I wonder if this means I can get back my money for the fine of "endangering" the plover by walking along the beach at the high tide line while the plover saving ranger who issued my the ticket tooled all over the beach in his truck

Actually it might... They do talk about in the article that some cases will be thrown out....

It still has to go through the Senate to mean anything.

The vote was mostly along party lines in the House with Republicans voting for it.
If it goes that way in the Senate, we're screwed as the Democrats will not vote for it. So get in touch with your representatives and let them know this one is important to you!!

The Captain is correct.

The Senate does not pass anything that Repubs vote for in the House, so don't get your hopes up. They have not even tried to pass a budget in 4 years now, while still blaming the Repubs.
Typical politicians- all of them....

They key to dealing with these type of access issues before they happen is to log more hours than the plover lovers when it comes to doing beach cleanups and "good deeds" in the community. Beat them to the punch and invite THEM to your cleanups to show that kiters are just as concerned about the environment as they are. We at least have that in common with them.
Do your cleanup events and at least get a few pics and create an article about it to start building a (verify-able) record of "good deeds" of kiters in the community.
Then, at least kiters would have a leg to stand on when it comes to having the right to kite.

Here's a few of the things myself and fellow kiters do around here when it's not windy- http://actionsportsfoundation.org/events/event-reports.html


Happy Kiting,
www.kiteboardingtampabay.com