54 



boating, it can be a very loud motor, and it is blocked by the river 

 itself. You really don't hear these coming up the river. 



I have actually been on rivers. I have not been on Hells Canyon 

 with the powerboats, but I have been on rivers here on the East 

 Coast with jet skis coming up, and they are not quite as loud, but 

 they are fairly loud, too. 



If you are coming up over a series of large waves, that sound is 

 totally hidden from you until you get up almost on top of them, so 

 there is a safety concern that lowering the noise, I don't think is 

 going to affect that. 



I think they will still be on top of you before you can anticipate 

 their coming, and in some instances, really react to it. 



The other issue on this is that Hells Canyon, while it is a recog- 

 nized Whitewater river all across the country, it is fairly easy to 

 navigate. It is considered to be Class III and IV. 



That means you have a lot of beginners — not beginners. You 

 have a lot of intermediates; you have a lot of advanced boaters, and 

 of course, expert boaters, too. This is getting people on there who 

 may not be able to react quite as quickly, and that is a safety prob- 

 lem, as I said. 



Mrs. Chenoweth. Is that allowed right now, people who are nov- 

 ices at understanding the river and the nuances of the river and 

 floating? 



Mr. Bowers. I misspoke when I said novices. I tried to correct 

 that, I am sorry. 



It is intermediates, but it is Class III water. You do not have to 

 be an advanced or expert boater to handle Class III water, espe- 

 cially the different water levels. 



For private boaters, there is, as far as I am aware, no way if de- 

 termining if boaters are experts or advanced, nor is that usually 

 necessary. 



If you are an intermediate boater and you are with a stronger 

 crowd of people that you are traveling with, that is usually suffi- 

 cient. It may not be sufficient if you encounter a Jetboat at close 

 quarters. 



Mrs. Chenoweth. Mr. Hughes, your testimony indicates that 

 powerboaters have unlimited use and are not regulated. Do you 

 stand by that testimony? 



Mr. Hughes. Yes, I do. My understanding of the management of 

 powerboats in Hells Canyon is that any private powerboater at this 

 time can issue a self-issued permit and launch on the river any 

 time they like, and that the only management of commercial 

 powerboaters is based on the number of boats that they can use, 

 but those boats can launch and make as many trips daily as they 

 want. 



Mrs. Chenoweth. Ms. Mitchell indicated that the powerboaters 

 have been wiling to accept a reasonable plan, and that the Forest 

 Service has walked away from these offers. 



Would you accept a plan as a commercial outfitter that elimi- 

 nates floating use three days a week in the high season? 



Mr. Hughes. No, I wouldn't be happy with that, although I must 

 admit that I did ever3rthing I could on the draft environmental im- 

 pact statement to try to make sense of one week on/one week off; 

 motors one week, no motors the next. 



