Public defends their swim dock

People who spend recreational time at Spring Canyon told the National Park Service their concerns over potential changes for the park. 

The NPS collected 83 comments on their Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Draft Visitor Use Site Management Plan and Environmental Assessment before the comment period ended on May 30. 

The draft plan lists potential changes to nine sites along Lake Roosevelt, including Spring Canyon.

A list of potential actions relevant to all sites along Lake Roosevelt, includes a "preferred alternative" to "improve visitor on-water safety by removing potential hazards such as the swim docks."

The plan also lists the possibility of private vendor food trucks replacing what is supposed to be a concession stand, built in 1998, that hasn't offered concessions for some time.

Page 2-2 says about Spring Canyon that "the potential reuse of the existing concession building at Spring Canyon was considered but dismissed in favor (of) removing the building and repurposing the area for use by vendors. The existing concession building is not well configured for use and would require significant updates. Also, there are limited business opportunities for concessioners given the short season."

Later, on pages 2-9 - 2-10, it says as a "preferred alternative" to "repurpose the concession building and create plaza space to accommodate multiple uses such as food trucks."

The plan lists other potential changes relevant to accessibility improvements, campsite designs, improving traffic flow, and more.

Of the 83 comments the NPS received, the vast majority were about the swim dock, the concessions, and other Spring Canyon-related topics, with very few comments related to other recreational sites along Lake Roosevelt.

The comments shared a common opinion: that the swim dock needs to stay, or be replaced with a newer dock.

"I grew up in the area and spent my summers at Spring Canyon rec area, more specifically on the swim dock with the other kids of all ages," one person commented (NPS did not release names). "Many young kids use the dock to conquer their fear of deep water, and face their fear of jumping into the water. Kids also find frogs and fish under the dock and end up inadvertently learning about nature. Any dangerous activity is always monitored by parents that are watching their children. I also ask you to reconsider taking away the swim dock because the kids play toys have already been removed. It's already the safest place to take your kids swimming, but I can tell you the swim dock is the main reason kids themselves want to go to Spring Canyon."

Multiple other comments mentioned the removal of playground equipment at Spring Canyon in recent years, including a jungle gym, swings, and more, as negatively impacting the experience there.

Several comments mentioned swimming to the dock as one of the first goals for children learning to swim.

Tradition is another common theme among the comments.

"Please do not remove the swim dock," one person commented. "My parents used it, me and my siblings used it, and I hope some day my kids can use it."

Concerning concessions, some said having food trucks may be a good idea, while others would simply like to see concessions in the current concession stand. But all want to be able to buy a snack while at Spring Canyon.

One person attributed the lack of concessions for the past several years as being "due to NPS unreasonable requirements of a concessionaire."

"It would be great if it was opened," one person commented. "Many times I have been at Spring Canyon wishing it was opened to get a cold drink or snack w/o having to carry a picnic lunch to the beach. I have noticed it has not been up and running for quite sometime."

One commenter concisely summed up the views of most: "The atmosphere of Spring Canyon has always been family, which includes children. Please don't change that! Cater to family, have some playground equipment, relax the rules on concessions, sell some french fries and popsicles, quit worrying about if a kid falls and keep the damn dock!"

Other comments included support for increasing wheelchair accessibility, improving parking, allowing a paddleboard/kayak rental business, having more NPS employees present, and more. 

Jon Edwards, chief of Integrated Resource Management for the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area, explained to The Star in an email Tuesday what happens next. 

Edwards said that "public comment is not a vote." 

"In order to bear sway on the planning process," he said, a comment must "reasonably question accuracy of the information; reasonably question adequacy, methodology, or assumptions used in analyses; present new information relevant to analysis; and/or present reasonable alternatives or changes to an alternative."

Comments meeting that criteria could lead to an analysis and changes in the plan before a final plan is published later this year, with "further compliance and review," possibly required for some future actions. 

Implementations of changes would occur over the course of 10-15 years, Edwards said. 

The draft plan can be viewed online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/document.cfm?parkID=318&projectID=83398&documentID=103656.