Washington, D.C. — Personal watercraft will again be included in the recreational mix at Amistad National Recreation Area in southern Texas under a proposed rule published in the Federal Register. The National Park Service proposed rule states that "PWC use would be allowed under a special regulation and would be managed consistent with the management strategies in effect before November 7, 2002. PWC users could travel wherever other motorized vessels are allowed."

The rule, expected to be finalized and take effect in time for the 2004 boating season, is consistent with the Amistad strategic plan, which recognizes the significance of "offering diverse water-based recreational opportunities."

"We're pleased to see that the National Park Service is acknowledging what the industry has known all along," said Jeff Ludwig, Regulatory Affairs Manager for the Personal Watercraft Industry Association, which represents Bombardier/Sea-Doo), Honda/AquaTrax), Kawasaki/Jet Ski, Polaris Watercraft and Yamaha/WaveRunner). "That is, that personal watercraft have no unique effect on the environment which would require singling them out for bans or overly restrictive regulation."

The publication of the Amistad proposed rule marks the fourth unit of the of the National Park Service to complete scientific studies on the impact of personal watercraft and recommend that PWC use be allowed. The settlement terms of a lawsuit brought by an anti-boating group forced many National Recreation Areas and National Seashores to close temporarily to PWC until environmental assessments could be performed and a rulemaking process concluded, but every completed study has recommended that PWC be permitted. To date, two National Recreation Areas —Lake Mead (Ariz./Nev.) and Glen Canyon (Ariz./Utah) — and one National Seashore —Assateague Island (Md./Va.) allow PWC, and nine other units in addition to Amistad have also completed environmental assessments that show no unique impact from PWC.

"Although we're happy that the rulemaking process at Amistad is nearing an end," said Ludwig, "it's unfortunate that a tremendous amount of time and money had to be expended in order to continue the status quo, and to once again show that the outrageous claims of anti-access groups are not true. Surely the NPS has more important projects on which to spend its money, such as reducing the staggering maintenance backlog."