Yankeetown Boat Ramp Use Inventory

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3 Acknowledgments We wish to thank Yankeetown s Mayor and Council members for their support in conducting the boat ramp use inventory study. Special thanks and recognition to Vice Mayor/Acting Mayor, Larry Feldhusen who assisted, organized, and participated in collecting boat ramp data. We also want to thank Tommy Sholes, Prior Acting Mayor; Douglas Dame, Town Councilman; Jack Holbrook, Town resident and retired lobster fisherman; for volunteering their time in collecting boat ramp data as well. We also recognize the contribution of Garin Davidson, former Florida Sea Grant s Senior GIS analyst, who designed and implemented the boat ramp use inventory study. It is our intention that this valuable effort by the town s officials and citizens in providing boat ramp information will be used to support coastal and waterway access planning that benefits Yankeetown residents and visitors.

4 Yankeetown Boat Ramp Use Inventory The project goal was to collect baseline information to assist Yankeetown authorities in planning and managing waterway access facilities. Specific objectives included: Determine the use profiles of boat ramps. Determine temporal patterns of ramp use. Determine if (and when) ramp use exceeds parking capacity. Identify the proportion of ramp users who are local (in-county) versus non-local (out-of-county and out-of-state). Categorize the coastal/water-based activities of ramp users. Methods Three (3) public boat ramps (County Road 40, Allen Park Road, and Yankeetown Yacht Basin) and two (2) private boat ramps (B s Marina and Campground and Yankeetown Marina) in Yankeetown were surveyed (Figure 1). Figure 1. Locations of five waterway access facilities surveyed in Yankeetown.

5 City volunteers surveyed the five waterway access facilities 23 times starting on December 21, 2013 and ending on May 7, 2014 (Table 1). Visits to the five boat ramps were conducted between 9:00AM 5:30PM on 12 weekdays and 11 weekend days. The volunteers were trained and provided with detailed instructions on how to conduct the survey (Appendix A). The volunteers used a data collection form to record the name of the facility, the date and time they surveyed the facility, prevailing weather and tide conditions, and the license plate numbers of tow vehicles and trailers parked onsite or along right-of-ways 1 (Appendix B). When adverse conditions were present (those likely to suppress boating activity) the volunteers provided details: heavy rain, high winds, extreme cold, ramp or access road construction. A comments column was used to enter additional information, such as if a plate was out-of-state or government issued, the business names of commercial entities (e.g., guide service), and, if available, the waterbased activity of the boat owner/user that day. Information on the completed data collection forms was entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for analysis. The trailer and tow vehicle license plate numbers were crossreferenced with the state vessel title registration system (VTRS), maintained by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV), to determine the origins of ramp patrons (i.e., city residents, in-county, out-of-county, and out-of-state). Results The County Road 40 ramp received the most use (71% of all observations) during the survey period, followed by Yankeetown Boat Basin (10%), and Yankeetown Marina and Allen Park Road ramp (both 8%; Figure 2). Factors that could have influenced ramp usage on particular survey days included bad weather conditions (e.g., windy, very low temperatures) and the lack of (limited) access to private-owned facilities (i.e., Yankeetown Marina). 1 Onsite parking refers to spaces that were constructed and/or dedicated for use by ramp patrons. Right-of-way refers to ad-hoc parking by ramp patrons in locations that were not designed for that purpose.

6 Table 1. The number of tow vehicles and trailers observed at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities on 23 survey days. Marina/Boat Ramp Name (number of onsite and right-ofway parking spots) 12/21 (Sat) Number of Vehicles/Trailers Observed on Twenty Three Survey Days /28 (Sat) 1/3 (Fri) 1/11 (Sat) 1/16 (Thu) 1/19 (Sun) 1/26 (Sun) 1/31 (Fri) 2/9 (Sun) 2/11 (Tue) Allen Park Rd (9 / 9) NA ł NA 3 NA NA 4 NA B's Marina (8 / 0) NA NA 1 NA NA 1 NA CR 40 (32 / 22) NA NA NA Yankeetown Boat Basin (0* / 10 ) NA 5 NA NA NA NA Yankeetown Marina (32 / 0) NA NA NA 8 NA NA 5 NA Survey Day Total *No on-site parking spaces available, only 10 spaces to park in right-of-way. ł Data collection was not possible on survey date. 2/20 (Thu) 3/21 (Fri) 3/23 (Sun) 3/26 (Wed) 4/1 (Tue) 4/10 (Thu) 4/11 (Fri) 4/12 (Sat) 4/24 (Thu) 4/26 (Sat) 4/27 (Sun) 5/4 (Sun) 5/7 (Wed) Total Number of Vehicles/ Trailers Observed Yankeetown Boat Basin 10% Yankeetown Marina 8% Allen Park Rd 8% B's Marina 3% CR 40 71% Figure 2. Yankeetown s waterway access facilities percent of users.

7 Counts Counts The relative use of the waterway access facilities varied during the project s six month span. Peak use at the CR 40 ramp and Yankeetown Boat Basin occurred in April, in April and May at the Yankeetown marina, and in December at the Allen Park Road ramp (Figure 3 and 4). B s Marina was the only facility that exhibited a more steady use, albeit with a slight peak in April CR 40 Dec2013 Jan2014 Feb2014 Mar2014 Apr2014 May2014 Water Access Facility Figure 3. Monthly counts of vehicle/trailers at CR 40 waterway access facility Dec2013 Jan2014 Feb2014 Mar2014 Apr2014 May Allen Park Rd B's Marina Yankeetown Boat Basin Water Access Facility Yankeetown Marina Figure 4. Monthly counts of vehicle/trailers at four Yankeetown waterway access facilities.

8 The parking capacity at most waterway access facilities did not exceed the number of patrons. The use at most access locations ranged from 15% to 55% of parking capacity (Table 2). The use at CR 40 Boat Ramp and Yankeetown Boat Basin, however, exceeded parking capacity on some dates. For example, the parking capacity at the CR 40 ramp was exceeded by 16% on average, with the highest use exceeding capacity by 334% (April 27, 2014). For Yankeetown Boat Basin the parking capacity was exceeded by 100% since there are no on-site parking spaces available (Table 2). If right-of-way spaces were taken into count, this location might reach 57% of its capacity. However, this is something important to consider for future improvements at this facility, since right-of-way parking might be a detractor for visitors to use this location and may be a cause for parking law-enforcement issues as well. Table 2. Average percentage of parking capacity used by patrons at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities. Marina/Boat Ramp Name (number of onsite and rightof-way parking spaces) Average Parking Capacity Used Considering: Onsite Only Onsite & Right-of-Way Allen Park Rd (9 / 9) 52% 26% B's Marina (8 / 0) 22% 22% CR 40 (32 / 22) 116% 69% Yankeetown Boat Basin (0 / 10) NA 57% Yankeetown Marina (32 / 0) 16% 16% All Five Facilities (81 / 41) 56% 37% Recreational and commercial activities were observed at Yankeetown ramps. The top five activities were kayaking, bank fishing, commercial fishing, river fishing and sightseeing (Figure 5).

9 Kayaking Bank fishing Commercial fishing Fishing in river Sightseeing Fishing inshore Canoeing Commercial Crabbing Pier/dock fishing Hunting Oystering Beach fishing Crabbing Renting Boat Cleaning up trash Count Figure 5. Coastal and water-based activities observed at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities on 23 survey days from December 2013 to May 2014 (n=148). There were 1,058 vehicle/trailer plate numbers collected during survey dates. After they were cross-referenced with the VTRS, it was determined origin of at least 82% of the records (869 vehicle/trailer plate numbers). No less than 99% patrons were in-state users and only 1% were out-of-state (Table 3). Out-of-state users came from Connecticut, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, and Virginia (Figure 5). Among Florida state users the largest contingents were from Marion county (43%), follow by Citrus county (19%) and Levy county (14%) (Figure 6). Table 3. Estimated number of users by place of origin at five Yankeetown s waterway access facilities User Category users Percentage of users Out-of-state 12 1% Out-of-county % In-county % City Residents 20 2% Users Total %

10 Figure 5. Origin of users observed at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities between December 2013 to May 2014.

11 Figure 6. Observed frequency of in-state users at five Yankeetown waterway access facilities between December 2013 to May 2014.

12 Recommendations Continue monitoring water access facilities usage. This will contribute to wellinformed management decisions. Perform a study that determines boat ramp users needs. This will help to identify improvements needed at each water access facility and in which priority order they should be implemented. Improve Yankeetown s waterways access facilities. This could help to alleviate and prevent exceed demand on water access facilities at present and in the future. There are some grant opportunities available that can be helpful to Yankeetown s authorities if money is a limited factor. The following grant opportunities run in an annual/biannual basis: Florida Boating Improvement Program Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission awards grants to projects that enhance boating access and other boating-related activities on coastal and/or inland waters of Florida. Eligible program participants include county governments, municipalities, and other governmental entities of the State of Florida. The five application categories include: recreational channel markers, boat access facilities, derelict vessel removal, boater education, and economic development initiative and other local boating-related activities. Applicants must agree to provide a share of the total project cost in the form of in-kind services or cash expenditures. For more information on the grant and an application form, visit: Recreational Trails Program The Recreational Trails Program is a federally funded grant program administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The program provides financial assistance to agencies of city, county, state or federal governments, and organizations,

13 approved by the State, or state and federally recognized Indian tribal governments, for the development of recreational trails, trailheads, and trailside facilities. Projects involving non-motorized trails or combination motorized and non-motorized trails may receive up to $200,000 in funding. Motorized projects are eligible for a maximum of $500,000 in funding. Applicants must provide match at a rate of 80:20 (grant:match). For more information and an application, visit the website at: Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) and Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) The Grants Section of the Office of Financial Management administers grants to local governments through the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program (FRDAP) and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). These are competitive, reimbursement grant programs which provide financial assistance for acquisition or development of land for public outdoor recreation. Eligible participants include all county governments, municipalities in Florida and other legally constituted local governmental entities, with the responsibility for providing outdoor recreational sites and facilities for the general public. The maximum grant requests for both of these programs are $200,000. FRDAP is a state competitive grant program that provides financial assistance to local governments to develop and/or acquire land for public outdoor recreational purposes. The local match requirement depends on the total project cost: if total cost is $50,000 or less, FRDAP grant is 100%, and local match is 0%; if total cost $50, ,000, then FRDAP grant is 75%, and local match is 25%; if total cost is over $150,000, then FRDAP grant is 50%, and local match is 50%. LWCF is a federal competitive program which provides grants for acquisition or development of land for public outdoor recreation use. The matching ratio is one

14 applicant dollar to one federal dollar for all grant awards (50% / 50%) which can be met through different types of match sources. For more information on the grants and an application form, visit: Florida Native Plant Society Annual Conservation Grant The Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS), whose mission is to promote the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of Florida, provides up to three (3) Conservation Grants annually with up to $1,500 available for each grant. FNPS Conservation Grants support applied conservation projects in Florida for Florida s rare or imperiled native plant taxa. The applicant does not have to be an FNPS member but to qualify for a Conservation Grant, an FNPS Chapter must sponsor the proposed project; such sponsorship is demonstrated by the signature of the Chapter President, or designee, on the completed application. The FNPS also provides other related grants with the same deadline as the Conservation grant and the information for these grants can be found on the same web page below. For more information or an application, visit the website at: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: Five Star & Urban Waters Restoration Program The Five Star/Urban Waters Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, forest, riparian and coastal habitat restoration, stormwater management, outreach and stewardship with a particular focus on water quality, watersheds and the habitats they support.

15 For more information, visit the website at: Visit Florida: Cultural, Heritage, Rural and Nature Tourism Grant Program The Cultural, Heritage, Rural and Nature (CHRN) program is a reimbursement program designed to provide funding for multi-county and multi-partner marketing projects for the promotion of Florida s cultural, heritage, rural, nature and education efforts. It has been recommended by the Cultural, Heritage, Rural and Nature Tourism Committee that total funds for this grant program during fiscal year will be $150,000. This amount is always contingent upon budget allocations and is subject to change. For more information, visit the website at: heritage,-rural-and-nature-tourism-grant-program/

16 Appendix A. Instructions for city volunteers to collect data at marina and boat ramps. Instructions for Ramp and Marina Survey The University of Florida Conservation Clinic and Florida Sea Grant are working with the Town of Yankeetown to identify the service area of the Town s boat ramps and marinas, as well as, gauge the degree of use at each location. The concept is straightforward, visit the boat ramp/marina and write down license plate numbers of both the boat trailer and the towing vehicle. Through comparison with the Vehicle Title and Registration System (VTRS) maintained by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, we can determine how far people travel to use the ramp/marina, as well as estimate repeat use at the ramp/marina. The data are kept secure and we do not access vehicle records for those owners who have requested that their personal information not be released. We d like to keep the data collection process standardized to aid in the analysis so here are some guidelines. 1) We d like to have the ramp/marina visited on a monthly basis through January Ideally this would occur on specified weekdays, weekends, and some holidays to capture peak use periods. 2) To obtain the maximum number of trailer observations and to standardize data collection for later analysis, please try to conduct surveys in the mornings to early afternoon, between 9:00am and 1:00 pm. If that timing is not possible on all occasions the data will still be valuable. Please write the time you arrived at the ramp/marina on the top of each form. 3) At the top of the form are spaces to identify the ramp/marina, the date, and time. Please remember to fill out this information. 4) If you need to use multiple forms for a single ramp/marina, please repeat the identifying information at the top of each form. At the lower right hand corner, there is a place to indicate how many pages comprise the record for a specific visit. This all helps us become reorganized if pages get shuffled in transport. 5) Under the spaces for identifying information, we are asking for notes about the presence of adverse conditions that would distract people from using the ramp/marina on that day. This can help us look back and see why a particular ramp/marina might have had a lower than usual count one day. It will also provide an indication of how strongly people want to use the ramp/marina even on bad boating days. 6) The form consists of three columns. The first column is used to record the license plate number of the trailer. We have placed this column first since when standing at

17 the back of a trailer, that is usually the easiest and first plate to be read. If the trailer does not have a license plate, cross out the box in order to positively indicate to us that a trailer was present but had no plate. If the plate is present but all the numbers can not be read, cross out the box, or cross out the partial number. Note that some trailers will have plates mounted on removable light bars. Sometimes the boater will place the light bar somewhere on the front portion of the trailer while the boat is off the trailer. Sometimes if a pick-up truck is towing the trailer, the boater will place the light bar in the bed of the truck with the plate hanging over the side or tailgate. If you can read the plate numbers, go ahead and do so. Never touch the light bar or reach into a truck bed to adjust the light bar so the plate can be read. That is private property and we do not have authorization to trespass. 7) The second column is used to record the tow vehicle license plate. 8) The last column is used to indicate if the plates are from out of state. We d like to know what state the trailer or tow vehicle came from. Go ahead and write down the plate numbers as that will allow us to identify repeat visits from the out of state vehicles. Some ramps/marinas are used by professional guides who have signs on their trucks. Please use this column to help us identify guides and the ramps/marinas they use. If the trailer and vehicle belong to a government agency, please indicate so in this column. Those plate numbers are difficult to match with the computer and we need to match them manually. 9) If anyone asks that you not record their license numbers, please oblige with their request. Just place an X or cross out the boxes on that line and make a note in the comments box. That way we can still count their vehicle in the total count for the day. 10) Please be careful when writing that certain letters and numbers are distinguishable (U versus V, S versus 5, P versus D, J versus I versus 1). If the data are not written correctly, then we won t get a VTRS match. 11) Collections of completed forms should be delivered to Mayor Lawrence Feldhusen at the Town Hall on 6241 Harmony Lane the first weekday after each completed survey day. 12) Please contact Garin Davidson should you have questions regarding the ramp/marina survey procedure. Also, please contact Garin Davidson and Mayor Lawrence Feldhusen should you have questions regarding the weather. The ramp/marina survey schedule identifies alternate survey dates (generally the next weekend day) should the weather be poor for boating. It is important that you keep

18 each other and Garin or Larry informed of when you plan to survey the ramp/marina. 13) ABOVE ALL BE SAFE! If a situation or person looks questionable, leave the area immediately. While we value this data, it is not worth risking your safety. Thomas Ankersen, Legal Skills Professor and Director of the Conservation Clinic University of Florida Levin College of Law ankersen@law.ufl.edu Work (352) Garin Davidson, Research and Education Coordinator University of Florida / Florida Sea Grant College Program gdavids@ufl.edu Work (352) Mayor Lawrence Feldhusen Work (352)

19 Appendix B. Data collection sheet used during survey of marina and boat ramps. Boat Ramp Usage Study Ramp Name: Date: Time: Adverse Conditions, Circle if present: Heavy Rain, High Winds, Extreme Cold, Ramp or Access Road Construction Trailer License Plate Tow Vehicle License Plate Comments If no plate, cross out box Out of State or Govt. Plate / Guide Service

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