Protecting the marina

Concerned citizens, the Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners, and representatives from the Ashley National Forest and Flaming Gorge Recreation District recently weighed in on plans and potential problems regarding the future of the Buckboard Marina. 

The marina, which is located approximately 22 miles south of Green River, is the only marina for the Flaming Gorge in the state of Wyoming. 

The Ashley National Forest and Flaming Gorge Ranger District are currently considering a boundary adjustment project for the Buckboard Marina's special use permit. 

The proposal

The proposed project for the Buckboard Marina would change the boundaries for the special use permit.

"The adjustment would remove water acreage and add areas of land to the east and south, including part of the South Buckboard areas that is currently used for dispersed camping," the project proposal explained. "The adjustment would increase the permitee's authorized acreage by 3 acres (increasing it from 77 acres to 80 acres)."

The proposal further explains that the original boundaries for the marina's special use permit include area in the water toward the total acreage. However, the act under which marina permits are authorized only encompasses land-based acreage toward the 80-acre maximum. 

"By adjusting the boundary to exclude water acreage and add additional land areas, the marina would be able to move docks and water facilities to deeper water locations and continue to service the recreating public in this area," the proposal says. 

The main goals behind the boundary adjustment are "to help preserve the recreational opportunities for the rec users in Wyoming" and "to help the Buckboard Marina be viable and operational during the decline of the water levels," according to Brian Wilson, the Flaming Gorge District Ranger for the Ashley National Forest and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area Wyoming District.

Wilson, along with several other representatives from the Ashley National Forest and Flaming Gorge, spoke to the Board of County Commissioners during the April 18 board meeting to address questions and concerns over the proposed boundary adjustment.

Wilson said they have been concerned over the dropping water levels in the Flaming Gorge reservoir over the last few years, which has been devastating for many, especially marinas. Wilson and Jayson Roundy, the Special Use Permit Administrator, explained that extending the acreage further along the land around the bay would allow the marina to have access to steeper banks and deeper waters that should stay deep enough in order to maintain sustainable docks even if the water in the reservoir continues to go down. This part of the bay would also be deep enough to be an anchoring point in case an attenuator needs to be put in to reduce wave actions in the future.

The concerns

Three county residents expressed their concerns about the future of the Buckboard Marina during the county resident comment time at the beginning of the commission meeting, and several commissioners mentioned having received comments from other residents on the issue.

One of the concerned residents attending the meeting in person was Les Tanner, the previous owner of the Buckboard Marina who operated it for over 50 years.

"We have fought the forest service tooth and nail for 50 years to keep a marina in Wyoming," Les Tanner said, expressing his belief that adjusting the boundaries is giving up water rights to get land, which will shut down the marina.

One of the biggest concerns multiple residents expressed to the commissioners is the current lack of services available at Buckboard.

"There isn't a marina out there anymore," Les Tanner said, saying there used to be a full service marina and now there's only a bar, with nowhere to put the boats, no gas, no pump out, no moorings and no store.

Wilson and Roundy explained to the commissioners that the pump out is the responsibility of the Flaming Gorge and Forest district, and the reason there isn't a pumper dock at the marina currently is because it was getting old and was pulled out of the water to be repaired. They also pointed out that water levels have dropped so much that it's too shallow to put the pumper dock back out without extending the utilities needed to connect it, which is being worked on.

As for the lack of gas, Roundy explained that the marina owner wants to provide that service, but was having issues with the existing fuel lines leaking. Removing the fuel lines was the only solution to resolve problems with the Environmental Protection Agency, and the owner has been trying to find new solutions, which require funding. Roundy added that owner has filled up jerry cans to take fuel out to people when they've asked, and that the owner hopes to find a long-term solution to the gas issue for the future.

One of the other major concerns about the boundary adjustment is the question of access to the land and camping around the marina and whether the proposal would limit dispersed camping and recreation in the area.

Wilson pointed out that currently many people are camping in restricted areas and said the owner of the marina hopes to open campsites. When it comes to dispersed camping, Ashley National Forest LEO Logan Linnan said the typical rule of not having camping within a quarter mile of developed areas would be adjusted and the boundary for camping would be the roadway, leaving much of the area open to dispersed camping. Linnan also emphasized that access to public lands will be protected and people can't be removed for no reason.

"I think everybody in this room would agree that public access and bringing your family out to the Gorge is an amazing thing," Linnan said.

Seeking more information

"We're hoping we can keep the marina a marina, but also do the best we can to provide rec opportunities for the Wyoming rec users," Wilson said of the boundary adjustment proposal.

"Both of those things are key and what we're trying to protect also," Commissioner Robb Slaughter responded. "I think we're trying to do the same thing, we're just hearing some different comments."

During the discussion, Slaughter noted that it would be easier to address people's concerns about the future operation of the marina if the commissioners could read over the special use permit and understand the requirements for the permittee. In the public comment portion of the meeting, Greg Tanner said he'd tried to get a copy of the permit and was told it would have to be requested by a government agency, which he believed to be "dead wrong."

Roundy told Commissioner Slaughter that the permit can't just be given out to anyone, and getting a copy requires going through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. He also noted permits themselves are often fairly basic and work together with operating plans, and that the Buckboard Marina has been working on a Master Development Plan.

During the meeting, the commissioners agreed they felt limited by not being able to look over the permit, and they were concerned by the deadline for the end of the public scoping period, which was originally scheduled to end Friday, April 21, just a few days after the meeting.

"We found it incredibly difficult as a commission to exercise any semblance of due diligence on the topic, or to offer comment, in any meaningful or intelligent way, to the Forest Service about the proposal," Chairman Keaton West explained in a press release.

The commissioners agreed to send a letter to the Forest Service which asked for an extension of the public scoping period deadline and explained they would submit a FOIA request to get a copy of the special use permit to respond to the concerns that "the permittee is not providing all of the services that are specific to the special use permit; the boundary line realignment will reduce public access to areas that provide multiple recreational use opportunities; the boundary line adjustment proposal to the north of Buckboard Marina could reduce the availability of both dispersed camping and recreational day use opportunities in a historic high use area."  

The Forest Service has extended the public scoping period for the proposal through Friday, May 19.