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Fellow Sportsman:
Our hunting, fishing and boating rights are under attack, and your help is needed immediately. We are
the Airboat Sportsman Legal Defense Fund. Our primary goal is to overturn an ordinance passed in
Osceola County, Florida on April 28, 2008.
This ordinance is a ban on the use of airboats between the hours of 11 PM and 5 AM. The original
ordinance had an exception that allowed airboat use at night during the alligator hunting season of
August 15 through November 1st. As of April 28, 2008, the revised ordinance removes that exception.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission requires that alligators must be hunted between the hours
of one hour prior to sunset to one hour after sunrise. This ordinance removes 6 hours of hunting time,
leaving 3 hours in the evening and 3 hours the next morning, which is not an adequate amount of time
and severely restricts access to West Lake Tohopekaliga due to the thick vegetation that covers the
prime hunting areas.
We, as a group, feel that this ordinance is discriminatory as it only excludes airboats, no other type of
vessel. We also believe it is illegal as East and West Lake Tohopekaliga are navigable waterways
under jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard. We think this ordinance could cause future safety issues
along the lakefront in the respect of increased alligator populations. We feel that this ordinance is
about property values surrounding the lakes, not about the use of airboats. Twenty-three airboats were
tested for sound during the 2007 gator season by the Osceola County Sheriffs Office (OCSO), with all
airboats tested found to be in compliance with the vessel sound ordinance, set by the state of Florida,
of 90 dB @ 50'.
The Osceola County Commission is expecting revenues from development areas into the year 2025.
We are not fighting growth, we just want future residents of the Tohopekaliga Lakes to understand
that airboats, bass boats, and other types of hunting, fishing, and recreation will indeed be taking
place on those lakes for as long is there is water to navigate. Future residents need to fully
understand what it means to be a lakefront resident, as the waters belong to all the people of the state.
We are asking for the support of all sportsman, fisherman, and recreational user of public bodies of
water, as this issue affects every sportsman and boater. The Osceola County Commission has voted
to discriminate against one particular vessel. If airboats are removed from these lakes, who will be
next on the homeowners agenda? Will it be bass boats and bass tournaments, party boats or duck
hunters using go-devils? Residents of some areas are even fighting the addition of boat ramps and
marinas. The ultimate goal of a small minority of lakefront residents is to remove all public
recreational activity from the lake, so as to create a perfect tranquil environment on a public waterway
that current laws allow everyone to enjoy, not just a few who reside on waterfront property.
We are requesting your support before legal precedents are set. If the Osceola County Commission
can pass arbitrary ordinances that lack legal foundation, the future of many hunting, fishing and
recreational activities are in jeopardy. More counties will follow Osceola's lead in discriminating if we
do not stop this now. Other counties have passed similar ordinances, but they have yet to be
challenged. Please help us send the message to this county that sportsmen have had enough,
we cannot stand back and let a few homeowners trample the rights of thousands of users of public
waterways.
We are in the process of raising $75,000.00 to challenge the County and would appreciate your help.
We are in desperate need of funds as well as donations of goods or services that can be offered in
fundraisers. Our organization will go on to defend other issues surrounding the public use of
waterways and the activities that surround them. This fight is not just for sportsmen with airboats,
it is for all sportsmen that hunt, fish or enjoy recreation in an area that may be developed. A single
homeowner or environmental activist, who would like to see lakes, waterways or surrounding
woodlands as a private retreat, can make YOU a target at the taxpayers' and citizens' expense.
Please contribute. Thank you for your support.
Airboat Sportsman Legal Defense Fund or ASLDF
Mission Statement
Our mission is to protect, defend and advance the rich cultural heritage of Florida's airboating public,
both recreational & commercial and their traditional activities of hunting, fishing, frogging, recreational
boating and other endeavors involving airboats. We will promote safe boating, courteous conduct,
conservation of and public access to our natural resources while encouraging development of new
technologies to bring our activities into positive public acceptance. We will strive to be a liaison to
other like minded sportsmen organizations for mutually beneficial purposes. This mission will be
accomplished through special events, public education, media venues, forged alliances with like
minded sportsmen organizations and through the legislative & legal systems.
Please send Donations to:
Airboat Sportsman Legal Defense Fund
PO Box 291331
Port Orange, FL 32129
Our hunting, fishing and boating rights are under attack, and your help is needed immediately. We are
the Airboat Sportsman Legal Defense Fund. Our primary goal is to overturn an ordinance passed in
Osceola County, Florida on April 28, 2008.
This ordinance is a ban on the use of airboats between the hours of 11 PM and 5 AM. The original
ordinance had an exception that allowed airboat use at night during the alligator hunting season of
August 15 through November 1st. As of April 28, 2008, the revised ordinance removes that exception.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission requires that alligators must be hunted between the hours
of one hour prior to sunset to one hour after sunrise. This ordinance removes 6 hours of hunting time,
leaving 3 hours in the evening and 3 hours the next morning, which is not an adequate amount of time
and severely restricts access to West Lake Tohopekaliga due to the thick vegetation that covers the
prime hunting areas.
We, as a group, feel that this ordinance is discriminatory as it only excludes airboats, no other type of
vessel. We also believe it is illegal as East and West Lake Tohopekaliga are navigable waterways
under jurisdiction of the US Coast Guard. We think this ordinance could cause future safety issues
along the lakefront in the respect of increased alligator populations. We feel that this ordinance is
about property values surrounding the lakes, not about the use of airboats. Twenty-three airboats were
tested for sound during the 2007 gator season by the Osceola County Sheriffs Office (OCSO), with all
airboats tested found to be in compliance with the vessel sound ordinance, set by the state of Florida,
of 90 dB @ 50'.
The Osceola County Commission is expecting revenues from development areas into the year 2025.
We are not fighting growth, we just want future residents of the Tohopekaliga Lakes to understand
that airboats, bass boats, and other types of hunting, fishing, and recreation will indeed be taking
place on those lakes for as long is there is water to navigate. Future residents need to fully
understand what it means to be a lakefront resident, as the waters belong to all the people of the state.
We are asking for the support of all sportsman, fisherman, and recreational user of public bodies of
water, as this issue affects every sportsman and boater. The Osceola County Commission has voted
to discriminate against one particular vessel. If airboats are removed from these lakes, who will be
next on the homeowners agenda? Will it be bass boats and bass tournaments, party boats or duck
hunters using go-devils? Residents of some areas are even fighting the addition of boat ramps and
marinas. The ultimate goal of a small minority of lakefront residents is to remove all public
recreational activity from the lake, so as to create a perfect tranquil environment on a public waterway
that current laws allow everyone to enjoy, not just a few who reside on waterfront property.
We are requesting your support before legal precedents are set. If the Osceola County Commission
can pass arbitrary ordinances that lack legal foundation, the future of many hunting, fishing and
recreational activities are in jeopardy. More counties will follow Osceola's lead in discriminating if we
do not stop this now. Other counties have passed similar ordinances, but they have yet to be
challenged. Please help us send the message to this county that sportsmen have had enough,
we cannot stand back and let a few homeowners trample the rights of thousands of users of public
waterways.
We are in the process of raising $75,000.00 to challenge the County and would appreciate your help.
We are in desperate need of funds as well as donations of goods or services that can be offered in
fundraisers. Our organization will go on to defend other issues surrounding the public use of
waterways and the activities that surround them. This fight is not just for sportsmen with airboats,
it is for all sportsmen that hunt, fish or enjoy recreation in an area that may be developed. A single
homeowner or environmental activist, who would like to see lakes, waterways or surrounding
woodlands as a private retreat, can make YOU a target at the taxpayers' and citizens' expense.
Please contribute. Thank you for your support.
Airboat Sportsman Legal Defense Fund or ASLDF
Mission Statement
Our mission is to protect, defend and advance the rich cultural heritage of Florida's airboating public,
both recreational & commercial and their traditional activities of hunting, fishing, frogging, recreational
boating and other endeavors involving airboats. We will promote safe boating, courteous conduct,
conservation of and public access to our natural resources while encouraging development of new
technologies to bring our activities into positive public acceptance. We will strive to be a liaison to
other like minded sportsmen organizations for mutually beneficial purposes. This mission will be
accomplished through special events, public education, media venues, forged alliances with like
minded sportsmen organizations and through the legislative & legal systems.
Please send Donations to:
Airboat Sportsman Legal Defense Fund
PO Box 291331
Port Orange, FL 32129
