It's my understanding that whenever a new nest is discovered by the Park Nazis they close down an area. It's all BS but the locals have not yet raised enough hell to get the enviros/the judge who ordered this crap, straightened out.
It's the same ol' Marxist crap, divide and conquer. Introduce chaos, doubt,uncertainty etc. Sound familiar? It's the same thing the regime is doing with the economy and the same reason businesses don't want to expand!! They don't know what the regime will do next. Same methodology being used here. The area might be closed on the whim of some bureaucrat. Who wants to vacation on that type of scenario.
So. the local businesses are in a heap of sh_t.
They need to start rattling some cages in dc.
You got that right. When I was there you could get a boat for a half-day in-shore flat rate (as many people as you want within legal limits), with tackle and bait provided, for $300-$400... and there were several boats ready to go (un-chartered) at any given time. That's insane. That would barely cover fuel and wear/tear on the gear. Obviously these guys are just trying to keep themselves in the game long enough for some kind of recovery.
The big beach houses are hurting too. Those places aren't cheap - to buy, insure, nor rent. Yet when I was there occupancy on the street was probably running about 40%. We did our best to support the local bait shops (fed a lot of fish), and the local liquor stores. ;-) It was a good vacation.