As we celebrate either the Resurrection of Christ or the Passover this weekend, your blogger is at work trying to save, not the Chosen People, but the right of powered navigation on the second-largest natural lake in Oregon, Waldo Lake. Two days from now, the Oregon State Marine Board, which has no authority to force someone else's idea of what is beautiful (paddle boats) and what is not (motor boats) down my throat, will try to do that, again. They wrote this rule last year, but screwed up it's implementation, so now they have a do-over (at least until the court rules they don't, which is a distinct possibility).
I am meeting their emo idea with an emo 3-minute speech, to be given during the public testimony period. The lock-up-Waldo people will emote over the tranquility and scenic beauty of the lake, which somehow is trammeled in their myopic mind's eye by a motorboat making less than 10 mph (the old rule allowed motors, but imposed a 10 mph speed limit, which I'm okay with).
Download Waldo Lake Oral Testimony02
I will emote by citing the Forefathers, and why we broke from the English Crown (hint - it had something to do with land-holding and land uses). Your patient History teacher will try to show the Board that they have an older, more primary duty than trying to dance to the tune of the Sierra Club.
I've been told that I can jerk a few tears when I speak. We'll see, but in case the Sierra Club with their humungo email list succeeds (emails are running 3100 to 252 against me), there a guy in Eugene, sitting on a high bench, wearing a black robe, who will decide it all in a few weeks. I know the attorney who is arguing against the no-motor rule, and I know the deep-pockets guy who is paying for that lawsuit. I would not want to have to face either of them across the table, in poker or at law. The Marine Board shouldn't want to face them,either, but they will, and they will lose when they do. The Marine Board simply lacks the authority to write rules about anything other than boating safety, which is not an issue with OAR 250-020-0221. This stupid rule is all about hate. The paddlers hate the severely restricted motor-boats on "their" scenic and tranquil Lake, and the Marine Board has given their hate wings.
At WillBoat, we're all about clipping those wings.
BTW, when we win, we beat the Obama-led US Forest Service, too, which body started all this back in Jimmah's day when they tried to stuff Waldo Lake into a Wilderness Area, but failed. Clinton tried it again during his term, and failed again, so the Lake has never been locked behind those Wilderness Walls, and likely won't ever be, but the Forest Service keeps trying. In Oregon, the State owns all the water, even if the lake or stream it's in sits on Federal land, so the Marine Board may write boating rules pertaining to boating safety and now invasive species as it's scope of regulation allows, but the Board lacks authority to write this rule, which is based solely on esoteric values of some users, and nothing else.
Realistically, I will probably lose this battle on Tuesday, because the Board indicated this week, in an open meeting with the Oregon State Aviation Board (which is involved, because the stupid no-motors rule also banned seaplanes, and the Marine board lacks the authority to write rules for seaplanes), that they have a majority of the Board already convinced that the rule should stand as is.
Then I play the ace up my sleeve. Think the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that persons with disabilities MUST be given equal opportunity, even if it means making special provisions in regulations and facilities for them. Think handicapped parking, wheelchair ramps, etc. Now think that the Marine Board can be forced to accommodate handicapped people who can't row or paddle at Waldo Lake(as they have already done at other water bodies). My gudwife is handicapped, and can't row or paddle, but she likes to boat...the Marine Board WILL write an exception in their rule for her, and they WILL build, at their expense, a fully handicapped-capable boat launch, or the US Attorney will FORCE them to do that. There won't be any PUBLIC testimony on my ADA demand on Tuesday, but I will pass the word that it's coming. That Word might just give the Board the pause it needs to reconsider the entire rule.
Fried Board? Nope! Think NUKED Board. I can and will beat these altar-boys of Gaia at their own game.