Proposal Would Restrict Personal Watercraft County May Place Stretches Of Spokane River Off-Limits To Jet Skis, Other Power Boats

Power boats would be banned from free-flowing stretches of the Spokane River under a proposed new Spokane County law.

But two county commissioners said Tuesday that if a ban is imposed, they’d rather target just Jet Skis and other personal watercraft. When they get a complaint about boaters, commissioners John Roskelley and Kate McCaslin said, it’s usually about those wave-jumping, quick-turning craft that some critics compare to mosquitoes.

“Those things are noisy. They’re obnoxious,” McCaslin said Tuesday during a briefing.

Roskelley said he owns a boat that’s larger than a Jet Ski but uses a similar engine. He used it once on the river, and “the wildlife just fled,” he said.

“It is disruptive … and it’s only going to get worse” as Jet Skis become more popular, Roskelley said.

The proposed ban, which will be the subject of an April 1 hearing, was requested by the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club and other whitewater, fishing and conservation groups. It would affect long stretches of fast-flowing river in the Valley and west of Spokane - including the Bowl and Pitcher rapids - but nothing inside the city limits or behind dams.

Seldom seen just a few years ago, personal watercraft numbered 17,000 in Washington by spring 1996, said Terry Rudnick, state boating information specialist. The watercraft now account for about one-third of all boat sales nationwide, he said.

Conflicts between personal watercraft owners and other water users are growing across the nation. Just the sight of a Jet Ski is enough to anger some people, said Deputy Tom Mattern, who patrols lakes and rivers for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department.

Mattern said he once was parked in an eddy with the watercraft he uses to patrol the Spokane River when a kayaker rounded the bend and screamed, “What are you doing here with that thing?”’ The engine wasn’t running.

Pete Roundy, owner of Roundy’s Kawasaki and Sea Doo in Spokane, said the proposed ban would affect few people. Riding the rapids “is risky. You’ve got to read the water right,” he said.

But, Roundy said, he worries the restrictions will lead to bans on other waters.

Targeting one group of river-users is discriminatory, contends John Donaldson, executive director of the Personal Watercraft Industry Association.

“Trying to cast somebody’s character based on the type of fiberglass they own should make people very uncomfortable,” he said.

The only way to make it fair, Donaldson said, would be to ban canoes and kayaks from other portions of the river, “and I’m not proposing that.”

Donaldson’s group, which opposes Jet Ski restrictions nationwide, was among the groups that challenged an all-out ban imposed by San Juan County commissioners in northwestern Washington. The one-of-a-kind ordinance was overturned by the state Court of Appeals and is headed for the state Supreme Court.

Other counties also are taking up the issue. In Mason and Kitsap counties in Western Washington, for instance, commissioners are considering banning the craft from some lakes.

Olympic National Park officials are considering restricting personal watercraft to certain areas of Crescent Lake. The idea pleases almost no one, said park Superintendent Dave Morris, who has received several hundred letters about the proposal.

“Most people want a complete ban or they don’t want any restrictions at all,” Morris said.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Map of area.