Lee County Manatee Protection Plan
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LEE COUNTY MANATEE PROTECTION PLAN June 17, 2004 Prepared by: Lee County Division of Natural Resources PO Box 398 Ft. Myers, FL 33902 Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau Approved: June 29, 2004 John E. Albion, Chairman Lee County Board of County Commissioners Approved: August 24, 2004 Kenneth D. Haddad, Executive Director Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Concurrence: August 26, 2004 James Slack, Field Supervisor South Florida Ecological Services Office US Fish and Wildlife Service Executive Summary This Manatee Protection Plan is organized to present first a discussion of manatees and an analysis of manatee abundance in Lee County. An evaluation of boating activity , and the identification of evaluation criteria for the development or expansions of boat facilities follow this. Finally, thresholds and policies are presented to outline Boat Facility siting criteria in Lee County. Once finalized and approved by all parties, these thresholds and policies will explain how the plan is to be used and how preferred boat facility projects differ from non-preferred projects. TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ......................................................................................................ii List of Figures...............................................................................................................iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................iv List of Appendices .......................................................................................................iv List of Definitions ..........................................................................................................v 1.0 Introduction..............................................................................................................1 2.0 Inventory of Existing Conditions ...........................................................................2 2.1 Manatee Habitat......................................................................................................... 2 2.1.1 Salinity and Fresh Water Sources....................................................................... 3 2.1.2 Warm-Water Aggregation Points......................................................................... 3 2.1.3 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation .......................................................................... 4 2.2 Patterns of Movements by Manatees in Lee County........................................... 4 2.3 Population Status....................................................................................................... 5 3.0 Abundance and Distribution of Manatees in Lee County ....................................6 3.1 Pine Island Sound ..................................................................................................... 9 3.2 Matlacha Pass............................................................................................................ 9 3.3 Lower Caloosahatchee River (Ft. Myers and west)........................................... 10 3.4 Upper Caloosahatchee River (East of Ft. Myers)............................................... 10 3.5 Estero Bay ................................................................................................................ 10 4.0 Mortality of Manatees in Lee County ...................................................................11 5.0 Boat Activity Patterns ...........................................................................................13 5.1 Vessel Type, Vessel Size, and Direction of Travel ........................................... 19 5.2 Qualitative Speed Analysis .................................................................................... 19 6.0 Inventory of Boating Facilities .............................................................................20 7.0 Current Manatee Protection Measures ................................................................23 7.1 Law Enforcement Efforts ........................................................................................ 24 7.2 Manatee Speed Zones ........................................................................................... 26 7.3 Habitat Preservation................................................................................................ 28 7.4 Education Initiatives ................................................................................................ 31 7.5 Intergovernmental Coordination............................................................................ 34 8.0 Marine Facility Sighting Requirements ..............................................................34 June 17, 2004 ii 8.1 Federal Permitting ................................................................................................... 35 8.2 State Permitting ....................................................................................................... 36 8.3 County/Local Permitting ......................................................................................... 39 8.4 Facility Screening for Manatee Protection........................................................... 41 8.4.1 Criteria for Screening Sites……………………………………………………..47 8.4.2 Results of the Screening Process ..................................................................... 50 8.4.3 Mitigation Measures Based on Results of Screening Process ..................... 51 8.4.4 Examples............................................................................................................... 57 8.4.5 Mitigation Measures.............................................................................................. 57 9.0 Summary of Findings............................................................................................59 10.0 Recommendations and Implementation............................................................59 10.1 Ongoing Research, Monitoring and Needed Data Collection ........................ 59 10.2 Development of Objectives and Policies ........................................................... 59 10.3 Mechanism for Periodic Review and Revision ................................................. 60 11.0 Bibliography......................................................................................................151 12.0 Index ..................................................................................................................195 List of Figures Figure 1. Aerial Survey Manatee Sightings 1984-1985.................................................... 61 Figure 2. Aerial Survey Manatee Sightings in Selected Areas of Lee County................. 62 Figure 3. Aerial Survey Manatee Sightings 1994-95........................................................ 63 Figure 4. Aerial Survey Manatee Sightings 1997-98........................................................ 64 Figure 5. Manatee Mortality Carcass Recovery Locations by Type ................................ 65 Figure 6. Seasonal Manatee Mortality by Watercraft....................................................... 69 Figure 7. Seasonal Manatee Perinatal Mortality............................................................... 70 Figure 8. Seasonal Manatee Natural Mortality................................................................ 71 Figure 9. Seasonal Manatee Undetermined Mortality ...................................................... 72 Figure 10. Inventory of Marinas and Boat Ramps............................................................ 73 Figure 11. Density Maps- Mooring Density..................................................................... 78 Figure 11. Density Maps- Excess Capacity ...................................................................... 79 Figure 11. Density Maps- Vessel Density ........................................................................ 80 Figure 12. Increase In Law Enforcement Funding from WCIND.................................... 81 Figure 13. Lee County Manatee Enforcement Zones ...................................................... 82 Figure 14. STATE Boat Speed Zones.............................................................................. 83 Figure 15. Federal Boat Speed Zones............................................................................... 88 Figure 16. Lands acquired by Lee County Conservation 2020 program......................... 92 Figure 17. Caloosahatchee Creeks Preserve .................................................................... 93 Figure 18. Conservation land holdings in Lee County as of August 2002....................... 94 Figure 19. Regionally Significant Natural Resources...................................................... 95 Figure 20. Boat Ramp Signage ....................................................................................... 100 Figure 21. No Marina Areas ........................................................................................... 101 Figure 22. Areas of Special Concern .............................................................................. 104 June 17, 2004 iii List of Tables Table 1. Lee County Manatee Mortality by Type, 1976 – 2002.................................... 106 Table 2. Manatee Mortality by County, 1976 – 2002..................................................... 107 Table 3. Comparison of Percentage of Mortalities in Lee County and the State........... 108 Table 4. Comparison of General Mortalities for Lee County and Statewide ................. 108 Table