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Scenic Highway CME talks horses on the causeway

Scenic Highway CME talks horses on the causeway

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Health.

MANATEE COUNTY – The horses being ridden for profit along the causeway are again causing a stir, this time with members of the Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity (CME) and some nearby residents who live along Palma Sola Bay.

The subject of horseback riding in the bay came up during an Aug. 12 meeting of the CME. The group discussed the matter themselves and heard from two residents who live on the bay.

Robert Lombardo and Clif Gaus, two long-time bay residents, both spoke during public comment, asking for help from CME members in seeking regulation for the horse riding businesses.

Lombardo, who has lived for nearly 40 years on the bay, said that he initially became concerned about the businesses when he saw the horseback riding take off in 2016. After speaking with local elected officials and not garnering any interest in the issue, he said he backed off, only to renew his efforts in October 2019.

“I can’t ignore it anymore,” he said, noting that he’s seen a steady increase in the horse riding excursions and the number of companies operating on the causeway. Lombardo’s concerns include water quality and the destruction of seagrasses where the horses are ridden in the water off the beach. He said that he sees horse excrement float by his dock regularly which leads to concerns for him about fishing and swimming in the water.

Lombardo said that he spoke about his concerns with Julie Espy, Program Administrator of the Water Quality Assessment Program with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. While he said Espy agreed that there is cause for concern with both environmental and water quality impacts, she said the issue needs to be handled at a local level.

While Lombardo said he doesn’t want to put anyone out of business, he wants a structure in place that helps protect the area’s natural resources, including seagrasses, from destruction.

Gaus said that having so many businesses operate along the causeway corridor takes away from the beauty of the scenic highway and also reduces the number of people who can enjoy the causeway beaches. In addition to excrement and broken seagrasses, he said he’s also seen a horse break loose and run close to children playing on the beach. With so many horses, he said it discourages people from using the causeway and it creates issues with swimming in the water and using the beaches with excrement floating through the water and washing up on beaches.

Gaus presented members with two aerial photographs, one of the north side of the causeway from 2016 and another from 2019. While he assumes that the difference in coloring is due to sand being exposed rather than seagrasses being present, he said that the 2019 map clearly shows a difference where the horses commonly walk.

Shawn Duytschaver, a CME member and owner/operator of Surfer Bus, said that he’d previously proposed the idea of an equestrian trail along the side of the causeway that would keep the horses in one section that is clearly marked. He said that the issue is the way that the horses walk in the water digs up not only seagrass but also sand and would eventually create a channel, requiring the trail to be moved to another area.

Co-chair Ingrid McClellan said that before the CME group approaches any elected officials, they need to have concrete data to show the damage to the area. She suggested going to the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program to get seagrass data from the past several years.

Member Mike Meehan suggested that all of the trailers parked on the side of the causeway, some on sidewalks, with horses blocking or constantly crossing the sidewalk could create a safety hazard that would need to be addressed.

Nancy Simpson with the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization said that there potentially are several issues for her organization to address, including beach erosion caused by damage to seagrasses that could potentially damage the roadway, travel time concerns along Manatee Avenue with the trailers backing in and out, and drivers slowing down to look at the horses and horses breaking free of their handlers.

Simpson also said that getting the Manatee County Department of Health in on the conversation could shed some light on how the horse excrement affects E. coli, or fecal bacteria, in the bay.

She offered to work with Lombardo and Gaus as a private citizen on presentations for the city of Bradenton’s planning and city commissioners.

Regulation, she said, is a “no-brainer,” adding that it’s wrong for businesses to profit from taxpayer-funded property without paying anything toward the maintenance of the property or remediation necessary because of the business use.

Previously, a representative from Beach Horses, one of the 10 companies that advertise horseback riding on the causeway, spoke to the CME group, suggesting that the businesses be regulated through a registration process similar to taxis. Each horse would be assigned a medallion and only a certain number of horses would be allowed at one time. While the plan was well-received by the group, it didn’t make it any further toward becoming a reality.

Currently, the horses are considered a method of transportation and are therefore allowed on the causeway. The companies that conduct the horseback riding trips along the beach and through the water are not required to have any special permits to operate but are not allowed to take cash onsite for services due to a prohibition against conducting business in a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) right of way.

The boundaries between what is a Manatee County park, what is owned by the city of Bradenton and what is an FDOT right of way are blurred and result in an enforcement issue for the area. CME co-chair Craig Keys said he would look into who has authority over the area and report back to the group.

After conversations ended, Gaus said he was happy with how discussions with the CME group had gone.

“I was pleased with their willingness to explore solutions with the city of Bradenton,” Gaus said. “The designated “Scenic Highway” at the entrance to Anna Maria Island is not a scenic highway in reality. Given the state environmental people will have nothing to do with preventing the seagrass destruction, I think we are left with the city as a remedy. I just can’t believe our state government would not want to even try to regulate a massive destruction of seagrass, the very thing they are charged with doing. It sets a horrible precedent for protecting our bays anywhere in the state. If this is their response, we might as well eliminate the entire Florida Department of Environmental Protection.”

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Pinellas County bans water horses

Concerns raised over horse waste in bay

Pinellas County bans water horses

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Environment, Featured, Outdoors.

Updated Oct. 25, 2019 | PALMA SOLA CAUSEWAY – Pinellas County commissioners have banned horses from aquatic preserves in the county, impacting a popular tourism business that also rents horses at Palma Sola causeway in Manatee County.

C Ponies offers rides in an aquatic preserve in Tampa Bay near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Pinellas County, and in Palma Sola Bay and along its narrow causeway beach in Manatee County. Activities include beach rides, water rides and “horse surfing,” standing on horses while they swim. Other horse rental businesses in Pinellas County also are affected.

“We only have one body of water to protect. We only have one planet to save. Once it’s destroyed, it’s destroyed,” said Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long, a former competitive horseback rider.

The commission pinned its 5-1 decision Tuesday on evidence – including aerial photos – that horses trample fragile seagrass in the aquatic preserve, and that horse manure and urine pose a risk to human health.

Citing support for the ordinance from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and the City of St. Petersburg, the commission also prohibited the unpermitted damage of seagrass in aquatic preserves.

Recognizing the value of the horseback riding businesses to tourism, commissioners voted unanimously to direct county staff to investigate other locations for horseback riding.

Concerns raised over horse waste in bay
Horsesurfing takes horseback riding in the bay to another level. – Cindy Lane | Sun

Manatee County officials have contacted Kelli Levy, Pinellas County’s Environmental Management division director, for a copy of the ordinance, Levy told commissioners, adding, “They will be looking into it as well.”

Bacteria happens

Simply put, horseback riding in the water decreases water quality, Levy told commissioners.

“It’s the wrong activity in the wrong place,” she said.

Tests by DEP and the Florida Department of Health show increased fecal bacteria in waters frequented by horses, Levy said, adding that the bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illness in people exposed to contaminated water through their eyes, ears, nose or cuts.

Florida Department of Agriculture best practices on horseback riding include staying at least 25 feet from water bodies, and the Florida Administrative Code discourages “activities that degrade the aesthetic, biological or scientific values or quality or utility of a preserve,” she said.

Water testing has shown increases in fecal bacteria in the areas where horses are ridden, said Heather Young, an environmental planner for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

Water Quality Report

Bayfront Park North                                 Poor

Bradenton Beach                                     Good

Coquina Beach North                              Good

Coquina Beach South                             Good

Manatee Beach North                             Good

Palma Sola South                               Moderate

Source: Florida Department of Health

“Nutrients and bacteria are the same thing our local governments are working incredibly hard to reduce,” she said, adding that seagrass restoration has been a group effort among many organizations and governments. “These riding operations are being allowed without permission or oversight. There is no guarantee water quality is not being impacted.”

Seagrass at stake

Randy Reynolds, DEP’s aquatic preserve manager for Tampa Bay, said he has studied the Pinellas County horseback riding area for two years, initially snorkeling, then deciding against it due to the water quality.

He observed damage to shoal grass inconsistent with boat propeller scarring, and damage to turtle grass beds in deeper water.

“I’m convinced it’s the horseback riding, not boats,” he said. “They’re punching holes in the seagrass.”

Pinellas County bans water horses
Water horses are popular on Palma Sola Bay. – Cindy Lane | Sun

Jessica Bibza, a marine biologist and member of the National Wildlife Federation and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program Technical Advisory Council, told commissioners that one in five jobs are directly tied to the health of Tampa Bay.

“I don’t know why this one activity should be exempt,” she said. “We’ve all invested a lot of time and energy and money to restore the bay.”

Horseback riding defended

Commissioner Kathleen Peters defended the businesses, saying she took an anonymous ride to see things for herself.

“They picked up everything” using several rakes and buckets. “The beach was pristine,” she said.

“Many of these horses are rescue horses. These people are taking in abused horses and are giving them an opportunity to exercise in the water,” Peters said, suggesting in vain that commissioners compromise by imposing a permit fee and allowing only one water trail.

Jennifer Osterling, a guide for C Ponies, brought trash to the commission meeting that she said she collected from the bay during trail rides, including six-pack holders and plastic bottles.

Guides educate riders about the environment, she said, while helping veterans, cancer patients, and the horses.

Kimberly Kult of C Ponies said only 10% of the horse waste is deposited in the water, and guides use pool nets and buckets to remove it.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency excludes horse waste from the definition of “solid waste,” she said, because horse waste is primarily composed of grass.

The exclusion means that horse waste is not required to be disposed of at a hazardous waste landfill, Levy said, adding, “It can be disposed of in the trash, but it doesn’t mean it’s fit for human health.”

Local concerns

Much like the Sunshine Skyway causeway, the Palma Sola Bay causeway attracts people who enjoy other recreational activities besides horseback riding, including swimming, boating, kayaking, paddleboarding and kitesurfing.

Pinellas County bans water horses
An aerial image from Google Earth show the area where horseback riding is concentrated in Palma Sola Bay.

A representative from the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program told The Sun in July about concerns that horses are impacting seagrass beds in Palma Sola Bay on the northeastern corner of the causeway, where most commercial horseback rentals occur.

Other local organizations that have discussed concerns about horseback riding at Palma Sola Bay include Keep Manatee Beautiful, the Palma Sola Scenic Highway Corridor Management Entity, the Manatee Council of Governments and Sarasota Audubon.

“We do have concerns about horses and dogs on the causeway,” said Ann Paul, a biologist with Audubon’s Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries, days before addressing Pinellas County commissioners.

“They’re peeing and pooping, and there’s no cleansing of the water before it gets in the estuary,” she said. “Where they are walking through seagrass, they’re punching holes in the seagrass. People would like to use that stretch of beach and can’t because of horse poop.”

The Florida Department of Health’s Healthy Beaches Program lists moderate water quality in Palma Sola Bay as of the most recent test on Oct. 23. Tests showed poor quality on Oct. 21 based on enterococcus bacteria from fecal contamination on the south side of the bay, which horse proponents point out is across Manatee Avenue from the horseback riding businesses.

Related coverage

Concerns raised over horse waste in bay

Letters: Horses on the causeway