Action on Boat Access Needed Now!

The string of aquatic preserves rimming the southeastern shore of Tampa Bay, from Cockroach Bay to the Manatee County line, is an incredible accomplishment for Hillsborough County's leadership and citizens who support initiatives such as the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program. The recent purchase of a site once destined to become a nuclear power plant was the last link in a 20-mile corridor that's unparalleled among the state's urbanized counties.

That success, however, is tarnished by a lack of response to the growing need for boat access to the bay from south Hillsborough County. While boat access is a problem almost everywhere in Florida, it is particularly critical in south Hillsborough - in part because of the county's hard-won environmental corridor. Aquatic preserves certainly should be open for recreational use but they should not be expected to serve as a primary access to Tampa Bay.

By default, that's presently happening in southern Hillsborough and northern Manatee counties. Some weekends, boats and trailers line the road for a quarter mile from the boat ramp at the west end of Cockroach Bay Road. The ramp and shallow channel were never intended to serve large boats - or the large number of boats that presently use them. The problem is repeated at the Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, where an unplanned and underdeveloped boat ramp has become a popular launching place for boats far too large to safely navigate the shallow, unmarked channel to the bay.

Residents of south Hillsborough County, including some members of the Cockroach Bay Users Group (CBUG), have been lobbying for an upgraded ramp and expanded facilities at Cockroach Bay. That should not be an option under any circumstance. Upgrading the ramp would bury healthy mangrove forest and mud flat communities, and a paved parking lot would degrade preserve waters. Improving the ramp would likely increase usage and probably require that the channel be dredged, thereby subjecting critical seagrass meadows to even greater destruction.

Recognizing the need for safe, environmentally friendly access to Tampa Bay, the Agency for Bay Management created a Recreational Boat Launch Task Force last year to bring regional interests to the table and help identify potential sites.

After multiple meetings and countless hours of give and take, the task force is totally stymied.

Efforts had focused on sites available at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge but the Department of Transportation hit the brakes hard. Justifiably, they refuse to allow boat ramps on causeways leading to the bridge. Port Manatee is expected to begin construction on a boat ramp at Piney Point later this year, but parking space will be limited. The launch at E.G. Simmons Park has been improved and the hours of operation expanded, which should ease the pressure on Cockroach Bay, but the demand for bay access grows every day.

In retrospect, this problem should have been addressed years ago. Still, ignoring the issue now won't make it go away. Across the state developers are snapping up marinas, and even hi-dri boat storage facilities, and turning them into upscale waterfront condominiums. Why can't Hillsborough County step forward and do the same - but turn them into public boating facilities? County-owned golf courses serve a relatively limited population, charging users to keep the club financially self sufficient. Like golfers, boaters are willing to pay for access.

Now is the time to consider buying waterfront land and charging boaters to use it. Although suitable properties are becoming increasingly scarce, we may have a once-in-this-century opportunity right now. The 167-acre Culbreath property at the west end of Shell Point Road has a boat ramp that accesses a deep stretch of the Little Manatee River, plus a large sand/shell parking lot. It's almost impossible to believe something that perfect would be available. And, of course, it isn't - yet.

The current owners have a rezoning hearing scheduled for Feb. 17, and are requesting up to 538 residential units and 50,000 square feet of retail/office space. That far exceeds what is now allowable on the property and the request may be turned down, particularly if the community protests the rezoning.

In that case, the county and other interested parties should grab the opportunity to negotiate for an important addition to the existing wildlife corridor - that also has the potential to provide boater access to Tampa Bay. If not, we'll continue to face an ever-smaller list of properties suitable for public boater access. Hillsborough County has done a remarkable job of acquiring valuable habitat, but if taxpayers can't see Tampa Bay except from a bridge, bay managers can't expect citizens' support for continued restoration initiatives.