Lake Mead watercraft unlikely to be affected by agreement

Friday, Dec. 22, 2000 | 10:04 a.m.

A settlement between the National Park Service and a San Francisco-based environmental group over the ecological effects of watercraft fuel will have no immediate impact on boating or jet ski use at Lake Mead.

The Bluewater Network and several organizations filed a lawsuit in August in federal court in Washington, D.C., to ban personal watercraft at two dozen national park sites, including Lake Mead and Lake Powell.

Under terms of the settlement, the Bluewater Network said that the federal agency has to remove personal watercraft from the lakes unless it can be shown that the fuel isn't harming water quality and wildlife.

The network's press release also said that personal watercraft produce air and noise pollution that harass wildlife and disturbs other lake users.

Personal watercraft supporters have already filed motions to intervene in the settlement, which is awaiting approval by a federal judge in Washington, D.C.

"We don't think there is much to it," said National Park Service spokesman Bert Byers at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The settlement says that impacts from personal watercraft have to be addressed after an environmental assessment.

The National Park Service is in the process of producing a lake management plan that could be ready in two months, Byers said.

"We were sort of surprised by the settlement, but there is no impact on us at this time," he said.