10.b River Taskforce Letter 81
k.cammilleri
Subject:St. Croix River Traffic Problems
-----Original Message-----
From: Joan Bowlin
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2021 9:21 PM
To: c.maefsky <c.maefsky@ci.scandia.mn.us>
Cc: k.cammilleri <k.cammilleri@ci.scandia.mn.us>
Subject: St. Croix River Traffic Problems
Dear Mayor Maefsky,
I understand that St. Croix River traffic problems will be on the agenda of Tuesday’s Scandia City Council meeting. I will
be unable to attend so I provide this email/letter to voice my concerns related to this issue.
My family and I have been property owners on the river in Scandia since 1970. Our property is 20921 Quint Ave N in
what has been called Otisville. We have come to consider the St. Croix Valley a very special place that deserves
preservation. We also consider it to be an important public resource open to all who wish to use it. To advance both of
these interests requires regulation of river use. Such regulations were developed following the passage of the Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. As a result of these regulations, we are limited in how we can use our property. We cannot
increase the size of the dwelling. We cannot update the property to allow four season use. We cannot develop any
permanent structure such as a dock or boat storage facility. We accept and even embrace these limitations as we know
that they are needed to keep the St Croix Valley as pristine as possible.
Just as property owners have rights, responsibilities and limitations in the St. Croix Valley, so too do other users of the
river. River traffic in this stretch of the river is subject to the “Boating Rules for the Lower St. Croix National Scenic
Riverway.”
These rules designate this stretch of river as a “slow speed zone,” in which “motorboats must be restricted to operating
at a leisurely speed, less than planing speed, whereby the wake or wash created by the motorboat is minimal.” This
slow speed zone extends from the dam at Taylor’s Falls south to the Arcola Sandbar at the mouth of the Apple River. In
addition the entire Lower St. Croix is subject to a no wake rule when the water level is 683 feet mean sea level as
measured at the gauge at Stillwater.
Over the decades that we have been property owners and users of the river, we have seen motor boats exceeding this
speed restriction quite regularly. It would not be on exaggeration to say that we have observed it nearly every day that
we have spent on the river for the last fifty years. We know these boaters are just enjoying the river. We want them to
enjoy it as we do. But we do not want their enjoyment to lead to the degradation of the ecosystem. The wakes
generated lead to significant erosion of our shoreline especially when the river is high as it has been much of the past
two decades. The noise and speed also disturb wildlife in the area.
We need two things to prevent high speed motor boat use of the river. First a wider public understanding of what the
rules are; a public education campaign to raise awareness of these regulations. This could include postings at public
landings as well as promotion in the media. New regulations do not seem to be needed. The second is better
enforcement. This would have to come from the various law enforcement authorities - National Park Service, DNR,
county sheriff. These agencies have limited resources. They cannot be at all stretches of the river at all times. But if
possible there needs to be a greater presence of law enforcement in the river valley.
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In no way do my family and I wish to limit access to the great resource that is the St Croix River. All we ask is that peopl e
use it responsibly, in a way that preserves it beauty for generations and that is within established rules for motor boat
use.
Sincerely,
David Bowlin and family
20921 Quint Ave N
Scandia
Sent from my iPad