Manufacturers, riders seek return of Jet Skis to Biscayne National Park - News

NEWS

August 19, 2004

Manufacturers, riders seek return of Jet Skis to Biscayne National Park

By David Fleshler
Staff Writer

The companies that make Jet Skis, WaveRunnersand other personal watercraft filed a petition with the federal government Wednesday to allow the jet-propelled vessels to return to Biscayne National Park.

The National Park Service banned personal watercraft from Biscayne and dozens of other national parks in 2000, contending they generated too much air pollution and noise. But the industry says the new generation of quieter, cleaner vessels has less impact on the environment than the average powerboat.

"There's simply no reason to ban personal watercraft," said Jeff Ludwig, regulatory affairs manager for the Personal Watercraft Industry Association, speaking at a news conference at Jet Ski of Miami, on Northwest 27th Avenue. "They've come a long way, and they should be allowed at Biscayne National Park."

Joining in the effort were local personal watercraft dealers and riders, who announced the formation of a group called BOAT Biscayne (www.boatbiscayne.com) to generate support for lifting the ban.

Environmentalists strongly support the ban, saying Jet Skis and other craft remain a uniquely disturbing intruder in national parks.

"A national park should be the one place where people can seek natural quiet and a place for contemplation," said Mary Munson, regional director for the National Parks Conservation Association. "PWCs would ruin this."

Munson said the Biscayne coalition appeared to be little but a front for the industry.

"This announcement is part of a nationwide effort on behalf of the motorized personal watercraft industry to open national parks and other protected areas to give them better markets for their products," she said. "They create sham grassroots coalitions to create an outcry for changes that the vast majority of the public opposes."

The petition was drafted by the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which represents Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A., manufacturer of the WaveRunner. Other companies in the group are American Honda Motor Co., Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A., and Polaris Industries Inc.

The petition asks the National Park Service to conduct an environmental assessment of the potential impact of the personal watercraft in the park. Ludwig said the new models are 75 percent cleaner and 70 percent quieter than they were six years ago.

The drive for access to Biscayne is one of dozens of disputes around the country over the use of motorized vehicles in national parks and other wilderness areas. The National Park Service sharply restricted the use of off-road vehicles at Big Cypress National Preserve, generating anger among hunters who used them to get to remote areas. Snowmobile riders and environmentalists are engaged in a fight over access to Yellowstone National Park. There have been battles over dune buggies in California deserts and all-terrain vehicles in national forests.

"What we're facing at Biscayne is unfortunately what we're facing throughout the country," said Jack Welch, president of the BlueRibbon Coalition, a national group that advocates more motorized access to wilderness. "Places are being closed, families are being eliminated from the opportunity to use their national parks that their tax dollars are going toward, and we believe that's wrong.

Extreme environmental groups are using hysteria to threaten the jobs, the sport and our freedom to recreate on our public lands and waters."

Local dealers said the Biscayne ban has hurt business. Dave Bamdas, owner of Riva Motorsports in Pompano Beach and Key Largo, said the Biscayne ban caused a "huge financial hardship." His sales are about half what they were before the ban, he said.

"Our customers have become very hesitant to buy personal watercraft for fear of restrictive riding areas," he said. "The first question they ask when they come into my dealership is not how much is this watercraft but where can I ride it?"

Riders said the ban closed off a beautiful place to experience the outdoors.

"It was just a really nice place to ride around, without having to drag it down to the keys," said Bill Rutherford, of Pembroke Pines, who went there with his wife and son. "I'd sure love to go back down there."

He said the ban was "an overreaction to a few people who were riding irresponsibly."

But Bill Rutherford, a fishing guide at the park since 1958, said lifting the ban "would be the worst thing they could do for the environment at Biscayne National Park."

"They go in there and stir up the rookeries of birds," he said. "They chase all the fish off the flats. I had them come roaring right by me, running the shoreline, chasing the fish off the flats. I tried to wave them off and they go right by me shooting me a bird."

Monika Mayr, assistant superintendent of Biscayne National Park, said personal watercraft caused environmental harm by scaring birds and fish and by stirring up sediment that smothered seagrasses. But she said the park service was willing to look at any new information.

"If they're alleging that with the technology these impact don't occur anymore, it's perfectly appropriate for them to request a review," she said.