Pennsylvania’s Bureau of State Parks is now accepting comments through May 23, 2002 on the proposed changes to state regs. This is the last chance for at least 10 years to convince the parks to open Ohiopyle Falls for boating. If you care about opening access to the falls for more than one weekend a year, you must write to the Park.
American Whitewater’s other concern with the proposed regulations regard language barring any whitewater paddling in any Pennsylvania Parks other than Ohiopyle, Lehigh Gorge, and McConnells Mill State Parks. This issue is addressed directly in a letter by Ed Gertler, author of “Keystone Canoeing“. Though the draft regulations do not mention whitewater paddling explicitly in Ralph Stover State Park (the Tohickon) and a few easy water state parks such as Oil Creek, Tyler, and Leonard Harrison (the famous Pine Creek Canyon), whitewater boating will apparently remain legal at these sites which have already been developed for boating.
When writing your letter, you have a choice: You can cut and paste American Whitewater’s letter or write your own. However, if you write your own, then that will be much more effective.
The parks send a copy of every unique letter they receive to the state House and Senate, as well as two other state agencies. If they receive form letters, they simply take one example and post a note on it stating that multiple copies were received. Simply put, the more people that write in on this issue using their own words, the greater the chance we’ll be able to sway government opinion and see that the falls are opened once and for all.
Writing Your Own Letter
Here are our suggestions for writing your own letter.
Gary Smith, Division Chief
PA DCNR, Bureau of State Parks
Rachel Carson State Office Building
PO Box 8551
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8551
717-783-3307
garyksmith@state.pa.us
American Whitewater Letter to PA State Parks
April 25, 2002
| Gary Smith, Division Chief PA DCNR, Bureau of State Parks Rachel Carson State Office Building PO Box 8551 Harrisburg, PA 17105-8551 717-783-3307 garyksmith@state.pa.us |
Note that whitewater boating remains legal in Ralph Stover State Park (the Tohickon) too. Also, there are some easy water state parks such as Oil Creek, Tyler, and Leonard Harrison (the famous Pine Creek Canyon) which are developed for boating. |
Dear Mr. Smith,
Thank you for meeting with American Whitewater’s representatives on multiple occasions regarding proposed modifications to the State Parks Regulations (Annex A, Title 17, Part 1, Subpart B, Chapter 11). American Whitewater’s members are particularly interested in the portions of the proposed rule regarding whitewater recreation opportunities (§11.220 and §11.219).
While we support the proposed regulation changes, including the decision to eliminate quota provisions in §11.75(a)(3) because “they are matters of internal Department policy and do not require regulations”, we have two outstanding concerns that we would like to see addressed.
Specifically, we would like to work with the Bureau of State Parks to substantively address concerns regarding restrictions on waterfall running at Ohiopyle State Park and whitewater launch and take-out sites across the Pennsylvania State Parks system.
Waterfall running. In regard to whitewater boating, we would like to see the proposed regulation modified to permit waterfall running in Ohiopyle State Park. Short of this, we would like the regulation changed to allow this activity with permission from the Park Superintendent.
At present, draft regulation §11.220(c)(3) states “Waterfall running. Waterfall running is prohibited without written permission of the Department.”
Our preference is to see this regulation modified to state “Waterfall running. Waterfall running is permitted.”
If that is not acceptable, then, at a minimum, we propose changing the regulation to state, “Waterfall running. Waterfall running is permitted subject to restriction as determined by the Park Superintendent.”
Both solutions are consistent with the 500+ letters that American Whitewater members and other paddlers have written to the Department and Governor on this matter.
Related to this, §11.220(c) (1) Lower Youghiogheny River should be changed to read “Lower Youghiogheny River. The Lower Youghiogheny River is the section of the Youghiogheny River between Ohiopyle Borough and the northern most point of the park…”.
Canoe and kayak launching. As described in Ed Gertler’s guidebook “Keystone Canoeing,” there are numerous whitewater sections in state parks that are not addressed or described under regulation. Under the current phrasing most park superintendents are likely to interpret this omission to mean that boating is not permitted on these whitewater sections. We would like to see this situation changed to allow Park Superintendents the discretion to evaluate boating on a river-by-river basis.
Draft regulation §11.219 Boating applies to the use of watercraft other than whitewater boating. Subsection §11.219(f)(1), prohibits “Launching or removing watercraft at a location that is not designated by the Department as a launching site, without written permission of the Department. Draft regulation §11.220 Whitewater Boating then addresses whitewater recreation in Ohiopyle, Lehigh Gorge, and McConnells Mill State Park. Thus the status of boating on non-specified whitewater rivers in the state parks is murky.
We recommend amending §11.220 to state “(a) General requirements. A person engaging in whitewater boating at any state park, including Ohiopyle State Park, Lehigh Gorge State Park, or McConnells Mill State Park shall comply with the following requirements:”; this phrasing would ensure that each participant is adequately equipped for safety, and subject to the watercraft prohibitions regarding motors.
In addition, we recommend explicitly acknowledging in a new subsection “(f) Other parks. Whitewater boating will be permitted unless clearly posted otherwise. The decision to prohibit whitewater boating in a Park will be made by the Park Superintendent.”
Finally, we would like to express concern that American Whitewater was not sent copies of the public notice regarding the draft regulations comment period though we had met and discussed this issue multiple times with the Department and had been notified at all other stages of the planning process.
Sincerely,
{SIGNED}
Jason D. Robertson
Access Director, American Whitewater
Barry Tuscano
President, American Whitewater
Pennsylvania Resident
Charlie Walbridge
Board, American Whitewater
Safety Committee
Letter By Ed Gertler, author of “Pennsylvania Whitewater“
April 22, 2002
Gary Smith, Chief
Maintenance Division
Bureau of State Parks
Rachel Carson State Office Building
P.O. Box 8551
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8551
Dear Mr. Smith:
Thank you for taking the time to meet with our group on April 11 to discuss the issue of paddling on state park streams. In response, I request that you enter to the currently open public record the following comments regarding a suggested revision of State park regulations.
My name is Edward Gertler. Though not a resident of Pennsylvania, I am thoroughly familiar with its waterways and have served to disseminate this knowledge to the public through my guidebook Keystone Canoeing. As such, I am a frequent user of the State’s waterways, and I am extremely concerned we maintain access to these waterways for all.
It has come to my attention that some park managers have chosen to prohibit boating on state park streams based on the text of Pennsylvania Code, Title 17, Section 11.12 which states that “outdoor recreation activity in State Recreation Areas is restricted to locations for which physical improvement or posting designates the appropriate purpose and use.” I would propose that this passage be deleted or, if that is not possible, that it be amended with an equally weighted section recognizing nonpower boating on streams as an activity that is compatible with the mission of the state parks. If from the Bureau of State Park’s perspective, this is too broad a statement, I could accept a qualifying clause that states subject to site-specific reconsideration where there are conflicts with other activities or mandates. I would urge, however, that such wording also firmly establish burden of proof on the park manager to initiate such exceptions.
Generally speaking, the impacts of this change on the parks would be negligible. Most of these streams are small with a limited window of runnable flows, and they are even more infrequently runnable at times of the year when unqualified users might consider attempting them. So adverse impact on user safety, banks, wildlife, or vehicle use would be insignificant — far less than the impact of established activities. Regarding potential user conflicts with fishermen, the above factors plus the fact that floating conditions usually mean high and muddy conditions that are less favorable to fishing should preclude any significant issues.
In summary, because nature-compatible recreation is a major mandate of state parks, the State should recognize nonpower boating as compatible with that goal. Paddlers have long been a group advocating the State’s protection of open spaces, especially riparian corridors. It does not seem fair to then exclude them from these areas once they are protected.
Sincerely,
{SIGNED}Edward Gertler