Trade Only Today of Soundings joins the fray to highlight the very restrictive legislation recently enacted in Georgia. See Georgia Anchoring Advocacy Fund.

Don’t Drop Anchor in Georgia
Fighting the good fight for boating and boaters never ends.

BoatUS is leading a push against a new Georgia regulation restricting overnight anchoring within 1,000 feet of any structure, such as public and private docks, wharves, bridges, piers and pilings, except in areas near a marina.

How did boaters get hammered this way? There was little notice or engagement with recreational boating groups by the Georgia legislature in approving House Bill 201. It was then quietly signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.

The legislation directed the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to develop rules regarding the anchoring of vessels in estuarine areas of the state. DNR proposed a rule that has rightfully raised serious concerns in the boating community.

“This 1,000-foot offset needlessly eliminates anchorages all over the state,” says Chris Edmonston, vice president of government affairs for BoatUS. “It will affect numerous boaters, many of whom transit Georgia waters as part of the annual migration along the Intracoastal Waterway. There is no reasonable safety or waterway-management reason for taking such a significant swath of state waters away from the boating public.

“Boating and fishing,” Edmonston adds, “are the second largest outdoor recreational activity in Georgia, bringing in more than $500 million a year in economic activity. Eliminating scores of anchorages will put a severe damper on this very important economic driver to many coastal areas that gain from boater spending.”

He went on to acknowledge the so-called “Marina Zones” that will allow boaters to anchor as close as 300 feet to marinas or facilities that provide fuel, dinghy access, provisions, vessel maintenance or other services. But that won’t reduce the negative economic impact of this poorly crafted legislation and resulting rules.

Perhaps the most persuasive argument is the BoatUS position that the final rule runs counter to the Public Trust Doctrine as codified in Georgia law. It states:

“The State of Georgia, as sovereign, is trustee of the rights of the people of the state to use and enjoy all tidewaters which are capable of use for fishing, passage, navigation, commerce and transportation, pursuant to the common law public trust doctrine.”

BoatUS submits that anchoring is an integral part of navigation.

Georgia dealers, employees and boaters should join the efforts of the grassroots group Save Georgia’s Anchorages, which was created in response to the law.

BY NORM SCHULTZ