Watercraft Industry Wants Park Ban Lifted

SBT · 02-16-2006, 09:18 AM

By David Fleshler
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted February 16 2006

Claiming that Jet Skis, WaveRunners and other personal watercraft are no longer noisy, pollution-belching machines, the industry wants them allowed back into Biscayne National Park.

A coalition of manufacturers, dealers and enthusiasts plans to file a petition today with the National Park Service to overturn a ban imposed at Biscayne in 2000, when the craft were excluded from dozens of national parks. They say the ban across the park system has cost the economy $2.7 billion and 3,300 jobs. And they say it discriminates against 18,000 personal watercraft owners in Broward, Monroe and Miami-Dade counties, because the new generation of vessels emits less pollution and noise than many conventional powerboats.

"Every other type of boat is allowed in that park," said Brian Berry, spokesman for the Personal Watercraft Industry Association, which includes Kawasaki Motors Corp., Yamaha Motor Corp., BRP US Inc. and American Honda Motor Co. "You have 18,000 registered personal watercraft users who, for no scientific reason whatsoever, are banned from waters others are allowed into."

The Park Service last year denied a previous petition to regain access to the 173,000-acre park, which encompasses coral reefs, islands and mangrove-lined shores in the southern half of Biscayne Bay. Since then the group obtained Park Service documents through the Freedom of Information Act that showed an absence of any scientific studies backing up the decision, Berry said.

Berry said the group has obtained more than 1,000 signatures of personal-watercraft owners on a petition to reopen the park to them. Powerful members of Congress, such as Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., chairman of the House Resources Committee, have also called on the park service to open up more areas to personal watercraft.

At a House Resources Committee subcommittee hearing in May, Dave Bamdas, owner of Riva Motorsports of Pompano Beach and Key Largo, called the Biscayne ban "discriminatory and baseless" and called on the park service to conduct an environmental study to see for itself.

But some environmental groups want to keep the bans in place at Biscayne and other national parks, saying they prevent the craft from damaging fragile seabeds and ruining the experiences of park visitors.

The National Parks Conservation Association, a watchdog group, plans to release a study today detailing threats to Biscayne, including insufficient freshwater flows, declining fish populations and inadequate staffing.

"This is a struggling ecosystem," said Jason Bennis, marine policy manager for the association. "The last thing that a cash-strapped and short-staffed park needs is personal watercraft."

He dismissed the industry's claims that it builds quieter vessels used for family fun, saying they were operated in a way that would shatter the peace of people in the park to fish, snorkel or canoe.

"These are really just high-speed thrill craft," he said. "They're operated at full throttle, and they're operated in a manner that could have severe negative impact for Biscayne's coastal habitats, namely the corals and the seagrass."

David Fleshler can be reached at dfleshler@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4535.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...a-news-broward

Leg Dragger64 · 02-17-2006, 08:27 PM

Sitdowns are not welcome in these parks and they will just find another reason to ban us all. Forcing sitdowns back into parks will leadto the end of our sport.

AWADawg · 02-17-2006, 09:36 PM

Leg,

I respect your view, and I understand it. However, that's not what this is about.

Couches or Stand Ups, the no access freaks don't give a crap... they hate us all. They want PWC banned nationfreakingwide.

I know firsthand dude.. I spend 12 hours a day fighting these people all year long. It shouldn't surprise you brother, but they really want all two-stokes gone. All of their arguments are centered around two strokes.

They were working to ban PWC long before there were couches. They don't care, nor can they be reasoned with. They want pwc off the water. They don't care about you, or if you're a good rider or not.. they want us all gone.

The only people who enjoy the fight between Stand Up riders and Couch riders are the very same people who are working to ban all of us.

Having your opinion is good. But don't, for a moment, think that if the couches all went away, everything would be great. The fun haters would really circle in and kill two strokes.

It's only becuase of the efforts of the AWA that you and yours are riding today. Nobody else is speaking up and spending cash on defending your riding freedoms. Nofreaking body dude.

That's why companies like SBT, and a few other aftermarket guys support the AWA, along with PWC riders who see the real deal: They know we are the thin line that stands between the no-access freaks from running us over.

Again, I respect your feelings. It's not the first time I've heard it. The AWA stands up for ALL Riders. I offer that you get involved with the AWA and help us defend your way of life. PM me your address, and I'll send you a few copies of our rag: Ride, and see for yourself that the AWA is out there working and promoting Stand ups as well as couches.

Get involved brother... don't throw rocks. We can't afford it when we have to deal with the PWC haters.

Chris Manthos
Exec. Dir.
AWA

T-Bone · 02-17-2006, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leg Dragger64

Sitdowns are not welcome in these parks and they will just find another reason to ban us all. Forcing sitdowns back into parks will leadto the end of our sport.

thats a narrow view, its best to band toghether and put your personal feeling aside.

RickRides1 · 02-18-2006, 12:09 PM

Im in. Send me some info on how to join Chris. Its Rsonnen767@aol.com

Rick

batcook09 · 02-18-2006, 03:56 PM

a lot of those eco-freaks are just starting with pwcs because it's an easy target. Once they eliminate all pwcs and two-strokes, they'll get rid of the sport boats and anything fast and fun. Some of those folks won't be happy until you're fishing from a canoe that you're only allowed to paddle in a small channel of water - the rest of the water will be 'protected'

ph2ocraft · 02-18-2006, 07:41 PM

LOL, it's not about runabouts vs standups..........it's PWC's period. We ban together through the AWA or die alone so nobody rides. Keep the money in your pocket and you'll only be talking about what it was like to bicker about standups vs runabouts.
Pony up your bucks so we can ride............

Va Superjet · 02-19-2006, 09:44 PM

Sorry for you AWADAWG, dealing with the lobbyists in DC must be like going to a jail for the criminally insane and teaching an ethics class. I'll join you guys this summer for the RIDE. Thanks for all you do. I guess I need to join too, I've been a slacker.

Ant4summer · 02-20-2006, 02:49 AM

You know what I think causes a lot of this is the fact that it is very easy to get a license to operate a pwc. You dont see people going through as extensive of a training course as drivers ed. I think it should take that much because there are people out there with PWC's who use them recklessly with no regard for other people on the water and that is what kills this sport. More has to be done about how extensive of a training course is needed and how it is followed through with. You don't know how many times I'm out riding on my ski and there are people riding with no regard for other vessels on the water, they just cut accross the bow and are all over the channel. It's almost the same thing as if you were driving down the road and someone pulled in front of you. It scares me how even with a boat, people can just buy one and dont even need a license or training course to drive it. All that you need to do in NJ is sit through an 8hour course and you have a license to operate a PWC. This is mainly what causes these bans, people who drive reckless. Thats the bottom line. If certain PWC riders knew how to drive one on the water right and knew how to operate one when other boats were around this would not be an issue. I'm not hating on any particular crowd, all I'm saying is that people get on the water and think that they can do whatever they want, but in reality there are rules, regulations, and laws to follow just like when your on the road. I've had my boat license for eleven years and I've seen a lot of it happen over the years and I've seen it get worse.

What needs to be done is more than an 8hour course that takes a day to pass. Another thing that ticks me off is something that not too many people know about. In NJ you are allowed to operate a PWC as long as you are within 50ft/yrds(can't remember which ft or yards) of someone who holds a PWC license. So why can't someone who doesnt have a license to drive a car drive as long as their following me? Also I see this alot too: where I work people who store their ski's take their friends out and one of the main questions their friends who have never operated a PWC ask is "where are the brakes"...now should someone like that be operating a PWC? Don't think soo. Bottom line people need to be educated on how to ride them. I know that sounds weird "educated" but it's true. I know there is a time and place to have fun on them, but there are people who think that that time and place is right in the middle of a channel on a sunday, and thats the point i'm trying to get across here: certain people need to learn where and when that time and place is and isn't.

Just to make this clear, I am not blaming anybody for this, I'm not saying that most people who have PWC's do this, what I'm saying is that there are enough people like this to make this a big deal and I wish they would learn because I wanna be able to keep riding my stand-ups and sit down for as long as I can, and whereever I want to. I completely support any type of ban to be lifted from any area where PWC's cannot operate.

J.Donaldson · 03-16-2006, 06:31 PM

The following is a report on a hearing held yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives National Parks Sub Committee, in Washington, D.C.
**********************************************

House panel tells NPS to speed up watercraft rulemaking
David Loos, E&E Daily reporter

Several House members criticized the National Park Service yesterday for its "glacial pace" in finalizing rules for personal watercraft use in a handful of parks where the recreational activity is currently banned.

During a House Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee meeting, industry officials told lawmakers that bad publicity surrounding the watercraft bans has cost the U.S. economy $2.7 billion and led to the loss of more than 3,000 jobs over the past nine years. Environmental groups have complained for years about the PWC effect on water and air quality as well as lack of uniform rules and strongly dispute those figures.

At issue yesterday were rules concerning the popular activity, which has occurred at some level in approximately 32 of the 87 areas of the National Park System that allow motorized boating. A ban on personal watercraft in certain NPS units resulted from a 2000 lawsuit. The Park Service eliminated watercraft use in 67 parks that year, but a later court settlement gave 21 seashores, lakeshores and recreation areas a two-year grace period before the ban took effect so they could complete environmental impact studies.

In a 2001 consent decree with the Bluewater Network, NPS agreed to conduct an environmental assessment of the effects of Jet Skis, WaveRunners and other personal watercraft on the lakes, islands and oceans. Five of the parks did not go forward with the assessments and kept the PWC ban. Ten of the 16 remaining parks have completed the process and are open for PWC, though restrictions abound at most of the units.

Yet more than three years after conducting the assessments, NPS has not finalized rules at six national park units, including Cape Lookout National Seashore, Gateway National Recreation Are and Big Thicket National Preserve. Final rules for Cape Lookout are expected before this year's summer season, but Karen Taylor-Goodrich of NPS said yesterday it could be the end of this year or next before rules are complete for the other five.

Several witnesses joined a majority of lawmakers yesterday in castigating NPS for taking an average of 30 months to complete the assessments, saying the effect on the watercraft industry has been great. "It is imperative that government agencies be responsive in enacting appropriate policy, and I am concerned that the Park Service has allowed this rulemaking to languish for too long," said committee Chairman Candice Miller (R-Mich.).

Laura Baughman of the Trade Partnership cited a recent study by her group that blames the steep decline in PWC sales over the last decade on publicity surrounding the ban in the years leading up to its enactment.
The direct cost to the PWC industry over that time period is about $1.3 billion, though the impact on other sectors of the tourism and recreation industry increase the impact to $2.7 billion.

But Carl Schneebeck of the Bluewater Network said an array of other factors are to blame for the steep decline in PWC industry, including product liability lawsuits and concerns over the noise and environmental impact of the machines. Nearly 99 percent of all U.S. ocean waters and
97 percent of inland waterways are open to PWC use, he said. "There are plenty of places to ride personal watercraft, but the hard truth for the industry is there is a declining interest in doing so."

Committee ranking member Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) criticized the industry along similar lines for overstating the case and blaming other problems on the NPS prohibitions. "I don't buy it," he said.

While pressured by lawmakers, Taylor-Goodrich would not give a timetable for finishing up all the park assessments, saying only that the agency is moving as fast as possible to complete the process. She predicted that all would be done by the end of next summer.

"It's hard to examine the process when there doesn't seem to be a process,"
said Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah). "Let's get moving on this project.

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