Lawsuit challenges move to ban powerboats

Stewart family sues Forest Service over ban of gas-powered boats on Waldo Lake. Oregon Wild will help defend decision to keep Waldo quiet and pristine in court.

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Raising a banner of states' rights and access for the disabled, Lane County resident Steve Stewart on Tuesday announced that he is suing to overturn the federal government's ban on gas-powered boats at Waldo Lake.

The U.S. Forest Service, which instituted the ban, "appears to have an elitist view of who should have the opportunity to use and enjoy Waldo Lake," Stewart said at a news conference at the Hilton Eugene.

For nearly two decades, the Forest Service considered a ban on gas engines at the pristine lake that's high in the Cascades near Oakridge. The agency surveyed hundreds of people who flock to the pristine lake each summer for recreation.

Local Forest Service managers decided in favor of a ban in April. The regional forester reviewed and upheld the ban in July.

The Forest Service designated the lake "semiprimitive, nonmotorized" where the public can experience peace and tranquillity. The ban is to take effect in 2009.

Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild, an environmental group that intends to defend the ban in court, said the federal rule still lets electric motors be used, so the lake remains accessible to all. Electric motors are much quieter than gas-powered ones.

"I don't see it as an elitist issue," Heiken said. "It's an issue where everyone respects the peace and quiet of everyone else. Those who want to run (gas) motors are actually putting the cost upon everyone else. They're the ones being selfish."

Stewart filed his lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Eugene.

The nine-page lawsuit asserts that the Forest Service had no authority to ban gas engines because the bed, bank and waters of the lake belong to Oregon. The 9.8-square-mile lake is entirely within the boundaries of the Willamette National Forest, according to the lawsuit. But it asserts that because the lake was navigable at the time of statehood, under federal law, it should be under the authority of the state.

"Waldo Lake will be better administered by the state of Oregon - by Oregonians for Oregonians," Stewart said.

"If we don't fight for Waldo Lake, it will set a terrible precedent. I can only wonder what precious Oregon resource they will attempt to grab next."

Federal officials declined to comment on the lawsuit.

But Heiken said ownership of the lake has not been an issue until the motorboat question arose. "There hasn't been a conflict for 100 years, so we don't need to invent one now. That's a false issue that they're using," he said.

This is the second time the Stewart family has fought a federal attempt to ban motorboats on Waldo.

In 1990, when the Forest Service drew up its grand plan for the lake, it visualized Waldo as a quiet place for communing with nature.

In 1998, the agency asked the public what it wanted at the lake and the response was "remoteness, solitude, quiet places and naturalness," according to Forest Service documents.

The lake is popular with kayakers, canoers and all manner of other boat paddlers, along with campers. Only about 5 percent of Waldo's visitors use boats with gas-powered engines, according to Forest Service documents.

So, in 2000, the Forest Service proposed a ban on motorized craft. The rationale was for peace and quiet but also to keep petroleum from dripping into the lake.

Steven Stewart's father, Stub Stewart, the late founder of the now-defunct Eugene-based lumber company Bohemia Inc., led the fight against that ban.

Stewart made two arguments. The first was that there was no evidence that the lake was being polluted by motorboats; the second was that the federal government had no authority to impose the ban.

Rather than fight, the Forest Service withdrew its proposal.

This year's decision on engines is the product of three years of work, culminating this spring in the ban after a two-year public education period.

"We made the decision believing we have the authority to manage the use of the lake," said Stacey Smith, a recreation official with the Willamette National Forest said Tuesday.

Forest Service officials have noted that Oregon has hundreds of lakes where gas-powered engines can be used.

This time around, the Forest Service won't fold in the face of pressure, Heiken predicted.

"This is the second time they've made this decision. They seem intent on following through," he said.

Stewart's lawsuit argues that the gas-engine ban violates the Americans with Disabilities Act because it effectively bars from the lake anyone who cannot row. The wind and currents on Waldo Lake are too strong for an electric motor, Stewart asserted. At the news conference, he produced a small electric motor and held it up for the television cameras.

"There are no commercially produced battery powered electric motors that are strong enough to take you around or across the lake," he asserted.

But, when questioned, he conceded: "I'm sure (the electric motor) would push any boat around the lake, but it wouldn't push it very far or very fast."

On Waldo, the Forest Service imposed a 10 m.p.h. speed limit.

Heiken challenged Stewart's assertion, saying there are electric motors that can handle the lake's currents and wind.

Electric propulsion technology has come along way in recent years in cars as well as boats, he said.

"The Stewart family can do their annual huckleberry trip (on Waldo) using an electric motor boat, no problem," he said. "They can also use their internal combustion motors on 1,000 other lakes in Oregon."