Board passes on no-wake rule at Upper Priest Lake

COOLIN - A proposal to designate Upper Priest Lake a no-wake zone capsized and sank.

The Bonner County Waterways Advisory Board declined to forward the proposal to the county commission, but did recommend the county update an existing ordinance regulating motor boating on the lake.

County officials have received a cascade of e-mails, both for and against the no-wake proposal. But few voiced support for the measure when the waterways board took up the matter at a standing-room-only meeting at Priest Lake.

The meeting attracted more than 80 people and around 30 people objected to banning vessels from casting a wake on the upper lake. Only three people spoke in favor of the proposal.

"Our intent is not to restrict access to anyone," said Mark Sprengel, executive director of the Selkirk Conservation Alliance, which is advocating for the no-wake designation.

The proposed wake rule was meant to restore some of the tranquility of the 1,300-acre lake is renowned for. Supporters argued Priest Lake, which is some 26,000 acres, provides ample room for power boaters to throttle down.

But the room was largely hostile to the proposal. Critics dressed down the measure as an unfair and unwarranted infringement on the rights of boaters who opt for motors instead of paddles.

Others saw something more ominous.

"It's only the first step in trying to keep motorized vessels from using the lake," said Ross Burgess of Nordman.