No water access, no boating.

It’s a simple equation. And an overstated yet fundamental fact for the marine industry. Unfortunately, it frequently gets lost in the shuffle of seemingly larger, more tangible issues. And that’s something the industry cannot afford.

A simultaneous drop in government funding, increased development of waterfront property and a growing number of roadblocks to the creation of new access facilities have made maintaining current levels of water access difficult. They’ve made increasing access levels nearly impossible.

“The pressure on water access has increased nationwide in a variety of ways,” says Jim Frye, president of the Marina Operators Association of America and executive director of the States Organization for Boating Access. “These pressures will continue to increase. Competition for use of lands providing access to water will increase, and so access for recreational boating will suffer. This issue has become especially urgent for the boating industry as it pre