New seagrass guidelines may impact construction
by Dan McCue, Tribune Staff Writer, The Tribune, April 6. 2000, pg B2

STUART - New federal guidelines intended to protect a rare species of seagrass in the Indian River Lagoon could have significant impact on construction projects ranging from private dock to large-scale bridge projects planned throughout the Treasure Coast.

The rules, which became law Wednesday and will take effect May 5, designate key parts of the Indian River Lagoon as a critical habitat for Johnson's seagrass, the rarest and smallest of the seven seagrass species in the lagoon.

"This is it," said Layne Bolen, a fisheries biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in St. Petersburg. "No other body has to vote to approve this designation, which we see as a management or regulatory tool, rather than something that needs to be enforced."

The areas affected by the regulations include stretches of the Indian River Lagoon near the Sebastian, Fort Pierce and St. Lucie inlets, a small field of seagrass near the end of Cove Road in Hobe Sound, and a site on the south side of the Jupiter Inlet.

Johnson's seagrass, a federally designated threatened species, is found only on the east coast of Florida from the Sebastian Inlet to central Biscayne Bay in Miami. Also affected by the new law are two areas in the Lake Worth Lagoon, and small areas in Lake Wyman, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and Biscayne Bay.

The new designation does not mandate any specific management or recovery action, but will require federal agencies, particularly the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to ensure any activity they authorize will not destroy designated critical habitat or otherwise jeopardize Johnson's seagrass.

"We're not saying docks can't go in or that people can't enjoy local waterways the way that they are used to. What we're saying is we have to consider our impact on this species when we are doing these things," Bolen said.

"All this legislation really says is that when you engage in an activity that requires a permit from a federal agency, like the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and is located in one of these designated sites, then we at the National Marine Fisheries Service have to review your plan too, Bolen added.

Gary Roderick, director of the Port St. Lucie office of the state Department of Environmental Protection, disagreed with that assessment Wednesday, saying the new rules will significantly affect a whole range of projects, including proposals to replace the Ernst F. Lyons Bridge and to build a new Walton Road bridge in Port St. Lucie. 

"The way I read it, state planners would have to at least do considerable review of their plans to ensure minimal impact, and perhaps either change the alignment of the bridge they're considering or even relocate it," Roderick said.

On a day-to-day level, Roderick said the rules "heighten the protection" afforded Johnson's seagrass and would serve as a template for his agency in reviewing permit requests. 

"It hones and fine-tunes what the rules are," he said.