Location:
The J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge encompasses the northern wetlands, islands, including portions of the Wulfert Keys and Buck Key, and waters behind the barrier beaches of Sanibel and Captiva Islands. This refuge forms the southern boundary of Pine Island Sound and San Carlos Bay on the associated barrier islands and is located approximately 2 miles from the southernmost tip of Pine Island in Lee County, Florida. Waters along Wildlife Drive in the interior portion of the refuge are closed to all motorized boating. Seagrass meadows in shallow waters within the zone consist primarily of Cuban shoal grass, manatee grass, widgeon grass and turtle grass.

Date of Seagrass Protection Zone Authorization:
September 1993

Authorization:
The authority to regulate use of the waters within this federal wildlife refuge stems from the dedication of the submerged lands within the refuge boundaries from the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida to the U.S. Federal Government as part of the refuge establishment process. The federal government hence owns submerged lands within refuge boundaries in fee title. Development of the no motor zone was based on the authority granted through the Federal Refuge Administration Act for the protection of wildlife species and their habitat.

Wording on Signs:
Signs consist of 12"x12" brown metallic informational signs mounted on pressure treated posts with "No Motorized Boating Zone" painted on them.

Enforcement:
Officers of the National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Marine Patrol.

Enforcement Action:
Violations of the motorized vessel restriction zones are treated as standard refuge enforcement actions. These are Class A misdemeanors that carry a maximum sentence of 1 year in prison and a $200,000 fine. Generally, citations are provided to violating vessel operators and fines ranging from $100-300 are assessed.

History:
J.N. "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge was established in 1945 due in large part to the efforts of cartoonist J.N. "Ding" Darling’s generosity and environmental activism at the federal level. The refuge is comprised of 6,300 predominantly wetland acres and was dedicated primarily for the protection of wading bird and mangrove community habitat. During the 1980s, refuge managers became concerned with the adverse effects that boating activities (primarily associated with commercial and sport fishing activities) were having on natural communities within the refuge boundaries. Managers noted significant increases in propeller scarring of seagrass meadows, disturbance to bird roosting and rookery sites, increased risk of impact deaths or injury to manatees, and wildlife behavioral disturbance. In response to a federal General Accounting Office study, the refuge manager listed motorized boating as one of the 9 non-compatible uses of refuge resources. The no motorized vessel zone was established in September of 1993 after other Marine Fishery Commission and Sanibel municipality marine resource protection regulations were enacted. Seagrass has coalesced across many old propeller scars in seagrass communities within the no motorized boat zone and new propeller scars, likely due to violations of the zone, are limited.

Map of J.N. "Ding" Darling National WildLife Refuge No Motorized Boating Zone in Lee County

Lee County

Seagrass Protection Report