Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Flagler boat-related manatee deaths rise
By DINAH VOYLES PULVER and DEREK KINNER
STAFF WRITERS
BUNNELL — State and federal wildlife officials have warned Flagler County that it has some explaining to do. The agencies want to know what the county plans to do about the rising number of boat-related manatee deaths in its canals and waterways, especially in light of all the new waterfront developments on the drawing board. “We are concerned,” said Kipp Frohlich, an official with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Six manatee deaths in Flagler County have been blamed on watercraft in the past five years, including two this year. Only four watercraft-related mortalities were reported in the previous 26 years. Couple that trend with the growing number of proposed waterfront developments, Frohlich said, and state and federal officials want to make sure the county has a plan. “We want to make sure this projected growth won’t impact manatees,” said Frohlich, chief of protected species management for the wildlife commission. Officials with the wildlife commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers summoned Flagler County officials to a meeting in Jacksonville last week to talk about manatees. They fear the county doesn’t have adequate protective measures in place, such as boat speed limits. Flagler County officials are grappling with how to deal with the issue, spokesman Carl Laundrie said. “It may be as simple as establishing speed zones; it may be as complex as creating a manatee protection plan,” Laundrie said. The plans have proven complex for other counties. It took Volusia County 13 years of heated controversy before its plan was approved last year. Flagler County Administrator Doug Wright, who attended the Jacksonville meeting, warned county commissioners during a meeting Monday that there could be ramifications for developments along waterways. He said officials are considering a study of marinas and other waterway developments. Several marina developers recently received county permits for new projects, but still have to attain state and federal permits, Laundrie said. The county plans to go back to those developers to discuss how to make the waters safer for manatees. Any new permit applications will have to consider the manatee issue, Laundrie said. “It’s not a moratorium on development, but any future marina improvement or new marina is going to have to be looked at in a new light in respect to manatee deaths,” he said. Frohlich recently recommended the St. Johns River Water Management District deny a permit for Harbor View, a proposed condominium and 83-slip marina project on the Lehigh Canal. The district had planned to deny the permit on Tuesday for a variety of reasons but the request was withdrawn. Each of the five manatees most recently killed as a result of boat-related injuries were found within 4.2 miles of Lehigh Canal, Frohlich’s letter to the district stated. “The cumulative effects associated with this project and other nearby projects, including the expected increase in boat traffic and impacts from the construction of upland cut basins, is of great concern to the FWC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.” Flagler officials are willing to do what it takes to satisfy state and federal wildlife requirements, Laundrie said. “Flagler County doesn’t want to see manatee deaths rise any more than any other organization.” The state is in the midst of a two-year study to determine how many manatees are using waterways in Flagler and St. Johns County and when. A total of 18 manatees have died in Flagler in the past four years, including four this year. Most of the deaths statewide are newborn manatees. Manatee Deaths FLAGLER COUNTY -- 4 deaths so far this year;
2 deaths in 2005 VOLUSIA COUNTY -- 19 deaths so far this year; 22 deaths in 2005
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