Lake Roosevelt commercial fishing fee kerfuffle resolved

Concerns about a new fee for commercial fishing guides have been mostly resolved after a meeting between guides and Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area staff on Feb. 3.

“We kind of came to an agreement, after this meeting,” said Lance Effrig, the owner of Washington Guide Services. “I was a little bit more comfortable with how everything worked.”

Starting this year, guides will have to pay an additional fee when applying for their Commercial Use Authorization permit. The fee will be 2% of the gross income made while working on Lake Roosevelt. Since 2016, guides have payed a $100 application fee for the CUA permit. That fee will remain and be credited toward the additional 2% fee.

“I’m good with everything that is going on at this point,” said Craig Dowdy, owner and operator of YJ Guide Service.

At the meeting Effrig said it was made clear that the local park was only following federal rules, something Effrig and other guides didn’t understand before. Plus, he said, the park said they would start highlighting the permitted fishing guides on their website and Facebook.

“The pushback (from guides) came from miscommunication,” Effrig said. “Lake Roosevelt didn’t have their ducks in a row to get out the proper information.”

At the meeting, in the ins and outs of the fee were clarified, said Julia Treu-Fowler, the concessions management assistant for the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

“The park service on all levels was encouraged by the good questions our guides who attended the meeting asked and the better understanding of policies once the meeting ended.” she said in an email.