Boaters concerned about rule changes for Lake Mead

Wednesday, May 22, 2002 | 8:57 a.m.

About 200 people, many of them boaters, said they are concerned about National Park Service plans to change the rules for managing Lake Mead.

The National Park Service has not updated its management plan for the lake since 1986, said Jim Holland, project director, during the Tuesday night hearing at Cashman Center.

If the plan is completed by the end of summer, the Park Service will not have to ban personal watercraft from the lake on Sept. 15. A successful lawsuit by the Blue Water Network of San Francisco would ban such watercraft unless a management plan is completed for 22 areas, including Lake Mead.

Southern Nevada residents were more than willing to speak out against the proposed plan that would prohibit boat operators from drinking alcohol, restrict boat wakes 100 feet from the shoreline and restrict craft to certain areas of the lake under four alternatives.

Every weekend for the past 15 years, Dale Segall has spent Friday through Sunday on one of his two boats at the lake.

"That's our recreation, that's our getaway," Segall said. "When more people move in, are you going to restrict people from enjoying themselves?"

The lake is dropping as Southern Nevada enters the third year of a drought. Last year green algae grew like a carpet on most of the surface of Lake Mead.

"Our biggest concern is the drop in the lake," Las Vegas resident Al Krisch said. But the sailboat owner said he is also concerned about what the Park Service will include in the rules.

"Those of us who have boats out there worry about what's in the rules," Krisch said.

Park Service officials said they were pleased with the turnout and would take public comments into consideration before releasing the final plan.

"I'm glad to see the turnout. It shows people care about what happens to the lake," Park Service biologist Bill Burke said. The comment period ends June 26.

C.K. Lyman, a Las Vegas resident since 1981, suggested a compromise if a high-level nuclear waste repository is built at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

"If you want to give us Yucca Mountain, give us our rights here, more money for schools, more money for our highways," Lyman said.

Comments may be filed through the Park Service website (www.nps.gov/lame/ lmpdraft/home.htm).

Written comments may be sent to Superintendent, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, 601 Nevada Way, Boulder City, NV 89005.