WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — Kara Slaybaugh and Zoey Diekema drove from Clearwater to Hernando County on Thursday to paddleboard a Florida icon: the crystal clear, spring-fed Weeki Wachee River.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” Slaybaugh said. “I mean, all the natural springs and manatees that come by — the water’s just so clear. And the best part is that it’s so refreshing.”
On this trip, however, they learned it might be their last.
Soon, a new rule will change how thousands of people enjoy the natural gem.
Approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) during a Wednesday meeting, the rule change bans “anchoring, beaching, mooring, and grounding” virtually all boats, paddleboards, and kayaks on a 5.6-mile span of the river between Rogers Park and Weeki Wachee Springs State Park which will be designated as a Springs Protection Zone.
“It is 100-and-something degrees, so we need some shade,” Diekema said in frustration with the impending rule change. “I need to stop and get water. I can’t paddle and drink water or even take a break.”
It’s not just stopping along the river that will be complicated by the new rule. It also complicates the process of swimming outside the designated areas at the state park, and Rogers Park since boats cannot be anchored, beached, or moored.
“It’s going to be an adjustment, but it’s a win,” said Marryann Johnson, who lived along the river.
Johnson and other river allies, including Stephanie Kozuch, say the rule change was badly needed to prevent a beloved natural wonder from being loved to death.
“It should be a serene place for people to gather and listen to nature, but that’s not what it’s become anymore, and the river just needs a rest,” Kozuch said. “Nothing about it is the same other than the clear waters. The depth has changed. The sand is changed.”
As kayakers, paddleboarders, and boaters anchor, beach, or tie off along the river’s edge, they’re causing an unintentional but detrimental environmental impact. Aquatic plants are being trampled.
As the vegetation dies, riverbanks are eroding. Eroded sand changes the river's depth in some areas by creating unnatural sand point bars. Some of the mature trees along the riverbank are being uprooted as the erosion worsens.
According to Hernando County Administrator Jeff Rogers, the damage isn’t just anecdotal. It’s been proven through evidence-based research.
“We have a scientific study that says that all this extra activity outside — in the docking of vessels and outside of vessels — is causing a large impact, and you can see it with the loss of vegetation along the shoreline,” he said.
Rogers hopes the new rules will heal the river.
According to Rogers, the rule isn’t yet in effect but will be gradually rolled out during the coming months.
Signs will be installed along the river in October or November. The FWC and a Hernando County deputy, who’s assigned to the river full-time, will begin enforcement by the end of the year.
First, however, the county will focus on education to make sure river-based businesses, tourists, and locals are well aware of the new rules before any citations are written.
“Any time you change anything, you basically go out first and just educate people for a long time,” Rogers said.
Rogers, along with river advocates, believes the rule change will ensure the natural wonder exists for the enjoyment of future generations.
Slaybaugh and Diekema, however, believe the change could cost Hernando County tourism dollars.
“I mean, it’s bringing people in to stay at Airbnbs, at hotels — eating at the restaurants. And we drive an hour and a half,” Diekema.
“I don’t think I would come back,” Slaybaugh added.
