There’s a reason people visit Weeki Wachee Springs from all over the country.
Friday afternoon, a cold drizzle, didn’t stop Glen Haner, who’s visiting from Utah, from experiencing the natural wonder’s magic.
Standing on a dock at Rogers Park, Haner and his family let out screams of excitement as a hungry manatee munched algae along the dock’s edge.
“It was amazing. We were looking no more than three feet away, face to face, there for a minute or two,” Haner said through a glowing grin. “Pretty exciting.”
The charm of the springs and the Weeki Wachee River have made the area more popular than ever. But that’s caused a problem.
“The problem was it was being loved to death,” said John Allocco, a Hernando County Commissioner.
As Allocco explained, some boaters and kayakers on the river have caused environmental damage by getting out of their boats and trampling the shoreline and aquatic plants, like eel grasseelgrass, that manatees eat.
A Feb. 2020 study conducted by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) and Hernando County linked river recreation with “environmental degradation” and, along with public outcry about the river’s worsening conditions, led county commissioners to seek change.
Commissioners, including Allocco, pushed the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to designate the Weeki Wachee River as a Springs Protection Zone. After a prolonged fight, the zone was approved last July.
Now, there are new rules on the 5.6-mile span of the river from Weeki Wachee Springs State Park to Rogers Park.
The rule change bans “anchoring, beaching, mooring, and grounding” virtually all boats, paddleboards, and kayaks.
“Stay in your vessels,” Allocco explained. “Don’t moor along the shoreline. Don’t get out and walk along the shorelines.”
Allocco, however, is worried about the enforcement of the new rules.
Just weeks from the busy Spring Break season, Allocco says signs have yet to be installed that warn boaters about the new rules and restrictions.
“Government moves slow,” the commissioner said. “It’s very frustrating. I can tell you, coming from the private sector, there’s nothing more frustrating to me than how slow government moves.”
He wants the new rules enforced, but right now, he can’t say for sure if they will be.
“I have not had any assurance, but I have faith that they’ll do the right thing,” he said. “I hope that we don’t get let down.”
According to Dominique Holmes, a spokesperson for Hernando County, the FWC is still in the process of securing permits for the signs, and the state agency expects to place the order for them “soon.”
Additionally, Holmes says Hernando County is in the process of creating an education campaign with the help of partners like the FWC, SWFWMD, and the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
Allocco hopes progress will be made soon. After fighting for the protection zone for years, he would like to see it enforced as soon as possible.
“It’s cliche, but we want other generations to be able to enjoy this river,” he said.
The FWC did not respond to ABC Action News's request for comment.
