I hate to drum this one up again, but I think that it is a valid concern. A couple of months ago one of the hot topics was the sled traffic on the upper stretches of the Nooch.

I read all posts intently, having been witness to and almost victim of the sled traffic on this tiny river, but I didn't chime in. I have actually encountered one sled above the White Bridge launch. On more than one occasion I have encountered sleds between Cross Over and White Bridge.

On one occasion I believe that I narrowly escaped a catastrophe. I was headed into the 90 degree,blind corner above the Cable Bridge Hole and I heard the distinctive roar of the sled coming up the river. I could tell from the roar of his engine that he wasn't backing off of the throttle for anything. I had been passed earlier by two other driftboats that should have been 1/4 mile below me. I never heard him back off for them and I assumed he wouldn't for me either.
Luckily, I pulled out on the gravel bar just above the big spruce that has been depositted at mid-channel. Not more than a minute and a half later this idiot comes sliding around the corner, full throttle and blows up through the the channel. He didn't even acknowledge our presence as his wake rocked our fiberglass boat around on the gravel bar. He was on a mission to somewhere else and couldn't be bothered with petty things like common sense and etiquette.

The only thing that saved me from a collision was that I run both types of boats (sleds and drifters)and was alert enough to realize by the whine of his engine that this guy was oblivious to everyone but himself. Honestly, I run a 17' Alaskan that would probably be capable of the river conditions that day. But I would have never run it on that stretch out of courtesy to others and the concern for safety on such a narrow stretch of water.

Anyway, the thing that brought this to mind again is the recent closure of a stretch of the Lewis to boat traffic. If they can selectively close a stretch of the Lewis, why can't they close a stretch of the Nooch? It's only a matter of time before someone is going to get run down and end up in the hospital or worse.

Has anyone had official discussions with WDFW? What can be done from our end?

Goose,

Going for restrictions is never pleasant but something needs to be done here. It was told to me earlier by Jim Bain that his WDFW source says there is need for proof of "environmental impact" or something to that effect in order for the department to take a position.

This seems odd to me because WDFW is not considering the other impacts sleds have on small rivers like the wynoochee. Like I said before, aren't safety and asthetics worthy issues?

The department is probably going to weenie out of doing something pro-active so we will do it on our own. Probably through the public input process at commission meetings next time reg. change proposals come out.

It's been my experience that e-mail or any communication less than direct contact with WDFW will produce little to no results. Their communications and public realtions skills are horrible. Other than rule proposal meetings, I honestly don't know of any other avenue to take because everything eventually has to be OK'ed by the commission.

This is worth pursuing. The reaction I've encountered on this board and on the river has been one of overwhelming support for the need for a ban of some kind.

I propose an outright ban in the summer because some of the local idiots are sledding it in the low clear water of summer now to get to "the hole" ruining all the water in-between for everyone else. I also would propose a ban of any motorized boat above black creek during the winter season. That will allow the increasing number of guides to hammer it out with each other on the lower 4 miles of river to the mouth with little driftboat traffic.

goose,

The over-riding concept here is navigation, which is a right almost up there with firearm ownership. WDFW cannot limit navigation. What they can do is prohibit fishing from a boat or from a motor boat if there is a compelling reason. Public safety seems like a compelling reason.

The county commissioners can place reasonable limits on navigation for compelling reasons, such as public safety. They could prohibit the operation of motorboats or impose a speed limit (like the 5 mph limit on many lakes) that would effectively eliminate jet sleds.

I agree that using sleds on small rivers like the Humptulips, Wynoochee, and Satsop poses an unacceptable level of risk to public safety. It amazes me that upstream and downstream bound sleds (neither driver can hear the other) haven't collided on a sharp blind river bend that has only one line of passage through it. Maybe that's what it will take to get some positive action, but that would be unfortunate.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.