LETTER: Contact the state about wakesports on Waterbury Reservoir

December 11, 2024

To the Community:

I watched, via zoom, the entire four hours of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s “wakesports” hearing that included 5 or 6 northern Vermont lakes last evening. There was a lot of great testimony.  Some of the most riveting was given regarding Lake Willoughby.  They had the most pro-wakesports testimony of all the lakes. I think there were 3 or 4 pro-wakeboat/sports speakers.

What caught my ear was the repetition claiming that paddleboarding is not a common use, implying that if paddleboarders can use these lakes, wakesporters should be able to also. Ridiculous!

Vermont has a serious problem building up at Lake Willoughby that crosses national borders. They will need help.

Meanwhile, we have our own issues.  An important aspect that I feel we need to focus on is this: This is possibly the first time in history that man has created wakes in the wild for the sole purpose of using those wakes (the bigger the better in their minds) for a sport. It's like generating wind to operate a sailboat!

We need to focus on this, because current artificially generated wakes are very destructive, and the worst has yet to come. Will we need to go through this process every time a new generation of larger wakes becomes the norm? They need to be banned statewide.

Please send “wakesports” letters to DEC, and get your friends to pick up their pens.  We need all hands on deck, and more letters written before the December 23 deadline.

Thanks for your support and join in via Zoom tomorrow, Thursday, at 4:30 p.m. Friends of Waterbury Reservoir speakers will be on about 6 p.m.  Find the meeting agenda and link here. 

Eric Chittenden, president

Friends of Waterbury Reservoir