World Championship Jet Boat Race moves closer to green light

Organizers of the 2016 World Championship Jet Boat Race appear to have cleared the last remaining regulatory hurdle just days before the race is set to begin in St. Maries, Idaho.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Tuesday afternoon that the race won’t need an eagle disturbance permit from the agency as long as it agrees to take steps to reduce disturbance to nesting bald and golden eagles. The clearance appears to pave the way for the U.S. Coast Guard to issue race organizers a marine event permit. However, Coast Guard spokesman David Mosely in Seattle could not say when that permit might be issued.

Anna Harris, with the Fish and Wildlife Service migratory bird program in Portland, Oregon, said the agency sent out a letter on Thursday afternoon which indicated the special eagle permit was not required and spelled out steps that race organizers must take to protect the birds. According to those terms, racing cannot start prior to 10 a.m., set-up and take-down of any course materials must take place between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., pre-race scouting must also be done between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and spectator viewing areas must be at least a quarter-mile from occupied eagle nests.

Race organizer Shirley Ackerman of St. Maries said the mitigation measures can be met easily and that racing is not set to begin prior to 10 a.m.

“I’m very pleased,” she said. “It’s nice just to have final word. We are very excited.”

The race is expected to draw more than 35 teams from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and New Zealand. After starting on the St. Joe River on Saturday and Sunday, racers will hit the Coeur d’Alene River on Tuesday and Wednesday. The event finishes with three days of racing in the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley starting on the Grande Ronde River on May 27 and the Snake River the following two days.