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Non-motorized Boater Meeting Summary

Report of Input Received from Non-Motorized Boaters

Rowing, sailing and paddling are popular activities in Florida, not surprising with hundreds of rivers and lakes and thousands miles of marine and estuarine coastal waters to enjoy. In May 2009, the FWC began an effort to reach out to non-motorized boaters.

The intent of this effort is threefold:

1. to identify and build our understanding of issues identified by these communities,
2. develop relationships with key stakeholders that will form the basis for long-term conservation partnerships and
3. work on solutions.

This report presents the input received from this initial phase. The FWC's Office of Recreation Services and Division of Law Enforcement met with five paddling clubs and kayak fishing organizations, held four publically advertised listening sessions where participants expressed their concerns and set up a dedicated site to receive emails from non-motorized boaters. While the intent of these various outreach efforts was to collect and build an understanding of issues only, participants were eager to dive into solutions, as evidenced in the notes taken during the various meetings.

An FWC staff team from the divisions of Marine Fisheries, Freshwater Fisheries, Habitat and Species, Law Enforcement and the Office of Recreation Services is being formed and will use the input received during these sessions to work with stakeholder groups on solutions. This phase will begin later this year.

Staff attended meetings of the Florida Sea Kayaker Association and the Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Community in Jacksonville, the Space Coast Paddling Club in Melbourne, The Villages Paddling Club in Ocala, and the West Florida Canoe and Kayak Club in Pensacola. A total of 122 people attended these meetings.

Listening sessions were attended by a total of 114 people held in four cities: Tallahassee, St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach, and Punta Gorda. The listening sessions were advertised through the Florida Administrative Weekly, on the FWC's Web site and in hundreds of e-mail invitations sent to rowing, sailing, paddling and kayak fishing organizations and to "list servs" and forums used by these communities.

While participation was strong from paddlers and kayak fishers it was less so from rowers. Sailors were the least represented. More outreach should be done with these communities. The listening session e-mail address received 127 e-mails.

(A note about participant totals: A few participants attended more than one forum, and e-mails were received from those who also attended meetings.)

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What we've learned

Following is a brief overview of concerns, issues, and needs mentioned by participants. Graphs showing the relative frequency of each concern follow in the next section.

• Across the board, the most frequently mentioned area of concern was access to the water for non-motorized craft.
• Paddlecraft users were concerned about a lack of access points and problems with sharing motorized boat ramps.
• The need for better non-motorized launch design was frequently cited, especially in the face-to-face meetings with a consistent dislike for concrete ramps, rip rap and floating docks with high clearance above the water line.
• Concerns about navigational obstructions were mentioned in some meetings.
• The need for stopping places and camp sites along paddling trail routes was also expressed.

User conflicts were the second most commonly mentioned area of concern. Excessive speed and wakes from motorized boats was a frequently expressed concern. Conflicts with personal watercraft and airboats were mentioned in particular. Participants often reported navigation ("right of way") conflicts in meetings and listening sessions.

Concern about registration was much greater in e-mail comments than in the live sessions. Many who sent in e-mails about registration stated that they had heard rumors that the Listening Sessions were the start of a fee-gathering process. A form letter prepared by Florida Bay Outfitters and sent in by 46 people is counted as a separate statistic.

Many participants had concerns about management of waterways - motorized boat impacts on the environment including wildlife disturbance, damage to sea grass beds, litter and pollution from oil and gas. Many non-motorized boaters noted their positive impact on the environment by cleaning up trash and the less intrusive foot print of non-motorized boats on the environment.

Few felt they had a negative impact on the environment although when questioned, some acknowledged the possibility of wildlife disturbance from their activities. Participants in face to face meetings frequently expressed a strong desire for more enforcement of existing laws and the need for more law enforcement officers. Confusion about whom to call to report various problems on the waters of the state was also reported.

Participants expressed the need for education of both motorized and non-motorized boat users, mostly the former. Most had a strong preference that if safety courses for non-motorized boaters were developed or adapted from existing resources, they should not be mandatory. This was especially the case in e-mail comments.

There was also a desire for information resources, such as signs pointing to access points, maps/guides, easily accessible sources for information about safety and regulations, and more accessible data and Web sites. Some participants suggested that wearing life jackets should be promoted, but most said that wearing them should not be mandatory.

A few e-mails expressed a desire for a session closer to their location, and some wanted the sessions to be better advertised. Some who e-mailed stated that they did not want any change to paddling regulations or additional services from the FWC, and they did not see the need for listening sessions. This was generally linked to the concern that any changes would be accompanied by a registration fee.

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Summary Data

FWC staff compiled all the notes and e-mails and tallied the number of times a topic was mentioned. This data was entered into an Excel data sheet and charts were compiled from the data. This report provides only a summary of the input received and should not be interpreted as representative of the opinions of all non-motorized boaters in the state.

Charts and Graphs

• Summary Data Charts and Graphs (490KB)

Meetings

• FSKA club notes (324KB)
• Jax Fishing Club notes (303KB)
• Space Coast paddling club notes (359KB)
• The Villages paddling club notes (338KB)
• WFKC Club notes (250KB)

Listening Sessions

• Punta Gorda Listening Session (406KB)
• St. Pete Listening Session (248KB)
• Tallahassee Listening Session (357KB)
• West Palm Beach Listening Session (296KB)

  Attendees at Listening Sessions

  • Punta Gorda Listening Session contacts
  • St. Pete Listening Session contacts
  • Tallahassee Listening Session contacts
  • West Palm Listening Session contacts

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get on the stakeholder group?

The FWC will be forming a stakeholder group that is representative of the various segments of the non-motorized boating communities.  All meetings of the stakeholder group will be posted on the FWC calendar and interested members of the public can attend.

How do I stay informed about what is going on?

The FWC will continue to send updates about this effort to non-motorized boating clubs and organizations and will post to list servs and forums used by these communities.

What is the timeline for this effort?

We anticipate posting updates quarterly beginning in January.  We will work with this technical advisory group in determining what issues to pursue and on developing solutions to those issues, for example developing suggested guidelines for hand launches.  We anticipate this work to last up to a year.  Our intent is to continue to work with non-motorized boaters permanently.

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