The National Park Service says it’ll go ahead with a ban on water scooters at some National Park shores, but it might later reconsider the ban on some of them. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has more:
Transcript
The National Park Service says it’ll go ahead with a ban on water scooters at some National Park shores, but it might later reconsider the ban on some of them. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham has more:
As part of a court-sanctioned agreement, the National Park Service will comply with a Clinton-era rule that banned Jet-Skis, Ski-Doos, Wave Runners and other such personal watercraft from 21 national park shores. Many of the parks, such as Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, will implement the bans immediately. Others will ban the small boats in September. Kristen Brengel is with the environmental group Natural Trails and Waters Coalition.
“That’s fine, but what was hidden in their announcement was the fact that three parks that had previously decided to ban Jet-Ski use are now going to be forced to study the issue more and potentially re-open their waters to Jet-Skis.”
Environmentalists say the water scooters are loud, dangerous, and polluting. The riders say they’re being singled out by the government just as the industry is beginning to manufacture quieter, more environmentally friendly models.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.