Legislative Alert-Public Waterways Access

[silverking]

ALERT TO PROTECT PUBLIC LANDS AND WATERS - PLEASE CALL NOW!

Senate Bill 1362 and House Bill 1103, now being discussed in the Florida Legislature, will drastically change who owns lands on our rivers and lakes. These bills, if passed, will give these lands, which the public presently owns, and use for boating, fishing, sightseeing, bird-watching and hunting, to private landowners who will then be able to keep us, Florida's public, out!



Please call:
Senator Alan Hays (850) 487-5014 (as to Senate Bill 1362)
and Representative Tom Goodson (850) 488-3006 (as to House Bill 1103)


and tell them to pull these bills that would steal the land of the public. Kindly remind them they represent all Floridians, not special interests.

Thank you very much.
Preston Robertson
Florida Wildlife Federation
850-656-7113
www.fwfonline.org

About Florida Wildlife Federation
The Florida Wildlife Federation is a private, statewide, non-profit citizens' conservation education organization composed of thousands of concerned Floridians and other citizens from all walks of life who have a common interest in preserving, managing, and improving Florida's fish, wildlife, soil, water, and plant life.

[onefishtwofish]

When I first read this intro (on another site), I first thought it was just a legislated definition of the MHWL (Mean High Water Line) which would not be a problem-there is adequate case law to support the MHWL as it currently exists (Peace River lawsuit from way back). The real devil is in the details here in that it excludes swamps and flooded areas traditionally considered public access/public owned and would cause those areas to be closed by private landowners to hunting and fishing. It is a bad bill (and I did not see that at first). I am defnitely opposed.

On behalf of waterfowlers, United Waterfowlers of Florida (UW-F) is opposed to this legislation as well. If you are a Florida duck hunter, check that site out as well for more info. For full disclosure, I am a Northwest Florida Regional Director of that organization (all positions are volunteers only).

[Gumbo]

This bill addresses the ordinary high water line, not mean high water. Mean high water defines the state sovereign line for waters with a tidal influence. Ordinary high water is for those waters with no tidal influence. Current law defines the ordinary high water line for those waters as the furthest extent of the water in wet season. The bill would redefine it as the furthest extent during the dry season. So if your favorite duck hunting marsh dries out during part of the year, it would no longer be accessible as public land. Some early GIS work with conservative estimates puts the transfer of land from state sovereign to private ownership in the range of 500,000 acres.

[onefishtwofish]

You are right ordinary, not mean. It specifically says it will not affect anything tidal.