Please, Don't Rock the Boat!

"A lake is the landscape's most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature." Henry David Thoreau, 1854 Thoreau was talking about another man-made reservoir, that celebrated pond on the Concord, Walden. In Arizona, where water is the very lifeblood of our existence, there is only one natural lake and myriad man-made lakes. Of these, perhaps no other is as dear to the people who play on it as Lake Powell.

But the Walden of today is not what it was when Thoreau "sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon, rapt in revery, amidst the pines and hickories and sumachs, in undisturbed solitude and stillness..." According to a recent Newsweek article, "on a nice weekend as many as 10,000 pleasure-seekers now descend on the area... for such passive recreational uses as swimming, boating, fishing, and picnicking. But the crowds also drive their motorcycles through the woods, trample vegetation, and leave litter behind. Thoreau would not come here today!" Nor would John Wesley Powell necessarily come to the Glen Canyon of today. Accessibility is a two-edged sword. And the once isolated canyons, Indian ruins, and fern-decked grottos that weren't inundated by the high waters of Lake Powell have suddenly become accessible to over 2 million people a year. A five-fold increase since the completion of Glen Canyon Dam, and a 200-fold increase since all the years prior to 1950.

And they have clearly left a mark of their passing. To many, easy access is a convenience which provides them the opportunity to enjoy an area they might not have otherwise visited. Unfortunately, to an ever-growing number of people who visit Lake Powell, it means that nature can be viewed as a sort of drive-through postcard, that once used can be easily discarded. The land surrounding Powell is more than that; while it is infinitely larger than the 417 acres which comprise Walden Pond State Park, it is also a far more fragile land. And if we're to keep Glen Canyon's irreplaceable beauty, and the water that mirrors it, from going the way of today's Walden, there are practical guidelines we should follow. And they apply to each and every one of us, whether we visit onceor remain a lifetime. To traditional Navajos, the land surrounding Lake Powell, the ancient ruins, pictographs and petroglyphs, and places like Rainbow Bridge are sacred. They "were not something to take out and look at once in awhile, but something to live with as closely as their own heartbeats!" Respect their values and heritage.

INDIAN RUINS

Don't deface or carve graffiti into any of these ancient wonders.

Don't climb on ruins, or use them as a privy.

Don't loot arrowheads or potshards; they are part of the natural scheme of things.

CAMPING

Riverbank and lakeshore camping is permitted both on the lake and the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam as long as it's one mile from developed areas. Camping is not permitted in Rainbow Bridge National Monument.

Glen Canyon and its many tributary canyons are susceptible to dangerous and unpredictable flash floods. Try to avoid camping at the far ends of narrow canyons.

Try to avoid camping below sheer cliffs and other areas susceptible to deadly rockfall.

Use existing fire rings, and make sure fires are cold out. Dig a 12-inch deep "cathole" for burying human waste. Try to be considerate of others when selecting a camping area. Don't camp any closer to them than you'd like them to camp next to you.

Leave your camp a little cleaner than when you arrived.

BOATING

Know and follow the navigational rules of the road. Know your boat, its capabilities, limitations, and how to operate it safely.

Vent your bilge of flammable or explosive gases. If you don't you'll blow yourself out of the water and burn your boat to the water line.

It's extremely dangerous to let anyone ride on the bow unless your boat's equipped with a bow guardrail. It's not a pretty sight when somebody falls beneath your boat.

If you see someone in need of help, be a Good Samaritan and lend a hand. It may be you who needs help next time.

Don't throw your trash or litter in the lake; and don't leave or bury it on shore. "Boat it in, boat it out!"

Pumping stations for emptying sewage from holding tanks are located at each of the marinas. Don't drain, dump, or discharge waste or refuse - including human waste into the blue waters of Lake Powell.

Carry regulation personal flotation devices for every member on board whether they can swim or not.

Watch your wake and those around you.

Avoid skiing in narrow, congested canyons.

A red flag with a diagonal white slash approximates the center of scuba diving activities. Proceed with caution.

Don't operate your boat while under the influence of alcohol or medication. You're a danger to yourself and to others.

ABOVE ALL, USE COMMON SENSE.

Pleasure and safety go hand in hand on Lake Powell, whether you're gassing up for a canyon tour at one of the five marinas or just running down lake with the kids on the bow and a wake of white water behind. Remembering your marine manners and just a few key safety rules insures your holiday on the water will be the kind of experience you planned it to be.

Camping on the shores of Lake Powell. The rule to remember here is: boat it in, boat it out.