Valley County commissioners vowed on Monday to support a push to save private docks on Lake Cascade from the potential effects of new water and land use rules proposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Chairman Jerry Winkle and Commissioner Frank Eld agreed the county commissioners should send a letter to the B of R regarding a possible ban on privately owned docks, deep-water moorings, boat houses and launch ramps, as well as moored vessels used as homes or places of business.
Idaho Sen. Lee Heinrich, RCascade, called for involvement from state legislators and pressure on Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, formerly the Idaho governor.
B of R officials were invited to the session but did not attend.
About 25 persons filled seats at the commissioners' chamber at the Valley County Courthouse in Cascade to hear representatives of homeowners, business and boaters call on the county board to heed their plea for help.
Joe Ledgerwood, organizer of the Lake Cascade Preservation & Recreation Alliance, called on commissioners to oppose the rules. Ledgerwood, a part-time Donnelly resident, does not own a boat dock.
Ledgerwood was backed by Rob Wilson. A hardware and water sports retail manager in McCall, and Michelle Basye, owner of Brundage Realty, who said local business could suffer harm should the rules go into effect.
Wilson belongs to the group and is also a property owner with a dock on Lake Cascade.
The proposed B of R rules were a,*one size fits all" attempt to fix the agency's problems, Ledgerwood said.
Integral part of the lake
Docks were an integral part of the lake experience for visitors, boaters and people who want to buy property, Ledgerwood said. "Docks affect the very nature of how our lake is perceived as a viable recreation destination," he said. "This affects tourism, it affects the rental market, it of fects the property development, it affects the recreational home market."
Wilson said the federal action would be to the detriment of the Valley County economy. He said he counted in the telephone directory at least six retailers of water sports or fishing equipment, seven that sell, repair or rent watercraft, and three construction firms that specialize in building and installing boat docks.
"It has the potential to be a strong negative impact on the economy of Valley County and the ripple effects could spread to other areas," Wilson said.
Basye said she has had buyers looking for waterfront property in Donnelly for whom a dock is a selling point.
"It is the difference of selling your property or not selling it," she said about dock loss.
Basye cited too effects rippling through the community and pleaded with commissioners to lend their support.
"We need your help because (the proposed rules) are going to affect all of us," she said.
Removing the docks could remove a safety net for boaters during storms and other emergencies, dock advocates said.
In five years, Wilson said he has aided about four disabled or distressed vessels with his dock.
Having docks has enabled their owners to rescue boaters in trouble, Ledgerwood said. He recounted tales of boats with mechanical problems, on fire, capsized and sailboats at the mercy of storms helped by dock owners.
Ledgerwood claimed the B of R had tried to hush the proposed rules.
B of R want to be up-front
B of R wants to be forthright in communicating its intentions, Scott Short with the B of R's Boise office said.
Short said he has talked to about 40 people and that letters were mailed to about 330 permittees of docks, mooring buoys and ramps on Lake Cascade. The agency also talked with elected officials, homeowners associations and the media, Short said.
"We have been trying to tell people exactly what these proposed rules say and how it could potentially affect them," he said.
While there is an intent to reduce exclusive use in the proposed rules, Short believes the agency would be reasonable and that public comment carries clout. He urged people to trust the public process.
"We've been strongly encouraging people that may be affected by (the proposed rules) to submit their comments to the public rule making process," he said. "The public's input has tremendous impact on what we do. I do believe it will make a big difference."
User conflict has lead to the rules, although the public has not lodged a lot of complaints,
Short said. He cited as an example people who feel they cannot cross or use a beach where docks are placed.
