Waldo Lake, in the high Cascades west of the Deschutes County border, is one of the most ultraoligotrophic lakes in the world. That fancy nine-dollar word means the water is clear – amazingly clear. Experiments have shown that objects in Waldo Lake can be seen at a depth of nearly 160 feet.
But whether Waldo Lake will continue to provide a near-pristine wilderness experience for Oregonians and visitors is far from clear. The state Marine Board appears to be on the verge of doing a flip-flop that will threaten the clarity and tranquility of the lake and its surroundings.
In 2009, after a debate that went back and forth for nearly 15 years, the Marine Board finally banned gasoline-powered motors from Waldo Lake. That action, predictably, delighted canoeists, and kayakers and enraged people who like to zoom around in power boats. The motorized recreation advocates have filed a legal challenge to the ban; that challenge is now pending in the Oregon Court of Appeals.
But even before the court has had a chance to decide the issue, the Marine Board is talking about rolling back the ban. An advisory committee is now reviewing it. By the end of the month that committee is expected to make its report, and if it advises the board to review the rule there will be a public hearing and a decision this spring.
The arguments for reopening Waldo Lake to noisy, pollution-spewing gasoline motors have all been heard before, and they’re all flimsy.
One of them is the “elitist” argument – that the motor ban in effect allows only young, physically fit (and presumably tree-hugging) folks paddling kayaks and canoes to enjoy the lake and excludes the old, the disabled and the less-able. But there are literally dozens of other lakes in Oregon where people can putter around with outboard motors.
Another argument is that small businesses dependent on recreation are losing money because of the ban. But small businesses all over the country are hurting – even ones that are miles away from any lake. There’s a recession going on, in case anybody hasn’t noticed.
Some sailboat owners say they need to use small outboards to maneuver their craft in and out of docks. But electric motors can serve the same purpose.
Finally, float plane owners say they need to be able to land their craft on the lake in emergencies. There might be some merit to that claim, but it should be easy to carve out an exception for emergency landings without tossing out the whole no-motors rule.
Weighed against those feeble arguments is the economic and emotional value of having a place within reach of the urban centers of Bend, Eugene and Portland where people can experience peace and quiet undisturbed by the roar of motors and the stink of gasoline. Such places are increasingly rare, which makes it all the more important to protect the few that remain.
So we’re applying THE BOOT to the Marine Board for being so eager to fold under pressure. If it surprises us by not folding, we’ll gladly un-BOOT it.
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2012.
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It is interesting the bias and misinformation that attempts to sway public opinion. For one, the advocates of a sensible approach to allowing motor use on Waldo Lake are not looking to “zoom around in power boats”. As a sailor who has made week long summer visits to Waldo Lake for the past 25 years (until 2010) the “motorized recreation advocates” are not looking to turn Waldo Lake into a power boat mecca. The request is to allow the use of clean, quiet, 4 Stroke, 10 hp or less motors which provides a fair compromise to both sides of this issue. I would offer the following counterpoints to your editorial bias. 1) A modern 4 stroke outboard engine is no more “pollution spewing” or noisy than the average car that pulls up to the boat ramp to unload a canoe, kayak, etc. There is no proof in any Forest Service study of hydrocarbon contamination in the lake. 2) Contrary to your opinion, a 5000 lb. sailboat cannot be safely maneuvered in and out of a Waldo Lake launch ramp with any affordable electric motor technology available today. Anyone who returns to Waldo Lake does so for one reason; their love of the natural beauty and tranquility that surrounds them because we all care about the lake, want to protect it, and respect everyone's right to enjoy it. Rather, this is not an environmental issue, but a social one. To that I would offer; anyone who truly wants to protect Waldo Lake would advocate the removal of both the paved road from Highway 58 and the elimination of Charleton Butte road to the East, while offering up that the best way to truly protect the lake is to allow foot access only. Are you willing to do that? Why? Because for every car, van and motor home that makes its way to a Waldo Lake parking lot and loses a little bit of oil from their undercarriage, you are no less guilty than the owner of modern outboard that propels his sailboat out for a beautiful day of sailing on Waldo Lake. This is an opportunity that offers an acceptable compromise to all, while respecting each other's right to enjoy the beauty that is Waldo Lake.
Mark Warwick says that a 5000-pound sailboat cannot be safely maneuvered in and out of a Waldo Lake launch ramp with any affordable electric motor technology available today.
To check, I sent an email to a boating store. The Torqueedo Cruise 2.0 is an electric outboard motor that sells for $2299.00. That's about the price of a 5 horse power gas engine. Torqeedo also has an 8 horse power model. So, an electric motor is available, and it is available for about the same price as a gas engine.
But it's not necessary. Sailors worth their salt can maneuver any sailboat using the wind. Cases in point:
On Puget Sound there is a very active fleet of 6 Meter sailboats that are around thirty five feet,and weigh 5,000 lbs. None of them have motors.
At the Center for Wooden Boats, in Seattle, they sail a forty foot, 10'500lb boat (Check out the web site for the R-Boat Pirate.) to and from the dock without any engine all the time. Since the Center is on the south end of Lake Union and the prevailing wind is from the north, they frequently do downwind landings, and in a boat twice as heavy as Mr. Warwick's boat.
If a boat owner is not comfortable running completely on sails, there are plenty of beautiful lakes in Oregon to practice on. Meanwhile, experienced skippers can be hired to sail a boat when the owner doesn't have the experience to maneuver it. A lot of owners do that when they have huge boats they're not comfortable with.
So there are options, all of them better than polluting Waldo: Switch to an electric motor, learn to sail better, hire a skipper, or even get a smaller, possibly more manageable, boat that would be better suited to the facilities there.
Further, if the State Board gives in and changes the law for Mr. Warwick and his friends, they won't' be the only ones who want to use it. Our population is constantly increasing in Oregon; others will join them and there will be more and more boaters adding to the pollution. If a four-stroke engine is “no more polluting than the average car,” imagine what happens to the water as the motor churns through it. Now imagine a lot of them.
Float Planes? Are you kidding?
Mark wrote… Anyone who returns to Waldo Lake does so for one reason; their love of the natural beauty and tranquility that surrounds them because we all care about the lake, want to protect it, and respect everyone’s right to enjoy it.
It seems like motorized boats would definitely detract from the natural beauty and tranquility. Electric motors would still allow people who aren’t capable of using a kayak or canoe to enjoy the lake. The ban on gas motors doesn’t seem too unreasonable to me.
Folks, the very few (gas powered) boaters who frequented Waldo were few and far between. One reason is there is virtually no fishing to be had at Waldo. The multitude of times our family visited we were the only fishing boat on the lake, and it’s a huge lake. To rule that gas powered motors are “verboten” is as lame as it gets. 4 stroke engines (ours) do not splash gas all over the lake or spew fumes into the air. Mr. Warwick’s point of one’s car emissions to get to Waldo is spot on. The lake is usually quiet 24/7. Warwick’s point of compromise has merit. The usual scare tactics of the environmental wacko’s have no place here. The lake belongs to everyone.
Canoes, kayaks and puttering fishing boats can co-exist. Reverse the ban!
This Lake and area is a Paradise, beautiful water, (can see 50 ft down) great campsites and 3 campgrounds, awesome boat ramps, Fishing for Walleye and kokanee, wonderful hiking trails all surrounded by dozens of smaller lakes and ponds! Only there is no reason to go there. Friends of Waldo organization got involved and in 1996 they got the flush toilets removed, the boat motors off the lake, stopped the planting of fish in the water, the big fish ate the little fish and then the big fish starved and died. All in order to preserve this pristine lake holding the cleanest water in Oregon as it is the Head waters of the north fork of the Willamette river (a near toxic water down lower). So they have infact Killed the most awesome camping destination I have ever seen. All this beauty and fun just waiting for nobody to come because there is now no reason to go there. It reminded me of a post apocalyptic vacation destination, no one in site and no sound of anything, because legally you are restrained from enjoying yourself. We as a people should ban together and refuse to let just a few idiots control us and the outcome of such an important place. It is now preserved to the point there is no life in the lake, no algae, bugs, fish, crawdads, nothing. The lake is Dead. I believe we should round up all the friends of waldo and put them in the lake and preserve them as well! This is what happens when people are afraid to make waves, or speak up, and fight for what is right. Hundreds of people should show up one Saturday and launch there boats and start water skiing and tubing, house boats, ect. The only way to fight these people is by force and in numbers, Laxidazically hanging around waiting to be told to get out of the water and put your fishing poles away was the equivalent of walking up to the cliffs edge and jumping off. I don’t know why I didn’t even hear about this back then, but things like this should have drawn the attention of the news vans and huge crowds using those flush toilets so they couldn’t be taken out. Its supposed to be We The People and not Us The Few! The Longer I live and the Less time I have left, The more compelled I feel to not care about (making waves) and do something to stand up and stop this kind of nonsense. When the greatest things we have turn into the last place we would want to go, we have Sercombe to the politicians and let the freak groups run ramped, therefore releasing any interest in the words, We The People. and I hang my head in shame.
Seems like electric boats are becoming FAR MORE affordable now and if half of the local dim-wits had any sense about them they would be building, converting and renting electric boats for the lake!