In prior posts, we covered the free-for-all erupting on the Henry’s Fork of the Snake over an ordinance allowing gas-powered motors on the area’s rivers (originally that access would have included jet skis, which are wholly inappropriate there).
And all this despite overwhelming public comment against the idea.
The Back Eddy blog offers up a cogent summary of the resulting ordinance, the intent of which has left most observers (including Idaho Fish & Game) shaking their heads.
It appears that its finally over, at least the first fight. And for those of us who want to keep motors off the famed Henry’s Fork, we can only wonder about the opposition: why exactly are they doing this?
Early this week the Fremont Country Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance that bans motors from large portions of the river, but unfortunately (in my view) allows motors on several stretches of river–particularly the stretch from Vernon Bridge downstream to the Fun Farm Bridge pool.
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This ordinance actually increases the horsepower limitation from 10 to 15 hp, despite the fact that the majority of public comments (75% according to Island Park News) were against motors on the Vernon Bridge section, and the fact that the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) warned the commissioners (via letter and public testimony) that motors on that stretch could “undermine decades of trumpeter swan management efforts.” Its always nice to see the local government agencies work together.
There are rumors that the Henry’s Fork Foundation (to whom the commissioners seemed to be openly hostile) might challenge the ordinance in court, on what grounds I do not know.
Another thing I don’t know is what drove this whole issue. Landowners didn’t seem to support motors (check out this letter in one of the local papers), the majority of river users were against it, and the IDFG was against it. Who exactly was for it? I mean other than three commissioners and their cronies.*
*I always wanted to write something like that. Now I feel like a newspaperman from the 1940s.
Maybe someday we will know, but for now I’ll be trying to dodge the drift boats coming downstream and motorboats headed up. Welcome to life as a wading fisherman on the lower Henry’s Fork.
You’ll notice a reference to the Commissioners’ “openly hostile” stance towards the Henry’s Fork Foundation, a stance which – given my own county’s often bizarrely anti-government/conservationist/anyonewithabrain rhetoric – isn’t that surprising.
Thanks to the Back Eddy for keeping us updated on this issue. I have a feeling this one’s going to rear up again in the future.
See you in court, Tom Chandler.
When my older daughter graduated from high school we joined some friends on a self-guided, 10-day wilderness raft trip on the Main Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, which I thought was designated as a Wild and Scenic River.
The first time it happened, I did not know what the hell was coming when I heard the high-pitched mechanical screech echoing in the canyon walls. It was not until a jet boat full of well-appointed joy seekers came screaming around the bend of the river, did I realize what in the hell was coming. This scene was repeated every few days. Our only hope was that our encounters would never occur while we were in the midst of navigating a Class IV rapid.
A. Wannabe Travelwriter(Quote)
The section of the Fork in question is a relatively serene stretch – wholly inappropriate for motorized use.
Tom Chandler(Quote)