Nevada Residents Are Worried About Lake Mead Boat Ramp Launch Plans

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (702 Times, NV Globe) – A forum in Boulder City drew more than 300 individuals to learn about the Lake Mead Sustainable Low Water Access Plan.

The National Park Service (NPS) launched a strategy to handle Lake Mead’s low water levels by implementing management techniques affecting boat launch sites.

Officials can opt to shut the marinas and concessions, disconnect utilities and relocate the marinas, or keep the marinas open as is.

According to Vicki Arnold of Boulder City, this change would severely reduce recreation time and alter the community’s lifestyle.

“You’re out there in the land and the water and the sky and it’s just an awesome time and place to be,” said Arnold. “So there’s fear here of taking our national recreation area away from the people of the nation.”

Since 2005, Margot Allaire has kept her yacht parked on Lake Mead. She stated that the public forum is still ambiguous.

“Let’s address the real issue which is the loss of water and let’s figure out better ways to conserve better than something like this,” said Allaire. ” I agree with Vicki. I think the agenda has already been decided and this is just an attempt to get people to supposedly a forum to express their views, I don’t think it’ll make a difference.”

Ben Burr, executive director of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, works to maintain recreational access to public lands and water.

“Recreation creates huge economic value to this area and hopefully their getting a clear signal that concept one is the alternative they should choose and find ways to adapt and make sure this infrastructure to access the lakes stays operational,” Burr said.

He also hopes that the community will consider the nonprofit’s plan.

“Our plan does acknowledge the fact that it’s going to take at least five years to stabilize the system and get it back on a sustainable path but that’s going to require that the Bureau of Reclamation and the agencies managing the water use in the west start to look at this as we have to adapt to the water coming in, adjust the water coming out based on what we have instead of this liquidation model where they release everything they have to every year which has put us in a situation where it is an emergency now,” Burr said. ” Our plan gives them a path of how to do that. We hope the public will look at that and support our plan or at least a variation of it.”

Chris Marsack has been a Lake Mead boater since the 1970s. While he supports water conservation, he is skeptical that this approach would achieve it.

“It’s hard to understand. Their questions I don’t feel are really good,” explained Marsack. “Concepts one, two, and three they may alter pieces of that around, so it definitely seems to be a work in progress.”

The NPS encourages people to provide written feedback online. It will be available till December 23. Click here to submit your feedback.

Credits: 8NewsNow