State board looks at banning motors from Waldo Lake

Environmental groups have campaigned for years to ban gasoline and diesel engines from Waldo Lake. Now the Oregon State Marine Board is taking public comment on banning motor-powered boats.

The Oregon State Marine Board is taking public comment on its proposal to ban motor boats on Waldo Lake, a popular recreational area southeast of Eugene and Oregon's second-largest natural lake.

The proposal, initiated by the U.S. Forest Service, also would prohibit float planes from landing on the 6,298-acre lake.

Official emergency landings and watercraft use would be exempt from the ban.

The U.S. Forest Service rule was supposed to go into effect this summer, but it was challenged in court, and a federal judge ruled that issues of ownership and management of the lake could stop federal officials from implementing the ban.

Oregon state natural resources managers crafted a similar ban for the state to implement.

"One hundred year from now it won't matter whether the state or feds protected Waldo Lake," said Steve Pedery, conservation director for Oregon Wild, a nonprofit advocacy group. "All that will matter will be that the lake was kept pristine and wild."