New
Proposed Restrictions for Boating & Fishing on the St. Croix River
The
government is in the process of substantially increasing regulation of boating
on the St. Croix River. The National Park Service and the Departments of Natural
Resources of Minnesota and Wisconsin are in the final stages of imposing day and
night Speed Limits, new No Wake Zones, Crazy Anchoring Rules, new camping rules,
and otherwise discouraging recreational boat usage of the river.
All this despite the fact that the government, which performs flights to
count boats on the lower St. Croix River, found since 1983 the number of boats
using the river has decreased. There is little enforcement of existing laws now,
but if these changes are put into effect there will be an even bigger gap.
Government’s efforts to create needless restrictions on boating & fishing
are unnecessary, especially when enhanced enforcement of the existing laws is
the only action required. Everyone
has a legal right to be on the river in a boat of their choice and to experience
the waterway within the extent of the law. To try to create laws to regulate
boat size and overall river travel will undoubtedly have a detrimental economic
impact on all of the river’s communities.
The
Washington County sheriff's office opposes the speed limits between Stillwater
and Prescott. The National Park Service, the two state departments of natural
resources and the St. Croix County, Wis., Sheriff's Department also patrol the
river, but the Washington County sheriff's office has the largest, most visible
enforcement presence. Washington County Sheriff, Jim Frank, was recently quoted
in the Pioneer Press in an article written by Mary Divine on Sunday November 26,
2003. Mr. Frank states, “Once you have speed limits, you have some expectation
of enforcement. They would be virtually impossible to enforce, but yet the
expectation is that we are going to do it."
Mary Divine’s article went
on to quote Bob Harvey the Mayor of Lakeland
Shores and past commander of the St. Paul Sail and Power Squadron, an
organization that teaches safe boating classes, who also opposes the speed
limits. He said, “Big boats won't plane at 20 mph and will end up pushing more
water and creating a much larger wake than they would if they were able to go
faster.”
Bill
Tilton, a member of the Minnesota Power Boaters Association (MNPBA) and a
prominent local attorney, states in an e-mail, “[An] argument for not
increasing speed limits on the lower St. Croix is that it is wide enough to
handle heavier, faster traffic, and may tend to get less filled with boats
because of the excellent access to other areas, north and south. I like
the concept of the Lower St. Croix as "active social recreation," as
you state. The Lower St. Croix (River and Lake) also differs from the
Upper St. Croix insofar as the Lower is (and has long been) largely urbanized,
and should not be seen in the same pristine wilderness sense as the Upper
stretches.”
Jim
Van Pelt states, “One of the things
I've been curious about is the comparison of the St Croix to other bodies of
water [Lake Minnetonka]. I’m curious, because no one seems to ever
compare it to its neighbor, the Mississippi. I'd be curious to understand
the DNR's position on this, from a safety perspective. On the Mississippi,
the boating traffic density seems about as high as on the St Croix, on a body of
water where the navigable channel is on average considerably [narrower]
than the St Croix. Yet on the Mississippi, there are not the no wake
zones, one after the next, nor are there speed limits that I'm aware of.”
Jim further states in an e-mail regarding a public meeting on this issue
held in Lake Elmo on October 15, 2003, “It was with great disappointment and
not a little frustration that I read the summary from the Oct 15th meeting
where the results of the public forum were reported. To present the views
of the public as 50-50 in terms of support and opposition to new regulations can
most kindly be described as a deliberate misrepresentation. Further, since
most of the Partnership Team was not in attendance at the public forum (I saw
none of those that I know personally), these misrepresentations quickly become
matters of fact and record. As a member of the public, it is frustrating
to see an appointed board, with no apparent accountability to the public,
operate in such an irresponsible manner.”
The
upper 125 miles or so of the St. Croix River is a perfect place for a nice warm
Sunday afternoon trek paddling down the river watching the wildlife, enjoying
the songs of the birds, smelling the smells of the pristine river environment,
all the while speaking of dreams of grandeur to your sweetheart who's sitting in
the front of your birchbark canoe. The last 25 miles are perfect for those of us
that prefer to have fun and recreate on the river instead of procreate in a
canoe. The special interest groups that have been running the Lower St.
Croix Partnership Team seem to want the St. Croix to be the "Boundary Water
Canoe Area South". For the most
part, the upper 125 miles is an area that is void of most boats that could go
fast or create large wakes or make loud noises, the lower 25 miles needs to
accommodate those of us who have boats that don’t fit into that pristine
world. Stepped up enforcement of the current laws will make for a safer Lower
St. Croix River (Stillwater to Prescott) eliminating the need to create new
unenforceable laws, but yet providing the proper safe environment for
recreational boating & fishing.
The
Minnesota Power Boaters Association (MNPBA) was created this fall to oppose the proposal drafted by the
Lower St. Croix Partnership Team. The
goal of the MNPBA is to inform individuals of the proposal and to be actively
involved in the process of the recommended changes to the regulations on the St.
Croix River. We will continue to
make sure that the Government Agencies (MN & WI DNR’s and the National
Park Service) hear our voices loud and clear and hold them accountable for any
new regulations that don’t make sense or are unenforceable according to river
enforcement officials. The MNPBA membership opposes the current recommended
changes due to; lack of funding for proper enforcement, economical impact to the
marine industry, and loss of public recreation.
The
next step in the process for making new law is the presentation of the
Government Agency’s final recommendation to an Administrative law Judge in MN
and a DNR Staff representative in WI (who will act as a hearing officer). If you
feel strongly about the recreational future of the St. Croix River, then get
involved! Registration on our
website is FREE and we will keep you informed of the progress, and the process,
via e-mail.
Bruce
Ehlers
Founder,
MNPBA