Boaters and birders at crossroads during Dot-Dash-Dit meeting

Jeanette Edwards held up three mason jars filled with fishing wire.

One of those wires had a severed pelican leg attached to it.

“That’s all that was left,” she said.

Ever since the Bradenton resident and avid fisherwoman stumbled upon two dead pelicans that had flown into fishing wire dangling in a mangrove rookery in Palma Sola Bay, she made it her personal mission to clean up loose wires around the island and prevent them from killing any more.

A crowd of about 30 gathered Thurday at Rocky Bluff Library in Ellenton to discuss the possibility of the Dot-Dash-Dit Islands becoming a CWA, or critical wildlife area. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission allowed for public comment on the suggested 100-foot barrier around the mangrove islands and a year-round closure to protect nesting birds, like Tampa Bay’s only coastal colony of wood storks. State-threatened birds like tri-colored herons and roseate spoonbills also call the mangrove islands home.

There was a soft divide between the crowd, but all parties were interested in protecting the birds.

One half, including Edwards, appeared to be in favor of the barrier, even wanting a wider barrier and harsher consequences for violators who disturbed the birds.

The other half, comprised of boaters and photographers like Venice resident Donna Boyer, felt they were being villainized by the Manatee County Audubon Society and the FWC.

“Photographers have to actually get close to the birds, because if we don’t get close enough we can’t photograph them,” Boyer said. “We are often quieter than most other people,” Boyer said.

During the two-hour meeting, citizens addressed concerns about how the buffer zone would affect boaters, if water-bound deputies could handle the task of enforcing the new rules and if human disturbance really was the cause of declining bird numbers.

FWC deputy director of habitat and species conservation Kipp Frohlich said that the FWC couldn’t say with hard data that human disturbance was the sole cause of disappearing bird populations on the islands.

Lori Robertson, who is on the Manatee Audubon board of directors, said the improved State Road 64 boat ramp has increased traffic near the islands. Birds have been seen moving to parts of the small islands where boaters or photographers normally wouldn’t go past.

Numbers of nesting pairs of the 16 bird species from peak-season surveys between 2003 and 2015 suggested that population numbers are fluctuating, but are headed on an overall downward trend.

“There’s a lot we don’t know about bird nesting,” Frohlich said.

In the FWC’s June meeting, they proposed that the Dot-Dash-Dit Islands should become a CWA, which are established statewide to help protect wildlife from being disturbed in their natural habitat. If Dot, Dash and Dit become a critical wildlife area, it would be a first for Manatee County. The islands, at the mouth of the Braden River near the Manatee River, are owned by the state and Carlton Arms subdivision, but are managed by Manatee Audubon.

“I think the whole point is saving the birds’ lives,” Edwards said.

Those that could not attend the meeting and are interested in submitting comments can do so by Aug. 15 by emailing CWAcomments@myfwc.com with “Dot Dash Dit” in the subject line. A modified proposal will go before seven FWC commissioners in September and a final version in November.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Boaters and birders at crossroads during Dot-Dash-Dit meeting."