A ban on personal watercraft has been in place since 1992 in the Key West National Wildlife Refuge and the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge. The refuges are prime bird nesting areas, and are also favorite flats fishing grounds.

The ban is now being challenged by the Personal Watercraft Industry Association on the grounds that it violates state law that says local and state laws cannot discriminate against waterbikes. This challenge appears to be part of the jetski industry’s statewide effort to challenge personal watercraft bans in parks and refuges throughout Florida. Recently they pressed the National Park Service to consider lifting the jetski ban in Biscayne National Park.

As it stands, Florida essentially owns the waters of the Refuges, but the federal government owns most of the islands. So it boils down to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the state making the final decision on whether to lift the jetski ban. It is reported that Katherine Andrews, director of the DEP’s Office of Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas, is scheduled to visit the area next month.

According to Van Fischer, resource planner for the refuges, over 150 e-mails were received by his office, and all but three are in full support of continuing the PWC ban. “The reason jetskis were banned is because they created such a problem, “ said Fischer. “We feel that the state needs to take public comment before ever considering lifting the ban.”

To make comment, email DEP’s Katherine Andrews at katherine.Andrews@dep.state.fl.us

FS