Crescent Bar ski course update- via the Cline's
Thank you all for your support and calls to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife regarding the water ski course at Crescent Bar.
We heard from Ted Clausing with the WDFW today. He was very professional and interested in working with us. He is meeting with some of the regulatory agencies tomorrow to discuss the course and its future. Ted was fairly confident the course would be returned to our possession and that a plan could be worked out between the water skiers and the WDFW. The issue at the heart of the matter is the “semi permanent” nature of the under-water structure.
Additionally, the shallow water area where the course is located is actually part of the Colockum Wildlife Area, further complicating the usage goals of that part of the river.
If you called Ted, you can expect a phone call back with in the next few days – Ted stated he was going to start returning calls starting Tuesday morning. Should you have a chance to speak with him, please be respectful and courteous. It made an extremely good impression with him that the phone calls he did receive were very positive and had a collaborative feel.
It is important that we represent ourselves as responsible, family-oriented water sports enthusiasts who want to work with all the agencies involved to get the course up and running again while preserving the wildlife aspects of that portion of the river.
While we wait to hear about Ted’s meeting with the other regulatory agencies involved in this issue, we are exploring the idea of creating a Crescent Bar Water Ski Club. As a club, we can present ourselves - and our passion for waterskiing - in an organized fashion. Ted showed some interest in this idea, as it would give the WDFW a single “organization” to interface with regarding water usage. Minimal dues could be collected on an annual basis to help offset any permits and course maintenance costs, for example. As a club, we could arrange community and environmental related events such as a 'beach clean-up' day - an idea that seemed to appeal to Ted.
We will certainly keep you updated on how this plays out. We’ve started a database of those on this email distribution list. We’d be happy to add additional water skiers to the list – so please forward this email on and/or send us their contact information.
We are hopeful that we can all be back on the Columbia River running full passes soon…