WEEKI WACHEE GARDENS, Fla. — Is the Florida Department of Environmental Protection doing enough to preserve the Weeki Wachee State Park portion of the Weeki Wachee River? A recently filed complaint says they're not.
The complaint was made against the recently updated state park management plan. The plan is updated every 10 years and is supposed to go through an approval process with an advisory committee and public input.
Shannon Turbeville sits on the advisory committee.
"The advisory committee is very important because it consists of taxpayers," Turbeville said. "And this is public land that belongs to the taxpayers."
He said steps were skipped in approving the updated plan. A preliminary meeting was held with the advisory committee. Turbeville said his committee was waiting on the findings of the Weeki Wachee Natural System Carry Capacity Study. This study was launched "to collect and analyze data that relates human use to water quality, hydrologic, geomorphic, or ecological degradation of the river. The study area spanned from the headspring at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park to Rogers Park," the updated management plan said.
"The only meeting they ever had was a public meeting," Turbeville said. "My allegation is that they did not, per statute, develop this plan with input from an advisory committee. It would appear the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is merely attempting to check a statutory checkbox."
His concerns go beyond how the plan was passed. The updated management plan repeatedly highlighted how people exit their kayaks or paddleboards in areas they're not supposed negatively impact the shorelines.
There are laws in place that prohibit paddlers from exiting their vessels along the river. Turbeville's complaint against the plan is the laws prohibiting this from happening are not enforced.
He submitted a request with FWC to learn how many citations were issued to people for violating this law in the summer months of 2020.
"There were no citations that appeared to reflect enforcement of 62D of administrative code," he said.
The impact of breaking this rule has on the river? It makes it wider and more shallow.
"What's happening is the organic sedimentation, from people trampling it, is being transported downriver naturally following the stream and it's accumulating," Turbeville explained.
According to the study, some areas of the park suffered as much as an estimated 30 percent vegetation loss in square feet.
Outlined in the updated management plan is how the park will enforce rules to ensure rules are adhered to. Signage is up at the state park now, telling paddlers to not exit their vessels, to not trample on vegetation, and not climb on trees or swing on ropes.
DEP's plan said it will continue to work with FWC to monitor river activity and to consider establishing cameras in known problem areas.
Weeki Wachee State Park limits how many paddlers are allowed to launch each day to 280 vessels. This limitation is included in the updated management plan.
10 Tampa Bay reached out to FL DEP to learn how complaints are handled, if a change to the management plan would be considered, and why advisory board meetings were not held before the new plan was adopted. We are awaiting their response.