Public Hearings Slated for Next Week; Management Plan Changes Could See New Curbs on Boating and Fishing
OutdoorHub 12.04.13
WHAT: The National Park Service is holding a series of meetings next week to discuss the future of Biscayne National Park. If visiting the Park is an important part of your boating and angling, consider attending one of three upcoming meetings and make your voice heard, or, if you cannot attend, submit written comments. It is vital the National Park Service hear from boaters and anglers about the many ways you want to access and enjoy the Park.
WHY: The process of revising its General Management Plan for Biscayne National Park has been ongoing for the last several years, and the National Park Service has developed alternative plans. Their preferred management plan, Alternative #6, proposes some important changes in how boaters and anglers can access various parts of the Park. For example, it will create a “Special Recreation Zone” where anchoring will be banned. This alternative does call for additional moorings in that zone, however, it does not identify how many will be installed, their location or how the Park will pay for them and their maintenance. Additional fishing regulations will also be implemented in the Special Recreation Zone. So the time to act is now.
More about Alternative #6 (see “Chapter 2: Alternatives”) is available at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=353&projectID=11168&documentID=56275
Information about the General Management Plan is available at:
http://www.nps.gov/bisc/parkmgmt/information-about-the-current-and-developing-general-management-plans.htm
WHEN: Three public meetings have been scheduled:
- December 9, 6-9 p.m. – Newman Alumni Center, University of Miami, 6200 San Amaro Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146
- December 10, 6-9 p.m. – City Hall, Commission Chambers, 404 West Palm Drive, Florida City, FL 33034
- December 11, 6-9 p.m. – Holiday Inn Key Largo, 99701 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, FL 33037
If you can’t make the meetings, you can submit comments to the Park Service at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commentForm.cfm?documentID=56275
