283 



MOAA 



s Association of Amena 



CHICAGO OFFICE 



iro £. Huron • Suite 802 



Chicngo.lLbOeU 



<n2>944 5080 FAX: (312) 944-2716 



W/ SWNCTON OFFICE 



695 Aniencana Drive • Suite 2i 

 Annapolis, MD 21403 

 PhonelFAX: (301) 858-8301 



August 20,1995 



The Honorable James V. Hansen 



Chairman 



Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Lands 



812 O'Neill House Office Building 



Washington, D.C. 20515 



Dear Mr. Chairman: 



We are writing to ask that these comments be placed in th€ 

 official hearing record on H.R. 2028, the Federal Land Management 

 Agency Concession Reform Act of 1995. 



The Marina Operators Association of America greatly 

 appreciates this opportunity to submit comments for the hearing 

 record. MOAA is the national trade association of small businesses 

 which provide marina services and waterway access to our nation's 

 boaters and anglers. Our members include large multi-marina owned 

 companies, small individually or family owned marinas, dry stack 

 storage facilities, concessionaires on Army Corp of Engineers 

 lakes, marinas managed on behalf of the Department of Interior's 

 National Park Service, service yards, and various support services, 

 such as manufacturers of boat docks, hoists, and access ramps. 

 However, the vast majority of our members are the small, family- 

 owned marinas with fewer than 100 slips. 



Boating in America is big business with nearly 75 million 

 people using our nation's waterways each year on over 20 million 

 boats, but the industry is made up primarily of small businesses. 

 In fact, according to a recent study of the industry by the 

 International Marina Institute, 47 per cent of all marinas have 

 fewer than 50 slips, and 71 per cent have fewer than 100 boat 

 slips. Only 6.3 per cent of the marina facilities in our country 

 have 300 or more boat slips. It is estimated that the U.S. has 

 slightly over 10,000 boat berthing facilities with 10 or more boat 

 slips (found in marinas, boat yards, yacht clubs, dockominiums , 

 public parks, and military bases). Our members average fewer than 

 ten full time employees. 



Recreation is very important to the American family, and 

 Americans want access to public resources. The nation's parks and 

 recreation areas are among the most popular destinations of 

 Americans. Travel and usage of lands and waters managed by the 

 several responsible government agencies generate retail sales for 

 local communities in the billions of dollars and support hundreds 



