Dear editor,
I personally own and keep a boat on the dock at Patricia Lake and have done so for 40 years. I also own a boat which I keep at Maligne Lake locked and maintained on the stringer. It has been there for 32 years.
Each of these boats I use every summer and have never ever heard of personal watercraft not being permitted. I have lived in Jasper for 54 years and boats of all kinds have always been allowed on lakes as long as they are on a dock or stringer.
Now there is a sign placed by the dock at Patricia Lake that reads: “Shoreline Cleanup, no storage of private watercraft”. A further yellow tag is attached to every boat on the shore as well as all “legal” boats locked up to the dock. The tag reads “Shoreline Cleanup. This is a friendly reminder that the storage of personal watercraft is not permitted in national parks. We ask that you help us keep our shorelines clean by removing all watercraft.”
I know there has always been a law against chaining boats to trees on all lakes but docks have always been “legal”. I agree that no boat should be off a dock and chained to a tree and those and all neglected unused boats shouldn’t be there as well. My problem with this so-called solution is why are rule abiding boat owners being lumped in with the offenders?
In the past when someone chained a boat to a tree they were asked to remove it. Over the last decade or more this offence has not been enforced and I assumed that now it has escalated because of lack of enforcement.
There are a lot of boats on lakes throughout the park and I wonder if Parks removes all 100 or so boats from all lakes where will they all be stored? I personally do not currently have a yard or storage facility to put my boats at. Nor do I now own a vehicle which is capable of moving said boats. What about Lake Edith where people own houses? Are they going to have to move their boats? Are boat rentals going to be included as well, as I saw they were also tagged at Patricia Lake?
With the current COVID-19 crisis and having not been employed for two months I was very much looking forward to going outside, fishing and living the dream.
Who made this decision and why was the public not informed prior to this enactment? We all have a lot of important decisions to make throughout this summer and denying people of their personal freedom shouldn’t be one of the concerns that we have to worry about.
We are already social distancing and staying home. We are already sacrificing every day. Getting outside and having some fun should not be one more problem that we have to deal with.
May everyone be safe and healthy throughout this crisis, enjoy life.
See you on the water. Tight lines everyone.
Wendell Dirks
Jasper, AB
