The Coast Guard is studying navigational markers in waters less than 12 feet deep across the U.S., and now is your chance to voice your opinions about the Shallow Draft System, which affects countless waterways on the Chesapeake Bay.
USCG’s Waterways Analysis and Management System Study is intended to “update policies and make navigable waterways safer and more efficient.” USCG notes that the number, and size, of vessels has increased, including recreational boats, while U.S. navigation corridors have not. Now, the agency wants boaters and others affected by navigational markers to give comments and feedback using this tool. You can answer the survey through November 1.
The call for feedback comes as recent navigational changes have caused controversy on Chesapeake Bay tributaries, as Bay Bulletin recently reported. On the North East and Elk rivers in the upper Bay, the Coast Guard discontinued six markers, converted five from floating to fixed markers, and relocated two, finishing in late August.
For information or questions about the navigational markers survey, email [email protected] using the subject line: “Shallow Draft WAMS.”
-Meg Walburn Viviano
