Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission R. Kipp Frhlich, Section Leader, Imperiled Species Management Section of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Letter to Hopping Green & Sams stating that there have been no manatee deaths attributed to personal watercraft.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Thirty-nine species of waterbirds were exposed to the rapid approach of personal watercraft (PWC) and an outboard powered boat to determine the flushing distances to these two watercraft. Only one species exhibited significantly larger flush distances to the approach of a PWC, whereas five species exhibited significantly larger flush distances to the approach of the outboard powered boat. Eleven species exhibited no difference in flush distance between PWC and the outboard powered boat. This data suggests that a uniform buffer zone should be established for both PWC and outboard-powered vessels.

David Arnold, Bureau of Protected Species Management, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Letter to Congressman Weldon stating that there have been no manatee deaths attributed to personal watercraft.

Dr. Rodgers concludes that buffer zones are sufficient to protect wading bird colonies from human disturbance, whether it be on foot, vehicle, or boat.

Joanna Burger, Rutgers University

Continental Shelf Associates Study shows that personal watercraft have no effect on sea grass when operated in depths of 2 feet or more, as recommended by the manufacturers.

United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA’s description of new emissions standards for marine carbureted engines.

(2000) Rachel Sakata

(1996) United States Environmental Protection Agency This is an EPA memo discussing marine engines and the effects of their exhaust emissions. Among the EPA’s findings are: • The impact of marine engine exhaust emissions on the aquatic environment is mitigated to a large extent by the evaporation process. • Most of the damage to flora attributed to marine craft is caused by propeller damage or turbulence…even this damage is minor when compared to natural processes such as wind-induced mixing or massive rises in vacuolate cyanophites. • Many authors are hesitant about attributing all of the measured levels of pollutants associated with exhaust products found in lakes to watercraft.