ASTOR, Fla. – Boating activists around Astor are worried they may not be able to enjoy anchoring in Silver Glen Springs for much longer. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told News 6 it received a request to create a ”Springs Protection Zone” in Silver Glen.
If it were to pass, boats, jet skis, and even kayaks would not be able to anchor or beach in the springs.
Orange signs now hang around Astor homes and businesses that read “Save Silver Glen from No Anchoring, No Beaching, No Mooring.”
“There are the grocery stores, the hotels, the VRBOs, the restaurants. I mean it would be I think detrimental to the town of Astor,” said Matt Moss.
Silver Glen Springs is a destination for many water and boat enthusiasts. Moss said if it’s taken away from boaters, he believes many near and around Astor would be forced to close shop.
“People move here for this, not to mention property values,” he said.
Kristine Wake, the president of Save Boating Rights of Florida, said a blanket ban is not necessary and there are key issues that should instead be addressed.
“The boat vessels that live out here full time. There’s several of them that have been documented that haven’t left in years, so you have to ask yourself, how are they servicing their boat?” said Wake.
A FWC representative told News 6 they are in the very early stages of this debate and don’t have a timeline just yet on when the decision could be made.
The FWC said the “Spring Protection Zones” were created around 2022 to protect Florida’s springs, the water, grass, banks, and animals if someone brings evidence to the FWC that it’s needed.
The U.S. Department of Forestry, which runs the park around Silver Glen, asked the FWC for the protection zone in this case.
Wake would rather see a local ordinance that targets key issues such as the houseboats, vendors on the water, and beach erosion than a blanket ban, but figuring out who would enforce it is what she calls a jurisdictional nightmare.
“We’ve got Lake County, Marion County, Volusia County, the United States Department of Forestry, we’ve got FWC, you’ve got the Coast Guard, all in this little half-mile stretch,” she said.
Volusia County Councilmember Don Dempsey, who has part of the area in his district, told News 6 he can see the impact it would have on Astor.
“Hopefully, we can get with Marion and Lake counties and make some sort of unified effort to try and keep this more under a local control,” he said.
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