I've received a number of comments and inquiries about the proposed boating rule amendments that suggest some people now involved in the issue aren't aware of some of the background.  I've also tried to provide here some relevant links to additional information.  I hope you find this information useful.

Some background on boating rules on the St. Croix

The Lower St. Croix River (Taylors Falls/St. Croix Falls to Prescott) became part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by an act of Congress in 1972.  As directed by that federal law, it is jointly managed by the National Park Service, the Minnesota DNR and the Wisconsin DNR.  Coordination of that joint management is done by the Lower St. Croix Management Commission, which has three voting members (one from each agency) and two nonvoting members from the Lower St. Croix Partnership Team.  The Lower St. Croix Management Commission is a policy-making body; it has a committee, called the Technical Committee, that addresses field-level issues.

In the early 1970s, boating rules on the St. Croix consisted of three no-wake zones (Hudson, Kinnickinnic and Prescott) established by order of the Washington County Sheriff.  In January 1976, the first management plan for the riverway (it was called a "Master Plan") was completed and it recommended additional boating rules.  Those rules were adopted by both DNRs and took effect in the spring of 1977.

The rules were amended several times in subsequent years, including expanding the no-wake zones at Hudson and Kinnickinnic, and establishing no-wake zones at Afton/Catfish Bar and in Andersen Bay in Bayport.  A proposal to establish a no-wake zone from Stillwater to Arcola in 1994 drew a lot of opposition and led to formation of the St. Croix Waterway Association, a group of boaters opposed to additional regulation.  That no-wake restriction was adopted by Wisconsin but not by Minnesota; since both states must adopt a rule for it to take effect, it has never been put in place and cannot be enforced.

In 1995, the three managing agencies began the process to prepare a new management plan to replace the outdated 1976 plan.  This would include considering potential changes in the boating rules.  In early 1996, the agencies created the Lower St. Croix Planning Task Force to provide the public with a voice in developing the new management plan.  All local governments and interest groups, including the St. Croix Waterway Association, were invited to participate, but the task force from beginning to end remained open-ended:  anyone who attended was a member.  Over the course of the next two and a half years, the task force met 53 times with attendance never below 30 and never over 300.  Some of the largest attendance occurred during discussions of boating rules.  The task force meetings were widely publicized in area newspapers, with some television and radio coverage as well.  Prominent stories appeared several times in both the Star-Tribune and Pioneer Press.  While the task force reached unanimous agreement on 75 percent of the issues it faced, it did not reach agreement on boating rules.

The draft management plan was published in 1999.  There were several well-attended public meetings and a written comment period that drew over 900 letters and postcards.  The plan was revised and a final management plan was published later.  This large document, which contains an Environmental Impact Statement and the comment letters, is available on the Minnesota DNR website at

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters/watermgmt_section/wild_scenic/wsrivers/lscmgtplan.html

This is a very large document.  The proposed boating rules are in Appendix B, which is found by clicking on "Appendix/Bibliography/Preparers".   The section titled "Land and Water Use Alternatives" contains a description of the alternatives considered at the time.  You can also read the comment letters received concerning the draft plan if you have a fast computer connection (it's a large file).

The agencies later published a "user-friendly" version of the management plan that doesn't include all the comments, environmental analysis, alternatives, etc., but is just the management plan.  It has a green cover, is dated January 2002, and is 75 pages; to obtain a copy, contact me at Minnesota DNR at steve.Johnson@dnr.state.mn.us .  There are no electronic copies available.

One outcome of the new management plan was the recommendation to create the Lower St. Croix Partnership Team to give valley residents a greater voice in advising the managing agencies.  The Partnership Team has 49 member organizations:  35 are local governments and the remaining 14 are organizations that have long been active in the valley.  This includes the St. Croix Waterway Association

Following completion of the new management plan, the states focused first on revisions to the land use rules.  A total of 20 public meetings were held on that topic.  A public hearing on proposed changes to the Wisconsin land use rules was held July 31, 2003, and Wisconsin DNR staff is currently making revisions.  Proposed changes to Minnesota's land use rules are virtually complete and will be the subject of public hearings in coming months.  The states are now turning to development of changes in the boating rules.  The two DNRs first asked the Lower St. Croix Partnership Team to assess the public's views on boating rule issues, particularly those issues that have been raised fairly recently and are not addressed in the management plan.  That led the Partnership Team to sponsor the public meeting on September 17.  Having received that public input, the Partnership Team will meet October 15 to prepare  recommendations to the managing agencies.

After receiving that input and reviewing the public's comments from the September 17 meeting and subsequent written comment period, the two DNRs are expected to move forward in coming months to prepare revisions to their boating rules for the Lower St. Croix.  Both states will have formal public hearings at which anyone who wishes can submit testimony, and both states will have a written public comment period following the hearing.  In preparing for those hearings, citizens should be conscious that the hearing examiner (in Wisconsin) and the administrative law judge (in Minnesota) will be looking in particular for specific reasons individuals believe a rule should or should not be amended.  In other words, testimony that just says "support" or "oppose" will be less meaningful than testimony that says oppose or support "for the following reasons*"

Existing rules:

To view a copy of Minnesota's version of the existing boating rules for the St. Croix, go to this website:

http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/forms/getrule.shtml

enter 6105.0300 in box and press "get rule."  This gets you the first paragraph of the boating rules.  Click on "Table of Contents for Chapter 6105" and from there you can click on 6105.0310 through 6105.0350 to see all of the boating rules.  The Wisconsin rules are essentially the same.

Boater information:

The Minnesota Power Boaters Association has a new website http://www.mnpba.com/index.htm that provides information about the boating rules issue.  You may wish to visit this site.  If I receive information about other websites that have relevant information, I'll pass that along, too.  The St. Croix Waterway Association had a website on this topic, but I can't find it anymore.

Steve Johnson
River Management Supervisor
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
DNR Waters
651-296-4802
Fax: 651-296-0445

Visit our website at http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/waters

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From: Steve Johnson-WAT

To: brian@mnpba.com

Copyright © 2003 [Minnesota Power Boaters Association]. All rights reserved.