{"id":827,"date":"2023-07-04T20:16:44","date_gmt":"2023-07-05T00:16:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/?p=827"},"modified":"2023-07-04T20:16:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T00:16:47","slug":"compelling-reasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/?p=827","title":{"rendered":"Compelling Reasons…"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

for why 500 feet is not enough.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the countdown to the August 1 public hearing<\/a> on the state’s wakeboard rule ticks away, many Vermonters are asking why the 500-foot-from-shore offset proposed by the Department of Environmental Conservation is inadequate. To answer this question, Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes (RWVL) has prepared a six-page position paper entitled Why 500 Feet from Shore is Not Enough<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a summary of its main points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Science<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. Research studies show that it takes a thousand feet for wakeboard waves to dissipate to a safe level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b. As the number, size, and power of wakeboats increases, the safe distance will also need to increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c. It’s best to err on the side of caution to better protect Vermont’s natural resources for future generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public Safety<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. Wake sports create serious peril for children, seniors, less experienced paddlers, and small sailboats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b. Wake sports preclude normal, traditional uses of our lakes such as paddling, swimming, fishing, and nature study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c. A 500-foot offset leaves only a very narrow near-shore band<\/a> of safe water for paddlers, rowers, and swimmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. A strong rule with a 1000-foot offset will reduce the costs of maintaining water quality and responding to aquatic invasive species. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

b. A strong rule keeps our lakes safe and healthy, thus maintaining Vermont\u2019s important summer tourism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

c. A strong rule will reduce negative impacts on the value of shoreland property and maintain a strong local tax base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d. The 1000-foot offset will put more lakes on the no-wake-boat list, thus decreasing enforcement costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public Support<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

a. RWVL has witnessed an outpouring of public support for a strong rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b. Many Vermont lake associations and individuals call for an outright ban on wakeboats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

c. Without a stronger rule, a very small subset of boaters — about 1% — would dominate 31 of our most popular lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

d. Vermonters’ deep regard for our unique and fragile natural resources has once again risen to the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

e. RWVL sees growing appreciation of the magnitude of danger from wakesports, and their disruption of other enjoyments on our lakes. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

To read the entire position paper, connect to Why 500 Feet from Shore is Not Enough<\/a><\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

for why 500 feet is not enough. As the countdown to the August 1 public hearing on the state’s wakeboard rule ticks away, many Vermonters are asking why the 500-foot-from-shore offset proposed by the Department of Environmental Conservation is inadequate. To answer this question, Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes (RWVL) has prepared a six-page position […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=827"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840,"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions\/840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/responsiblewakes.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}