This commentary is by Diane Z. Lehder, a resident of Orleans. She and her family members own properties on Willoughby Lake, where they have summered for 77 years. She is a member of Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes.
An open letter to Julie Moore, secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources, about regulation of wake boats on Vermont waters:
After over two years of public debate about regulating wake boats on Vermont public waters, it’s time to make a decision. That decision is now in your hands.
The Agency of Natural Resources is currently wading through over 750 written comments received from the public this summer. This kind of interest in policy is unprecedented.
While the public is not yet privy to an analysis of those comments, Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes just published its analysis of comments from the Aug. 1 and Aug. 3 public hearings. Of the 66 people who actually spoke at those hearings, 94% supported managing wake boats on Vermont lakes and 85% supported a stronger rule than the one proposed by the Department of Environmental Conservation. Twenty-three percent favored a complete ban on wake sports on inland lakes while only 6% were against any regulation.
Historically, the libertarian philosophy has served us well here in Vermont. But live and let live only works until your liberties infringe on mine. When that happens, someone with authority has to step in and make a judgment call.
While speakers at the August public hearings expressed concern about various threats posed by wake boats, a resounding 98% expressed concern about the impact on other “normal users” and 64% specifically mentioned public safety.
These data clearly make the case that wake boats threaten the use, enjoyment and safety of others. The “rights” claimed by the elite few who can afford these marine behemoths cannot be allowed to disenfranchise the rights of the overwhelming majority.
For those who claim you can’t define a wake boat — that’s simply hooey. The marine industry is building a whole new industry around the sport of wake boating, and right now they’re promising 7-foot wakes and hands-free autopilot accessories. The merely frightening has become simply terrifying.
In 2004, the state approved Willoughby Lake’s petition to ban jet skis. Since then, the use of paddleboards and kayaks has simply exploded, and the number of loons and bald eagles we see on and over the water here continues to grow. They enjoy the entire lake, including the zone proposed regulations would cede to wake boats.
Limiting wake boat use to Vermont’s largest lakes removes the threat to smaller ones, but speaking for many around Willoughby and Vermont’s other large lakes, we don’t want them on our lakes either.
It is not wrong to care about the environment and it is not wrong to care about the safety of other “normal users.” It is a moral obligation and ANR’s charge under Vermont’s Use of Public Waters Rules. Now is the time for leadership, not compromise.
I urge you, Secretary Moore, to take a bold stand. It’s still possible for us to preserve what other states are clearly losing or have already lost.
Let’s keep Vermont like New England used to be.
