at home.

They have four alternatives that were offered to the public for comment. They range from no action to a draconian shutdown of all motor boat traffic inside the bay, including some areas that will prohibit any human intrusion. You can see all four alternatives by going to the Everglades National Park website. Study each one of them and see just how bad it might get.

Some years back, the Mosquito Lagoon and surrounding areas in central Florida underwent some similar activity when the hullabaloo over the manatee was in full swing. As a result, the area is almost exclusively idle only with many no motor zones, and several no human intrusion zones, all to protect the manatee. It’s funny how now that those zones are in effect, the manatee protection folks and anti-fishing folks have quietly backed down.

Now it seems that in the interest of protecting Florida Bay, we may see the same thing happen again.

Wherever you live, you need to be concerned. It may not be a national park, but it could be a seashore or salt marsh that is the next target. Between MPA’s, proposals like this one, and the politically active anti-fishing community, your fishing tradition could be in jeopardy.