Curecanti National Recreation Area: Personal Watercraft Use Enviornmental Assessment

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PURPOSE OF .AND NEED FOR ACTION Curecanti National Recreation Area ( Curecanti), a unit of the national park system, was established in 1965 to provide for conservation of the scenic, natural, historic, archeological, and wildlife values. The goal of the recreation area is to provide for public use and enjoyment while ensuring visitor safety and resource preservation and conservation. Curecanti is located on U.S. 50, west of Gunnison, Colorado (map 1). More than one million personal watercraft' (PWC) are estimated to be in operation today in the United States. Sometimes referred to as "jet skis" or "wet bikes," these vessels use an inboard, internal combustion engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion. They are used for enjoyment, particularly for touring and maneuvers such as wave jumping, and they are capable of speeds in the range of 60 miles per hour (mph). The National Park Service (NPS) maintains that PWC use emerged and gained popularity in park units before it could initiate and complete a "full evaluation of the possible impacts and ramifications." While PWC use remains a relatively new recreational activity, it has occurred in 32 of 87 park units that allow motorized boating. The National Park Service first began to study personal watercraft in Everglades National Park. The studies showed that PWC use over emergent vegetation, shallow grass flats, and mud flats commonly used by feeding shore birds damaged the vegetation, adversely impacted the shore birds, and disturbed the life cycles of other wildlife. Consequently, managers at Everglades determined that PWC use remained inconsistent with the resources, values, and purposes for which the park was established. In 1994, the National Park Service prohibited personal watercraft by a special regulation at the park (59 Federal Register [FR] 58781). Other public entities have taken steps to limit, and even to ban, PWC use in certain waterways as national researchers study more about the effects of PWC use. At least 34 states have either implemented or have considered regulating the use and operation of personal watercraft (63 FR at 49314). Similarly, various federal agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have managed personal watercraft differently than other classes of motorized watercraft. Specifically, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regulates the use of personal watercraft in most national marine sanctuaries. The regulation resulted in a court case where the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia declared such PWC - specific management valid. In Personal Watercraft Industry Association v. Department of Commerce, 48 F.3d 540 (D. C. Cir. 1995), the court ruled that an agency can discriminate and manage one type of vessel (specifically personal watercraft) differently than other vessels if the agency explains its reasons for the differentiation. In February 1997, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA), the governing body charged with ensuring no derogation of Lake Tahoe's water quality, voted unanimously to ban all two- stroke, internal 1. Personal watercraft, as defined in 36 CFR §1.4(a) (2000), refers to a vessel, usually less than 16 feet in length, which uses an inboard, internal combustion engine powering a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion. The vessel is intended to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather than within the confines of the hull. The length is measured from end to end over the deck excluding sheer, meaning a straight line measurement of the overall length from the foremost part of the vessel to the aft most part of the vessel, measured parallel to the centerline. Bow sprits, bumpkins, rudders, outboard motor brackets, and similar fittings or attachments, are not included in the measurement. Length is stated in feet and inches.