Free Republic

What a bad year to be a Florida manatee. For the first time on record, more than 1,000 of the sea mammals have died in a calendar year — and it’s not even December yet. That could amount to 1 in every 7 of the state’s manatees gone in less than 11 months. Many of them starved, thanks to a die-off of seagrass, a problem worsened by human-made pollution. In the short run, Florida owes it to this iconic mammal to find ways to mitigate the damage. It’s also time to put the manatees back on the endangered species list,...

Boaters on Lake Bemidji hindered efforts to fight a nearby wildfire Tuesday, the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office said. A wildfire sparked before 4 p.m. Tuesday in Eckles Township, prompting a precautionary evacuation of people in the area at about 4:45 p.m., Beltrami County Emergency Management said. Firefighting crews tackled the 75-acre blaze on the ground and from the air via air tankers and helicopters. But those interested in watching what was going on made it difficult for the airplanes to collect water from Lake Bemidji. At about 6 p.m., the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook asking people to...

Boat counters on the Northway for the Memorial Day weekend say that 89% of the trailered motorboats traveling north into the Adirondacks on Interstate 87 passed the inspection/decontamination station without stopping, according to the Adirondack Council. It is illegal to transport invasive plants, fish or wildlife from one water body to another in New York. The surest way to avoid contaminating one lake, pond or river with species from another is to have the boat inspected and cleaned by trained personnel. New York has installed a network of inspection stations in and around the Adirondack Park. Boat inspections and decontaminations...

Hundreds of boats in Florida gathered in a parade to show support for President Donald Trump on Sunday. An invite on allevents.in asked for boats to gather at 11:30 a.m. in the Jupiter Inlet. The parade then moved south to Mar-a-Lago, with boats flying Trump and USA flags. Chopper footage captured the procession, showing hundreds of boats turned out for the event. “**** President Donald Trump**** Sent his personal thanks to the people Florida for this parade!!!

WASHINGTON (AP) - Boating season is approaching. And the Bush administration wants to enlist the country's 80 million recreational boaters to help reduce the chances that a small boat could deliver a deadly weapon somewhere along the country's 95,000 miles of coastline and inland waterways.

WASHINGTON – Before Sandy Purdon could steer his 55-foot Fleming powerboat out of a Maryland yacht club last month for a voyage through the Panama Canal to San Diego, he had to pay documentation fees, Coast Guard fees, customs fees, FCC licensing fees, sales tax and personal property tax. Were Purdon to embark on the same adventure a year from now, he also might find himself paying as much as $1,500 for a federal environmental permit every time he crosses into a state's waters. That can add up to a chunk of change. Although Purdon can probably afford it, he,...

Coast Guard Finds Boaters Who Had Been Missing off Florida Panhandle The Associated Press Apr 15, 2004 CAPE SAN BLAS, Fla. (AP) - Two boaters were rescued Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico, where they had survived for two days on an overturned catamaran by using a sail for warmth and to collect fresh water. A Coast Guard jet spotted Kenneth Heybrock, 49, and his son Joshua, 18, about 60 miles southeast of Cape San Blas, in Florida's Panhandle. The High Point, N.C., men were in good condition when a Coast Guard helicopter picked them up, but were taken to...

Coast Guard Finds Life Raft in Gulf; No Sign of Missing Boaters Feb 29, 2004 The Associated Press PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - The Coast Guard recovered a life raft Saturday from a missing fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico but found no sign of the two boaters who departed from the Florida Panhandle and have been missing for days. Capt. Don Jones and a crew member, identified by friends as Pensacola resident Ida Fitzgerald, last made contact with the Coast Guard on Monday when their 37-foot fishing boat, the Sara B, was caught in a storm about 40 miles...