High Waters Leave Boaters High And Dry Hidden Docks, Debris Put Crimp On Traditional Season Opener

Unpublished correction: The name of Higgens Point is misspelled in this story. This information is from the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation.

Mother Nature has thrown a big, cold bucket of water on the traditional start of the Inland Northwest boating season.

On many waterways, record high waters will make it difficult to launch a powerboat. Logs have washed off shorelines and there are unseen underwater hazards, so it’s dangerous to navigate. Merely producing a wake can cause serious property damage and invite a citation.

“The lakes are not safe at all,” said Richard Wolfe of the Idaho Bureau of Disaster Services.

“There’s a lot of debris.”

Fishing derbies are being rescheduled, rafting trips have been canceled or rearranged. River canoeing is foolhardy.

There is some good news for boaters. Lake Roosevelt is rising, so launch sites will be available to boaters on Memorial Day weekend after being high and dry this spring. Corps of Engineers launch sites are open for business on the Snake River.

But recreational life is anything but normal in the Coeur d’Alene, Spokane, Clark Fork and Pend Oreille river drainages.

“Horrible,” is the way the owner of the Outpost Resort described conditions on his stretch of the Pend Oreille River in Eastern Washington.

Water has drowned the campground and is lapping at the cabins, said Gary Brathovde, who won’t be giving any pontoon boat tours or renting any boats.

The Inland Empire Bass Club has canceled its big invitational tournament, which had been scheduled for the Pend Oreille on the last weekend of the month. The entire river there is a no-wake zone.

“There is not going to be a whole lot of fun on the river,” said Darlin Sanchez of the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s office.

Boaters can’t make wakes on Sacheen and Diamond lakes, she said. They can’t even get to Sullivan Lake because of road closures.

The no-wake rules also are being applied on the Pend Oreille River between Sandpoint and Priest River and near the shore of overflowing Lake Pend Oreille.

Bonner County has banned boating on other rivers, including the Clark Fork. The Sheriff’s Department warned boaters last week that deputies wouldn’t have time to look for bodies if they were crazy enough to go out on the water.

Up at Priest Lake, where sandbags have been stacked around homes to guard against rising water, a half-mile no-wake zone is being enforced. Launch sites are generally open, although the Forest Service launch at Beaver Creek is not.

Deborah Wilkins, recreation officer for the Priest Lake Ranger District, noted that islands are “totally drowned” and that submerged fire pans and floating debris could damage boats.

“We’re actively discouraging people from going out there,” she said. “If you love your boat you might as well keep it at home, because you’ll hit something.”

Debris is a problem at Farragut State Park, at the southern tip of Lake Pend Oreille.

“Buttonhook Bay is full of floats, logs, trees, driftwood and garbage,” said park manager Bryan Rowder. “It’s pretty much solid.”

On Lake Coeur d’Alene, which is 8 feet above its normal summer level, county officials face a dilemma.

Do they do everything they can to make access easier at public boat ramps, which are hard to reach at best? Or do they discourage boating because of severe property damage that wakes are doing at the high water level?

“The waves are hitting an entirely new part of the shoreline. They’re actually breaking up on the windows of some homes,” said Greg Delavan, county facilities director.

It is possible, but not easy, to launch at Coeur d’Alene’s Third Street ramp. The state parks site at Higgins Point has a temporary ramp to make launching easier.

Some private docks are unreachable. At the Forest Service’s Bell Bay campground, there’s no way to get from dock to shore without getting wet, and the shoreline is too rocky for most boats to land there.

Boaters that do make it on the water should be aware that the no-wake advisory is being enforced. And boaters could pay for a lot more than a citation.

If their boat wakes hurt shoreline property, they could be held liable for damages, said Kootenai Deputy Kevin Mumford.

He asked that boaters use common sense, and be careful about stepping onto boat docks at high water and avoiding logs and other debris.

“This high water will be around for another week to possibly two,” he said. “We probably won’t see summer levels for three weeks.”

The high water doesn’t hurt lake fishing, said Steve Smith of Fins & Feather Tackle Shop.

But, with difficult access and safety issues cropping up, pike and bass fishing tournaments scheduled for Lake Coeur d’Alene this month have been rescheduled for fall.

Rafters, kayakers and canoeists also have had to change plans as record snowpack melts into the region’s rivers.

Customers of the rafting company River Odysseys West have learned to adjust when some whitewater rivers became too high even for the professionals to handle.

“We canceled our St. Joe River trips last week, and transferred another from the Lochsa to the Selway,” said Peter Grubb, owner of River Odysseys West. “People know we can’t control Mother Nature. Most are pretty good sports about it.”

Dangerously fast water has caused the the Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club to cancel outings on several rivers, including the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene.

“The most dangerous part of paddling under current conditions is getting to shore when you capsize,” said Derek Zimmer, club president. “You go through brush, shrubs and trees, where you can get caught and drown.”

There’s little clearance under low bridges and water swirls dangerously around pilings. Frigid water temperatures add to the danger.

For river runners, there is an upside to the heavy runoff.

“The floating will just be a little later this year,” pointed out Jack Dorrell, recreation officer for the Fernan Ranger District. “But it’ll be warmer then and will last longer into the summer.”

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