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If environmental organizations get their way, personnel watercraft will be a thing of the past in all National Recreation Areas (including Lake
Powell) beginning September 2002. In March 2000, the National Park Service banned PWC in 66 of the 87 park units across the nation but allowed their continued use in areas such as Lake Powell
(GCNRA) where prior important recreational use had been established. However, environmental organizations sued this NPS decision and now in response to a court settlement, the staff at Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area have begun a process of hosting public scoping meetings and conducting a NEPA Environmental Impact study. The goal is the collection of baseline information relevant to
management options of PWC at Lake Powell. Personal watercraft have been in use at Lake Powell since the mid-1980's and they constitute a growing recreational |
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activity. Nationwide, PWC represent just 9% of all registered vessels but that number is growing and issues related to PWC noise and safety
have been raised. No official use statistics or safety related information are available yet for Lake Powell but it is being tabulated. Many individuals are concerned that if PWC become banned, it
would open the door for banning other forms of motorized recreation within our National Recreational Areas. The GCNRA will issue their PWC Impact Study next summer and it will likely contain
a listing of various management alternatives including:
- Continue existing practices with no new PWC regulations
- Restricting PWC to defined areas or restricting their use from sensitive areas and/or at sensitive times
- Take no management action and let the court imposed September 2002 ban on PWC go into effect.
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