This commentary is by Peter Shea of Burlington, an angler, geographer and outdoor author.
Here’s a clarion call for all Vermonters who like to fish or anybody, for that matter, who enjoys a day on a healthy lake.
Wake boats are large vessels powered by 500-horsepower (or so) engines. They take on water ballast to submerge the stern. These features allow the craft to produce wakes 4 feet in height or greater for the benefit of rope-less wake surfing.
Good fun for the few who can afford the $100,000-plus price tag. But bad for just about every other user of Vermont’s public waterways, especially those out to enjoy a day’s fishing.
Anglers are especially encouraged to scrutinize this new product from the power sports industry, which in my opinion is the single driver of getting these rigs on our waters. These boats are detrimental to angling interests on two fronts: environmental and enjoyment of our time spent fishing.
A wake boat’s propulsion creates a strong, downward thrust. In shallower waters, this disturbs lake-bottom sediments. These shallower regions are the nursery of all that lives in our lakes and ponds. The shallows are the nursery for juvenile fish. They are the home of mayflies, dragonflies and other bugs critical to the food chain. Wake boats, left unregulated, will upset this fragile and critical habitat.
Lake bottoms are also host to nutrient-rich materials deposited over hundreds, even thousands, of years. When disturbed, these nutrients, which include phosphorus, enhance algae blooms. These problems have already degraded many Vermont waterways.
Large wakes also cause shoreline erosion, contrary to the goal of the 2014 Shoreline Protection Act passed by our Legislature to protect shores and water quality.
The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation is spending millions of dollars today attempting to reduce water-borne phosphorus levels, which are rising in many of Vermont’s more pristine lakes. It employs an army of scientists — at taxpayer expense — to curtail pollution in public waterways. Does it make sense to permit wake boats contrary to public interest?
From an angler’s viewpoint, wake boats are a two-edged threat. One is the harm to fishery and aquatic habitat. The second is a collision of recreation interests: wake boats and their 4-foot waves vs. the angler who customarily is a tranquil presence enjoying his or her sport.
Large wakes pose a safety threat to small craft (kayaks, canoes, small trolling skiffs). Who wants to go fishing when you are rocked by waves larger than any ever experienced in a pond or lake’s history?
Predictably, when wake boats commence operation, most other waterbody users — anglers included — will retreat.
Must the Vermont public embrace every new product produced by the power sports industry? It’s doubtful that there are a half-dozen people in the state that are even interested in getting one of these rigs, and it’s likely all of them can afford a real surfing safari, rather than muck up our waters.
How can all of the environmental pitfalls that these serve up possibly be trumped by what is not even a mild public clamor for them? Besides “the industry,” who wants them?
The Department of Environmental Conservation has been petitioned by a citizens’ group to restrict wake boat operation 1,000 feet from shore in waters 20 feet or deeper. Some 16 Vermont lakes would qualify.
The department has proposed a more moderate rule — 500 feet from shore, 20 feet deep or more. This version includes 40-plus lakes and ponds in Vermont.
Of course, neither version recognizes the reality that, whatever limit is set, it is likely to be violated repeatedly and routinely. Many critics, and that includes me, would welcome an outright ban on wake boats. I cannot grasp how we’ve come to have to decide between “bad” and “really bad.”That said, anglers are encouraged to get educated about this new class of vessels and to participate in the state rule making, which is now underway. Here’s a link to the department’s relevant webpage.
