American Recreation Coalition

Memorandum

The second meeting of the National Recreation Lakes Study Commission was held at Lake Mead on the Nevada/Arizona border September 9 and 10. Seven Commissioners attended: Jim Lyons (Department of Agriculture) was unable to attend and a ninth Commissioner has yet to be named.

A major portion of the session involved presentations by nine federal departments and agencies, including one key agency head: Commissioner Eluid Martinez of the Bureau of Reclamation. The presentations were informative and underscored both the challenges and the opportunities facing the Commission. I was particularly impressed by the information and suggestions offered by Alan O'Neill for the National Park Service, Darrell Lewis for the Corps of Engineers, Kate Jackson for WA, Rodger Schmitt for BLM and Dick Paterson for the Forest Service. The Commission was actively engaged in these presentations, noting, for example, the emphasis all of the presenters put on partnerships and use of new tools, ranging from fee demo to Wallop-Breaux. Vice Chairman Richard Davies played a very positive role. Among his observations was the comment that prior to fee demo, visitors were solely expense items and thus a "problem" for federal recreation site managers. Tulsa Mayor Susan Savage and Tom Strickland were also active in questioning the agency representatives, particularly focusing on barriers to expanding the role of recreation in lake management decisions.

The Commission also discussed the importance of looking beyond recreation on the lake's surface, noting the challenges facing recreation below dams, too, arising from decision-making based solely on hydro, flood-control and water supply considerations. Some discussion also occurred regarding recreation on lands adjacent to the lakes but not strictly dependent upon the body of water, including trail uses.
 

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