Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Amendment of Lower St. Johns River Manatee Refuge in Florida

The Fish and Wildlife Service is amending a portion of the Lower St. Johns River Manatee Refuge area in Duval County, Florida, to provide for both improved public safety and increased manatee protection through improved marking and enforcement of the manatee protection area. Specifically, that portion of this manatee protection area which lies downstream of the Hart Bridge to Reddie Point will be modified to allow watercraft to travel up to 25 miles per hour (mph) in a broader portion of the St. Johns River to include areas adjacent to but outside of the navigation channel. Watercraft traveling near the banks of the river will be required to travel at slow speed much as they do now. The primary exception will be around Exchange Island where the coverage of the existing State and local slow-speed zones will be expanded. However, in the main portion of the river, watercraft will be allowed to travel at speeds up to 25 mph. The manatee protection area will also be expanded approximately one mile further downstream, to the extent it was originally proposed (68 FR 16602; April 4, 2003), in order to be consistent with existing State and local governmental manatee protection measures and thereby facilitate compliance. This modification is supported by State and local government and parties to the March 18, 2003, Stipulated Order which resulted in the initial rulemaking for this manatee protection area. The current configuration of the manatee protection area is not supported by the State of Florida or Duval County. While the Service is committed to enforcing these current protection measures, State and local government would normally provide a substantial portion of the enforcement effort. This rulemaking, through a minor modification in a small portion of the manatee protection area, resolves State and local objections and gains their support through education and enforcement throughout the extent of the manatee protection area. The modification will provide a substantial