Pact May Lead To Jet Ski Bans In More Parks
© 2000 The Washington Post Company
December 27, 2000
By Ken Ritter
LAS VEGAS -- Personal watercraft could be banned from 21 more national parks and recreation areas under a settlement the National Park Service has reached with an environmental group.
In March, the Park Service banned the watercraft, widely known by the trade name Jet Skis, from 66 of 87 parks, recreational areas and seashores where motorized boats are allowed.
It said personal watercraft would continue to be allowed -- unless the local superintendent decides otherwise -- at 10 national recreational areas where water-related recreation has been "a primary purpose" since their creation.
That prompted the San Francisco-based Bluewater Network environmental group to file a federal lawsuit in Washington in August. The settlement was reached Wednesday.
The agreement includes Lake Mead in Arizona and Nevada, as well as Cape Lookout in North Carolina, Cape Cod in Massachusetts and Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area in Northern California, Russell Long, director of Bluewater Network, said Friday.
Federal parks, lakeshores and seashores in 16 other states also would be affected by the ban.
Long said the Park Service agreed that unless it can prove the machines don't harm the environment on a site-by-site basis, each will be added to a list of Jet Ski-free zones by Sept. 15, 2002.
"This is a victory," Long said.
Bert Byers, Park Service spokesman at the Lake Mead National Recreational Area, said the pact will have no immediate effect at the huge Colorado River reservoir formed behind Hoover Dam.
National Park Service officials in Washington did not immediately return calls seeking comment Friday.
In announcing the restrictions in March, Park Service Director Robert Stanton acknowledged the machines are controversial and called the restrictions "a prudent approach."
Manufacturers and owners complained that the restrictions went too far. They maintain that personal watercraft pollute less and are more maneuverable than motorboats. They said the nation's 1.2 million watercraft owners have a right to use public waterways.
Personal watercraft opponents, including Long, complained the restrictions didn't go far enough. They said the machines' engines run at higher throttle speeds and at more horsepower, spewing more pollution than conventional boats.
"Jet Skis are a bane to our national parks and our nation's waters," Long said. "They threaten and harass wildlife, cause tremendous air and water pollution, disturb other visitors and cause horrific amounts of noise."