Workshop wades into wake issue
U.S. Paralympics snowboarding team training in Sandpoint Keith Gabel, a 32-year-old from Ogden, Utah, enjoys some wake surfing on Friday on Lake Pend Oreille. Gabel is one of five members of the U.S. Paralympics Snowboarding National Team training in Sandpoint this week under new team coach Pat Holland. Holland, a Sandpoint native and former snowboardcross racer on the U.S. team, put the athletes through a week of training in Sandpoint, including biking, gym workouts, skateboarding and wake surfing. See the Daily Bee next week for an in-depth feature on the team and Holland’s new role a…
SANDPOINT — If you have thoughts on the regulation of boat wakes, Bonner County would like to hear them.
The county is hosting a workshop Monday and the public is invited to discuss potential solutions to the problem of damaging wakes cast off from powerboats. It starts at 6 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building at the corner of U.S. Highway 2 and Division Avenue.
County officials plan to post survey link on the county’s website (www.bonnercountyid.gov/recreation) on Tuesday so people who are unable to attend can submit comments.
By ordinance, no-wake zones extend 200 feet from shorelines and waterfront infrastructure on Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend Oreille River and Priest Lake. The no-wake zone is 100 feet on the Clark Fork River.
No-wake zones require boaters to operate their vessel at no more than 5 mph with no more than a 6-inch wake.
The current wake-zone metrics, however, has been drawn into question by waterfront landowners who contend they are under a sustained barrage of destructive wakes emitted by boats operated by scofflaws or vessels which are equipped with ballast systems that are designed to generate large wakes for wakeboarders and wake surfers. Incoming wakes have caused shoreline erosion, in addition to docks and docked vessels.
Some landowners have been clamoring for regulation and even bans on certain types of powerboats, which the county has resisted. It opted for parallel enforcement and education campaigns which counsel wake boaters to use the main bodies of lakes so wakes can dissipate before making landfall. The effectiveness of the dual campaigns was disputed among some waterfront landowners.
The county has been loath to enact regulations restricting certain types of vessels due to concern that it would inspire litigation by boat manufacturers.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.