By MARK E. SMITH | Incline Village
The Nevada Department of Wildlife is responsible for licensing boats and enforcing boating safety laws in the state. Amongst those laws are speed limits and “no wake” zones designed to protect the safety of swimmers and paddlers, and to preserve the quiet enjoyment of Nevada’s waterways. However, NDOW lacks enforcement of these rules on Lake Tahoe.
On Sept. 14, in response to a public records request, I received a copy of all such citations issued by NDOW for violations on Lake Tahoe during the past two years. It took NDOW more than a year to produce these documents, which is a little surprising given that there were only two citations issued. Two citations, both issued within 10 days of each other, over a year ago. Neither of these were on Tahoe’s North Shore, and no citations were issued in 2015.
Part of NDOW’s statutory mandate, and a claim they make in nearly every media interaction, is the protection of public safety. NDOW has become notorious for citing paddlers for not having life jackets. While a paddler not wearing a PFD puts his or her own life at risk, a speeding motorboat puts others at risk and disrupts homes and beachgoers trying to enjoy the quiet beauty of the Sierra. While anyone can witness such violations on any summer weekend, NDOW has not issued a single citation in 14 months.
Here’s why: Although Nevada has never had a bear-related fatality and the rate of boating fatalities has been escalating in recent years, in its last bi-annual budget NDOW reduced funding for boating safety and increased funding for urban bear “management.”
Under the guise of public safety NDOW has made Lake Tahoe more dangerous.
