Refuge says no to powerboat crowds

[Bobcat]

High performance powerboat
operators have worn out their welcome
on Boca Grande Key during
the annual poker run from Miami to
Key West and during the powerboat
championship races.
Both events occur the first week of
November in Key West.
The dust up over having more
than 150 powerboats rafted around
and beached on the offshore island
in the Key West National Wildlife
Refuge has the organizers of the
poker run in jeopardy of losing thousands
in funding for another event
in Key Largo.
The Florida Powerboat Club
is seeking $10,000 to market a
Columbus Day weekend regatta
off Key Largo. The Monroe County
Commission was scheduled to
approve the funding on Wednesday,
but held off after Key Largo resident
Dottie Moses voiced concerns about
the event in the wake of issues the
club is having with U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, which oversees all
of the refuges in the Florida Keys.
Commissioners asked for more
information on the Key Largo event,
and will rehear the funding request
when they meet in in February Key
Largo.
Prior to November’s poker run, the
Fish and Wildlife Service asked the
powerboat club to not hold its “Fun
Run to Boca Grande,” which in the
past has brought more than a 150
boats to the small offshore island.
The refuge also asked the organizers
not to fly a helicopter over the
party at Boca Grande.
The Fish and Wildlife Service
requires that commercial operations
and activities that take place
within its boundaries be evaluated
as to “their appropriateness
and compatibility with the agency’s
mission,” Florida Keys Refuge
Manager Nancy Finley wrote in a
letter to poker run organizer Stu
Jones about a month before the
poker run, which has been held for
two decades.
“Please understand that Boca
Grande is a sensitive resource area,”
Finley wrote. “Boca Grande serves
as an important migratory bird
foraging area, and landing on the
beach is prohibited above mean
high water. At this point, it is unlikely
we would be able to complete the
necessary review for the ‘Fun Run,’
so we ask that you remove any reference
to that option being available
for this current year’s event, including
a helicopter shoot in proximity
to the island.”
However, both the party and the
helicopter flyover still occurred,
and refuge managers are not happy
about it, Finley said.
Finley held off on having a large
law enforcement presence on Boca
Grande during this year’s event, but
might have to rethink that policy
next year, she said.
“We wanted to give them a chance
to self-regulate,” Finley said.
Jones contends he did change
the name of the “Fun Run to Boca
Grande” to just the “Fun Run” on
the event itinerary, and he told captains
during a pre-event meeting
that refuge managers did not want
them going to Boca Grande during
the Saturday of the poker run.
Jones argued that only a small
number of Florida Powerboat Club
members took part in the Boca
Grande excursion. The remaining
boats were not affiliated with the
club, Jones said. Jones did confirm
the club did have a helicopter flying
and taking photos around Boca
Grande, which Finley requested the
club don’t do.
“I did everything I could,” Jones
said. “At the captains meeting, I
talked about this at length.”
tohara@keysnews.com
Powerboats
Continued from Page 1A
ROB O’NEAL/The Citizen
A portion of some 100 powerboats are seen Saturday at Boca Grande, roughly 10 miles west of Key West. The majority
of the vessels were participating in the Florida Powerboat Club’s 22nd annual Poker Run that started in Miami
with stops in Key Largo, Islamorada and Marathon. The run began Nov. 4 in Miami with 120 boats making the 1

[Ratickle]

Wow, that will be a big change in the future.

Any rumblings as if they will lose the funding for the Key Largo event?

[Ratickle]

"Jones contends he did change
the name of the “Fun Run to Boca
Grande” to just the “Fun Run” on
the event itinerary"

I'm not sure that will convince them they tried to do everything they could. Wouldn't they have to make a new destination to replace Boca Grande with to meet the committees recommendation?

[Bobcat]

He's clever that way !

He's a moron

[Ratickle]

They also said they did not cancel the helicopter. I hope they can smooth it over, people don't seem to need much of an excuse anymore to cancel anything to do with a loud, fast boat......

[Serious News]