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Seagrass Plan Approved

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By SUSAN M. GREEN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 29, 2007

RUSKIN - Sitting as Hillsborough's Environmental Protection Commission, county commissioners last week approved a seagrass management plan for parts of Tampa Bay that fall under Hillsborough's jurisdiction.

Commissioners approved the plan, which was unveiled last spring, with the caveat that more negotiations with boaters, fishermen and environmental interests would occur before a decision is made on one of the management plan's recommendations: a pole-or-troll zone for Little Cockroach Bay.

The proposal to limit boat traffic in that portion of the Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve to vessels powered by poles, paddles or trolling motors sparked controversy last spring. A task force set up to develop alternatives has not produced a proposal to take to county commissioners.

EPC representatives said they proposed the ban after aerial photography showed huge stretches of seagrass gouged by boat propellers in Little Cockroach Bay. The initial proposal was to close the area for five years and evaluate the results.

Other recommendations included studying the effects of wave energy and shipping wakes on seagrass in an area of the Bay between Apollo Beach and Riverview, as well as encouraging stepped-up enforcement of existing slow-speed zones to protect environmental resources.

The plan is intended to advance the goals for seagrass recovery developed by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and its partner agencies, said EPC environmental resource manager Tom Ash.

The effort was funded by a $30,000 grant from the Pinellas County Environmental Fund. The EPC's approval Thursday closed out the agency's obligations under the grant program, Ash said.

Reporter Susan M. Green can be reached at (813) 865-1566 or sgreen@tampatrib.com.

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