Spring Canyon to lose its swim dock

Despite a large amount of opposition from the public, the swim dock at Spring Canyon will be removed under a new management plan at the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.

The National Park Service released a Finding of No Significant Impact for the Environmental Assessment of the Visitor Use Site Management Plan for the park, which includes Spring Canyon among eight other sites.

An Oct. 2 statement from the NPS says that "as funding is available," the NPS will implement proposed actions that propose "a range of management strategies and supporting improvements" to address visitor needs and interests, including "diversified camping facilities and enhancements to day-use and boat launch areas as well as parking areas, roads, entrances, trails, docks, fish cleaning stations, and other visitor facilities."

Implementation "will enhance visitor experience and visitor safety and reduce impacts to the national recreation area's natural and cultural resources," the news release states.

The proposed actions were "selected after careful analysis of resources and visitor impacts,

consultation and comment from cooperating federal, state, and local agencies, and review of

public comments."

Those proposed actions include removing the swim docks within the LRNRA, including the one at Spring Canyon among seven others, as well as removing the concession building at Spring Canyon to repurpose that area for use by vendors.

There is currently no timeline for removal of the concession building or the dock at Spring Canyon, according to LRNRA Public Information Officer Denise Bausch.

The Finding of No Significant Impact, dated Sept. 1, responds to the 84 comments the NPS received on their Visitor Use Site Management Plan. Many commenters opposed the removal of the swim dock from Spring Canyon, with several suggesting repairing or updating it rather than removing it.

The response starts out by saying that swimming is important to recreation within the LRNRA, and that the removal of swim docks also affects sites other than just Spring Canyon.

"Visitor safety hazards associated with swimming in the lake and related swim dock activities present unnecessary risks to the visiting public," the response says. "The risks associated with swim docks are such that the NPS is unable to mitigate according to NPS Policies."

One such policy states that "the Service will reduce or remove known hazards and apply other appropriate measures, including closures, guarding, signing, or other forms of education." (2006 NPS Management Policies, 8.2.5.1 Visitor Safety).

The response includes examples of risks posed by the swim dock. Bausch said she would look for those statistics but The Star did not receive any prior to deadline.

"In general, structures in the water are not safe to recreate near," the NPS's written response to comments states. "Not only can waves push a visitor into these structures, but under the right circumstances, even in Lake Roosevelt, dangerous currents can develop that can be fatal."

"Structures in the water are slippery, and increase the possibility of slips, trips, and falls, thus increasing the potential for injury," the response goes on to say. "What would be a serious but survivable slip-and-fall injury on land can quickly turn deadly on the water. Uneven surfaces, lack of handrails, slick patches, and items needing repair can all cause unexpected falls and injury."

Those injuries could include "punctures, cuts, crushed limbs, or even broken bones."

Visitors who are "high-risk, high-adventure types" also pose a significant risk, something the NPS cannot control, the response explains.

Being unable to ensure a certain depth of water near the dock and the potential for swimmers to get trapped underneath the dock were mentioned as additional risks and reasons for removing it.

The document doesn't offer examples or statistics related to injury incidents at sites within the LRNRA.

Responding to comments that suggest having lifeguards to ensure safety, the NPS said that "It would be challenging for the NPS to ensure a coverage adequate to ensure swimmer safety or safe dock use. ... The costs of hiring, training, and maintaining consistent staffing is not feasible."

And responding to the reasoning that swimmers will resort to using the boat docks as swim docks, the NPS said that swimming within 100 feet of launch ramps and/or docks is already prohibited.

Back in May, Jon Edwards, chief of Integrated Resource Management for the LRNRA, explained to The Star in an email 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."

An article on the public's outcry against removing swim docks can be read at https://www.grandcoulee.com/story/2020/06/10/news/public-defends-their-swim-dock/13112.html

The NPS Finding of No Significant Impact can be read at https://www.nps.gov/laro/getinvolved/upload/LARO-VUSMP-FONSI_Final-508.pdf