Plan Eases Lake Roosevelt Access But Proposal Also Would Add More Regulations For Use Of Recreation Area

A National Park Service plan for managing Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area includes provisions for more access, but it also includes the possibility of more regulations.

The proposed management plan represents a compromise between federal officials and private property owners along the 151-mile-long lake behind Grand Coulee Dam.

Past disputes have arisen because National Park Service rules forbade private docks, lawns, livestock and other private use of public lands.

But the new management plan would allow community launch ramps and docks in areas where there is a need for local access, as long as those ramps are open to the public.

The compromise evolved from public meetings throughout the state during the past year. Five more public meetings on the draft plan are scheduled in the region.

“We want to keep the public involved in the process of formalizing a management plan, and we want public comment now, before we present an official draft this fall,” Park Superintendent Vaughn Baker said. “We will fine-tune it or even come up with a new alternative, based on these informal discussions.”

Many who attended the earlier meetings complained that the constantly fluctuating lake level hurts recreational use, especially when the Columbia River level is low.

But decisions about the level of the lake are made by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other agencies, and the National Park Service has no authority to change the policies of other federal agencies, Baker said.

Other proposed management changes include:

The number of “protected waters” that have special boating regulations would be increased. Three additional “no motor” or “no wake” areas are proposed to encourage alternative types of recreation, such as canoeing.

Houseboat concessions would be limited to 60 boats. The current management plan allows up to 200.

Personal watercraft use would be monitored closely, although no new controls are proposed.

Development of facilities would be pursued at Crescent Bay and Hunters Bay, and a deep-water moorage facility would be developed in the Kettle Falls area.

Some Lake Roosevelt property owners say they are pleased with suggested changes in lake access.

“We’ve been at loggerheads in the past over the issue of access,” said Jim Pritchard, a Lake Roosevelt homeowner. “But it appears that the Park Service is trying to meet the needs of both local and outside users. Vaughn Baker really seems to have caught on that there is a need in this area.”

Owners of private docks and moorages, who have been given until 2001 to remove the structures, said they hope the new management plan will embrace marina development.

Another result of the public input and planning process is the national recreation area’s new “management areas” map, which zones the lake according to intensity of use.

Each zone would be managed according to its character, said Harold Gibbs, planning coordinator for the recreation area.