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May 8, 2026by: Curtis Hoff No Comments

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association May Newsletter

Cruisers Net is proud to be a member of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association whose lobbying work is crucial to keeping the Waterway navigable. Your membership dollars directly support their vital work. Please join and encourage your boating neighbors to do likewise, regardless of their homeport.

‘On the Road’ with the AIWA

This spring, we have been on the road working to represent the AIWA in discussions related to maintenance dredging and operations needs with local, state and national organizations. In four trips over the past four weeks, Executive Director Brad Pickel has met with federal, state and local officials in Washington, D.C., Florida and North Carolina. These meetings were in addition to the Board of Directors Advocacy Trip to Washington, D.C. in early March where we met with 12 Congressional offices.

Highlights of these outreach efforts include:

Participated in the American Boating Congress, the nation’s largest gathering of recreational boating stakeholders, and attended six meetings with Congressional Offices in Washington, D.C. bringing our total to 18 meetings this year!
Presented at the North Carolina Beach, Inlet and Waterway Association Local Government meeting outlining our recent successes and upcoming efforts to secure additional funding for the waterway.
Served as moderator in a session with Honorable Yang Si, Deputy Administrator for the U.S. DOT Maritime Administration (MARAD), at the National Waterways Conference Legislative Summit in Washington, D.C.
Presented and joined representatives from the Florida Inland Navigation District and the Jacksonville District USACE on the Intracoastal Waterway Inspection Tour in Florida.

Our next in-person meeting to advocate for the waterway is June’s National Dredging Meeting and the opportunity to connect with our USACE partners from the District, Division and Headquarters levels.

Looking ahead

With the busy spring conference season behind us, our focus is on advocating for the AIWW in the federal appropriations process for FY27 (current appropriations amounts in the table below), ensuring that funds that have been provided in previous fiscal years are being used to dredge and maintain the waterway, and continuing outreach to grow our membership.

If you know of a company, local government, association, or individual who works on the waterway, please contact brad.pickel@atlanticintracoastal.net or visit https://atlanticintracoastal.org/join-aiwa.

We held our first Commercial Operator and Corporate Member Stakeholder Group meeting in April with 23 participants, representing 18 entities.

The group’s focus is to assist the organization in identifying shoaling areas, bridge maintenance projects and other issues impacting use of the waterway, and help prioritize the areas that need to be addressed. With over 1,100 miles of the AIWW, limited funding for waterway dredging and maintenance, we will utilize resources created by this group to further refine our educational and advocacy efforts with the Administration and Congress.

Since our first meeting, the group has identified over 50 shoaling areas to be ranked in order of impact to commercial operations. We are also collecting information on bridges that are impacting current movement on the waterway. Collectively, this group is refining areas of the waterway that continually cause the most impact to navigation.

The next quarterly meeting is July 8th at 10 am eastern. To become a member of this group and further assist us in developing resources to aid in our education and advocacy efforts, we invite you to join our corporate membership.

Highlighting Waterway Hotspots along the 2026 Spring Migration

One of our favorite articles of the year for recreational boaters was recently published by our friends at the Waterway Guide.

Long-time waterway expert, Bob Sherer (also known as Bob423), identifies several key areas dredged since last fall, and a few shoaling spots requiring caution.

Read the article and download the Bob423 tracks to help you stay on the safest route.

Help Shape the Future of the Vessel Speed Rule

For our members who are interested in the Vessel Speed Rule highlighted last year, we share below the recent Call to Action from our partners at Boating United.

In 2022, NOAA proposed a sweeping expansion of the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule that would have forced many small recreational boats along the East Coast to travel at just 10 knots for up to seven months out of the year. The proposal failed to distinguish between large commercial ships and smaller recreational boats, ignored marine technologies, and would have created serious consequences for manufacturers, marinas, charter operators, anglers, and coastal communities. Now, NOAA needs to hear directly from YOU about why a modern, technology-driven approach is the best path forward. Please take a moment today to submit a comment before the public comment period closes on June 2.

Learn more and participate in the process by clicking here.

The AIWA is a national non-profit organization with the mission of securing funding and support for the maintenance of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. We are the only organization dedicated to ensuring the future of the AIWW and proudly represent all stakeholders of the waterway.

Contact:
Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association
5a Market | Beaufort, SC 29906
(843) 379-1151 | atlanticintracoastal.org

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Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association · 5A Market · Beaufort, SC 29906-9107 · USA

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Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association May Newsletter

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