SALT LAKE CITY — Personal watercraft owners will be back on Lake Powell this summer as the result of a lawsuit filed by local business owners and recreational access groups in March of 2003. The lake was to remain closed to the small boats until at least late summer as the National Park Service completed a special rule to allow them to return. The recent settlement in the coalition's lawsuit with the National Park Service will result in the opening of the lake to PWC enthusiasts as early as Saturday, May 10, 2003.

The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of small business owners from around the lake, including two Page, Arizona, PWC-oriented businesses, and three recreational access organizations, the American Watercraft Association, Blueribbon Coalition, and Utah Shared Access Alliance. Lead counsel for these parties is recreational lawyer Paul Turcke of Boise, Idaho.

Lake Powell is the dominant feature of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, located on the border of Utah and Arizona. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States and is among the most popular recreational boating destinations in the West.

Better known by their trademark names of Jet Ski, Waverunner, and Sea-Doo, PWC were banned at Lake Powell as a result of a closed-door agreement between an anti-recreation group called the Bluewater Network and the National Park Service. As a result, PWC use could only be authorized after the adoption of a special rule, which the Park Service could not complete until approximately August of 2003. The PWC groups filed suit to challenge the Bluewater agreement's effect at Lake Powell. The recent settlement opens the lake to PWC while the rulemaking process is completed, saving the recreational boating season for PWC owners at Lake Powell and saving the businesses and communities which rely on their tourism dollars.

"This is a great day for the people of Page, Arizona, and for all of those who support fair and reasonable regulation of public access by our government," said Tim McDaniels, owner of Doo-Powell, a Page Arizona PWC rental business. "We would not have been able to survive this year with a complete closure at Lake Powell, and many families were facing the prospect of scrapping their traditional summer visits to this unique waterway."

Freddie Hancock, owner of Lake Powell Waterworld in Page, was also concerned about the economic impact a ban would have on her business and the local community. "We are excited about the lifting of the ban. Businesses who may not have been able to survive a season of no PWC access on Lake Powell can now keep their doors open and keep their people employed. . The economy of Page depends on summer tourist traffic, and the threat of a PWC ban was causing our revenues to plummet."

In every National Recreation Area and Seashore where PWC impact has been examined, Park Service officials have recommended continued access for the boats. Downstream along the Colorado River Lake Mead, the National Park Service recently completed their special rule for PWC, allowing the boats to access more than 95-percent of the Recreation Area's waterways.

Other Park Units, including Amistad National Recreation Area (Texas), Assateague Island National Seashore (Maryland), Big Thicket National Preserve (Texas), Chickasaw National Recreation Area (Oklahoma), Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (Texas),Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Michigan), and Fire Island National Seashore (New York) have all completed environmental analysis of PWC access and have recommended continued PWC access. These units remain committed to the completion of special rules to allow PWC owners to once again enjoy some of America's most beautiful waterways.