NEWS RELEASE

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

March 11, 1999

CONTACT: Jim Palmer (407) 846-5300

NEW FLOATING DOCK INSTALLED ON CALOOSAHATCHEE RIVER NEAR LABELLE

A 60-foot-long "L shaped" floating aluminum dock is now in service on the Caloosahatchee River at the LaBelle Boat Ramp (map) in Wayside County Park courtesy of the Hendry County Parks and Recreation Department and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

Jim Palmer, the project coordinator for the FWC, said the dock cost $9,112 with the state providing $5,112, and the county providing the balance. Hendry County also expended $2,886 in building a sidewalk and stabilizing the bank with rip-rap and concrete.

The new boat dock may be reached by going north on State Route 29 from LaBelle for approximately a half-mile, cross the Caloosahatchee bridge, and go left onto County Road 78 for a quarter-mile to Wayside County Park.

Palmer explained that the state share of the project cost was paid by funds from the Sport Fish Restoration Funds. These monies are collected by the federal government in the form of a five-percent excise tax on the sale of motor boat fuel and fishing tackle.

"This program was created in 1950 through the Dingell-Johnson Act," Palmer said. "The fishermen themselves pushed it through to pay for boat docks, ramps, education projects and other fishing related projects.

"Each year the federal government disburses millions nationally in Sport Fish Restoration Funds to the state game and fish agencies," he said. "The amount is determined by the number of fishing licenses sold in the state and total water acreage."