GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE — In the Florida district, the new rule establishes a flat wake zone of 150 yards from any shoreline. The average distance from shorelines in the Florida district to the 3-foot depth contour is 150 yards. National Park Service law enforcement staff may place temporary floating buoys in the water as reference points for flat wake zones on an as-needed basis.

The rule adds the lakes, ponds, lagoons, and inlets of West Petit Bois Island in the Mississippi District to the list of closed areas for personal watercraft. It also adds the area within 200 feet of the ferry pier at Fort Pickens to the list of closed areas for personal watercraft. These changes codify existing closures at West Petit Bois Island and the Fort Pickens ferry pier.

The rule becomes effective 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register. Personal watercraft may be used only where authorized by special regulation and only in the 21 National Park System units identified in 36 CFR 3.9, including Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Gulf Islands National Seashore encompasses 139,175 acres within Mississippi and Florida. The park includes seven barrier islands that span nearly 160 miles, coastal mainland, and adjacent waters in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Mexico. More than 80% of Gulf Islands National Seashore is marine habitat and accessible only by boat or other watercraft.

Timeline

Congress established Gulf Islands National Seashore in 1971. The National Park Service promulgated special regulations to manage the use of personal watercraft at Gulf Islands National Seashore in 2006. Bluewater Network and The Wilderness Society filed a lawsuit in 2008 claiming the environmental assessment supporting the 2006 special regulations was inadequate.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held in 2010 that the impact analysis in the environmental assessment was inadequate and remanded it to the National Park Service. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia did not vacate the special regulations in its 2010 ruling. The National Park Service completed a Final Personal Watercraft Plan / Environmental Impact Statement in June 2019.

The Record of Decision for the Personal Watercraft Plan was originally approved by the NPS Regional Director of Interior Region 2 on August 13, 2019. The Acting Regional Director signed an amended Record of Decision on December 17, 2020, removing the personal watercraft landing prohibition but retaining all other elements of the original selected action. The National Park Service revised the selected alternative to remove a prohibition on personal watercraft landing below the mean high tide on Horn and Petit Bois Islands.

Why It Matters

The final rule concludes a regulatory process that began with litigation over the 2006 special regulations. After a federal court remanded the environmental assessment in 2010 without vacating the rules, the agency completed a new environmental impact statement in 2019 and adjusted its decision in 2020. The 2026 rule implements the remaining elements of that plan by setting specific distance-based wake zones and formalizing closures that were already in practice.

The regulations affect access to more than 80% of the park, which is marine habitat reachable only by watercraft. By defining flat wake zones based on depth contours and adding specific inland waters and ferry pier areas to the closure list, the rule clarifies operational boundaries for personal watercraft users across the 139,175-acre seashore. The changes take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.