Powerboat Ban Dead In The Water Forest Service Drops Plans For Restrictions In Hells Canyon

A plan to keep powerboats off part of the Snake River through Hells Canyon three days a week has been yanked by the U.S. Forest Service, outraging environmentalists but leaving boaters relieved.

Dick Ferraro, deputy regional forester in Portland, granted the stay Wednesday. He said the river will be managed as it was last year.

“The stay will allow me to address and resolve appeal issues before any management changes take place,” Ferraro said.

The action angered the 1,200-member Hells Canyon Preservation Council, an environmental group based in Joseph, Ore.

“We just feel like once again the Forest Service is caving in to the jetboaters,” spokeswoman Marni Criley said.

But Sandra F. Mitchell, executive director of the Hells Canyon Alliance in Boise, an advocate for jetboaters, was jubilant.

“We applaud the Forest Service for coming to this decision,” she said. “We know, also, this is one of many steps. It’s not over by any means.”

The plan released in November would have banned powerboats from 21 miles of the river for three days a week from July 4 through Labor Day. It would have applied to the canyon’s wildest segment between Wild Sheep Rapids and Kirkwood Bar.

The limitation would have been the first on powerboats within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area since its designation by Congress in 1975.

The Forest Service had maintained the three-days-per-week restriction would have given powerboat users and whitewater rafters equal time on the river. However, the plan was unpopular with both groups and 31 appeals were filed, Ferraro said.

“There was a diverse spectrum of river users who appealed, including conservation groups, floatplane enthusiasts and powerboat users,” he said. “Several of the appellants requested the stay.”

The Hells Canyon Alliance charged that the plan would cripple business for most of the 19 commercial powerboat operators working in Hells Canyon and sharply would reduce the number of launches available to private powerboaters. It convinced Idaho’s state Land Board to join the opposition.

The plan was to have created the framework for management of the Hells Canyon segment of the Snake River for the next 10 to 15 years.

Ferraro said the stay will remain in effect until a decision is reached on the appeals, and the plan can’t go into effect until at least Sept. 16 - after the end of the upcoming summer’s boating season.

Ric K. Bailey, executive director of the Hells Canyon Preservation Council, criticized the plan in November because it “arbitrarily perpetuates the domination of jetboats” on the river.

Criley said the council “isn’t going to allow one more summer of jetboat use without a fight.”

“We’re not sure what our options are,” Criley said. “We’ve been waiting for some sort of a river plan for the last eight years. We don’t feel there’s any excuse to delay this plan.”