Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources is in its final review of the new proposed rule to manage wake boat activity on Vermont’s inland lakes and ponds.
More than 90 verbal comments and 750 written comments came in, and the public is clamoring for a stronger rule. Comments overwhelmingly support strong regulation of wake boats operating at least 1,000 feet from shore. The Department of Environmental Conservation’s weakened 500-foot rule is not adequate.
Currently, only 73 lakes in Vermont allow motorboats operating over 5 mph. Many are small, shallow ponds obviously inappropriate and rarely, if ever, visited by wake boats. Adding DEC’s proposed rule, at a distance from shore of 500 feet, does not significantly change the situation.
In this way, the state manages to create the illusion of a solution without the reality of significant change. The state’s weakened 500-foot rule allows wake sports to dominate, claiming the deepest areas in the center of the lake. The state’s 500-foot rule includes no margin of error to accommodate future growth. Water quality will decline, along with the health and enjoyment of Vermont’s lakes.
Nationally, Vermont enjoys a glowing reputation for good environmental practices. Here at home, we trust the state to safeguard our clean air, clean water, and open land for future generations.
The people of Vermont insist upon true protection, not just symbolic protection without substance. Now is the time for Julie Moore and the Agency of Natural Resources to respond by restoring the distance from shore back to 1,000 feet, as originally proposed.
Meg Handler
Hinesburg
