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FWC Set To Announce Silver Glen Recommendation

    This Thursday, February 20, will see representatives of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in Astor to discuss the potential of regulation changes at Silver Glen Springs.  FWC officials are expected to reveal a recommendation regarding a US Forest Service request to create a Spring Protection Zone at Sliver Glen, which if enacted would change how boaters operate in the area.
    The meeting will convene at 5:30 p.m. at the Astor Community Association building, located on Ann Street in Astor.  The event is open to the public.
    The FWC has been studying the issue for several months, and recreation enthusiasts have been vocal in opposition to the designation.  If enacted, the SPZ could effectively end the current practice of boating in the springs, with the potential of outlawing mooring, anchoring, and grounding.  
    The Forest Service requested the designation, citing environmental degradation in the area.  
    SPZ's have been enacted elsewhere in the state, including at Weeki Watchee River, which impacted an estimated 5.6 miles.
    The law creating spring protection zones took effect in 2022, and empowered the FWC to take steps it deemed appropriate to protect Florida's natural spring network.  
    To enact the designation, and restrictions that are included, FWC regulations say the agency must be able to provide data 'showing that regulation will protect or prevent specific harms caused by the speed, operation, anchoring, mooring, beaching, or grounding of vessels'.  While it has been believed an outright ban on motorized boating in the Glen has not been part of the plan, it appears such a decision could be allowable under the provisions of the law and policy.  
    A final decision on the SPZ request won’t be made until at least May, when the issue is expected to come before the FWC Commission.