(Wahpeton)– Get a room full of people together in the Iowa Great Lakes and bring up the topic of dock regulations and you’re likely to get a lively debate.
That’s exactly what happened Thursday evening at the Gull Point State Park Lodge, where the first in a series of six statewide meetings was held on the possibility of revising dock regulations.
The meeting was facilitated by Lowell Joslin, head of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Enforcement Bureau. Joslyn says he was very pleased with the input. He says it didn’t take long to establish a common theme. He says many at the meeting want to see increased dock fees and any new dock-related fees stay locally; the number of docks in environmentally sensitive areas should be limited; and user fees should be charged at boat ramps. Those were just some of the ideas that received a wide range of support from the 100 or so people that attended Thursday evening’s meeting.
Joslyn says he expects different issues and ideas to be brought up in each area of the state, such as in river towns.
Joslyn says coming up with a recommendation for an administrative rule change on docks isn’t going to happen over night. He says it could be sometime this coming spring or summer before they’re ready to make a recommendation to the state’s Natural Resources Commission. The issue would also need to go to the Senate Natural Resources Committee, which will hold hearings.
