The Shuswap River offers a glorious opportunity to enjoy the beauty of our area. Canoeing, kayaking and tubing on the river upstream of Enderby have become very popular with the locals and visitors from far and wide.
The benefit from the tourist is felt throughout the area as the non-motorized crafts shop locally and support our stores and restaurants, boosting the local economy.
Whereas the speed boaters and jet skis leave nothing locally but noise, gas fumes and disturbed wildlife, and are definitely in conflict with the non-motorized public and tourist industry. The speed boaters’ and jet skis’ entitled attitude endanger and intimidate families and the public on the river and deteriorate the tourism potential for our area.
Besides the environmental damage and danger to the public the speed boaters and jet skis create on the river, they are also a threat to our tourist industry and the economic health of our community.
A compromise is possible with a 10-horsepower or 10-mile-per-hour limit for certain parts of the river at certain times of the year to allow responsible boaters and fishermen to continue to enjoy this priceless resource we call the Shuswap River. There are plenty of lakes in the area to satisfy the need for speed without destroying the tranquility and economic potential of the Shuswap River.
The best and most responsible use of the river upstream of Enderby is for non-motorized crafts, not speed boaters and jet skis.
Lorne Costley
Ashton Creek
