We recently received great news about the Blue Heron Bridge. Douglas Kahle, the attorney and diver originally responsible for the Blue Heron Bridge petition, sent us the following update:

UPDATE: BLUE HERON BRIDGE PETITION

GREAT NEWS!!!!!! The Blue Heron Bridge Petition has been a success. County Commissioner Karen T. Marcus was extremely responsive and apparently sympathetic to the Petition and the cause; she performed magnificently in seeking protection for the marine creatures inhabiting the BHB area. As set forth in the attached letters, Rich Walesky, the Director of Environmental Resources Management, concluded that it is in fact a violation to remove marine creatures from the BHB area. Furthermore, Dennis Eshleman, Director of the County Parks and Recreation Department, is pursuing a submerged land lease with the state to provide additional protection. Finally, a sign will be placed at the area to inform the public that marine creatures cannot be removed from the area and the Park Rangers will be notified immediately.

Accordingly, if you witness people removing marine creatures from this area, PLEASE CONTACT THE PARK RANGERS; do not waste your time contacting the Riviera Beach Police.

Also, don’t hesitate to show your appreciation to Ms. Marcus by dropping her a thank you letter. Again, she did a remarkable job and recently won reelection in a landslide as County Commissioner.

Attached is the Petition Letter that was sent on June 9, 2008; Ms. Marcus’ letter of August 6, 2008 concluding that removal of the marine creatures is a violation and prohibited; and, Ms. Marcus’ letter of August 20, 2008 indicating that a sign will be placed at the BHB area and the Park Rangers will be notified.

If you’d like, you can download the petition letters and responses from Ms. Marcus here: [PDF, 600KB]

Please don’t hesitate to contact Commissioner Marcus to thank her for her actions!

Contact information:
Commissioner Karen T. Marcus
301 North Olive Ave. Suite 1201
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
(561) 355-2201
(561) 355-6094 (FAX)
[encode=kmarcus@pbcgov.org]