Three years ago, manatee protection zones were enacted along the Intracoastal Waterway in Flagler County.

From May 1 through September 7, boaters must slow their speeds in these zones, which amounts to about 3 miles of the 18-and-a-half miles the ICW flows through the county.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission now wants Flagler County to go a step further and enact a more detailed Manatee Protection Plan. Back in 1989, 13 counties with high counts of manatee deaths were ordered by the state to come up with these protection plans. Flagler County was not one of those counties.

There was a spike in manatee deaths in 2006 and 2007, but since then the number of manatee deaths attributed to boat traffic here has dropped to no more than one a year.

Without such a plan in place, a number of construction projects have been frozen until a protection plan is approved.

“It's not because of action of the county," C.M. "Hap" Cameron, Jr., who heads S.E. Cline Construction's Marine division. "It's not because of action of the developers. It's because of the actions of, basically the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.”

A spokesperson with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, however, said this is a state issue. We're waiting to hear back from the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Cameron said he knows of at least five projects in Flagler County held up because of a lack of a manatee protection plan, which amounts to upwards of $8 million in work. Cameron has all the necessary permits to proceed. But a judge has ordered no work go forward until this issue is settled.

A spokesperson for Flagler County said a new consultant was brought on board to help the county with its plan and a draft was sent to state and federal wildlife agencies for review. Based on comments from those agencies, changes are now being made and a new draft should be sent in the next two weeks.

As for Cameron, he feels bad for the 30 or so employees who should be at work on this project. It's a frustrating situation.

“The county people are just as frustrated as I think the state people are and the federal people seem to be holding the hammer over us right now.”