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Weeds taking over Roosevelt

 
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 7:54 pm    Post subject: Weeds taking over Roosevelt Reply with quote

The worst invasion of milfoil I've ever seen is blooming out of control at Rosey. Something like 100 yards wide in front of the entire shoreline from knee-deep out way past overhead, it has become prohibitive to kiting (even the surface is carpeted) and any kind of foiling (according to kiters and windfoilers). It took me 30 minutes of fighting to cross it this weekend with my upside down foil board, and voicemails to multiple Corps of Engineers offices generated no callbacks. Let's hope the weeds dissipate by October.

Your calls to the Corps' Portland and John Day Dam sites may help. I'd provide some phone numbers if I had any faith in mine, but you may find better numbers than I have.
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tall.karen



Joined: 26 Aug 2008
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Wed Jul 17, 2019 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree that something needs to be done before someone’s feet become so tangled that they panic and drown. It has happened elsewhere. Can the Corp and CGWA work together to pay for a onetime (or annual) aquatic weed harvester as is done on many large lakes around USA and Canada? I’d be happy to pay an extra fee to improve the launch at beautiful Roosevelt.
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R1Freak



Joined: 31 Jul 2008
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:49 pm    Post subject: Puzzled. Reply with quote

I'm a bit puzzled now... I thought the whole point of planting the milfoil was to keep the kiters and windfoilers out, to preserve the windsurfing experience.
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jota



Joined: 28 Feb 2001
Posts: 205

PostPosted: Thu Jul 18, 2019 6:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow - is it really that bad? Can a jet ski moor in the cove and motor in and out without clogging the impeller?

I was hoping to take my girlfriend out to improve her very novice kiting skills but that doesn't sound too user-friendly.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Jul 19, 2019 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

At least the Corps responded to public pleas.
They dropped of a rake for us to use, with the caveat that we bag and properly dispose of the weeds we collect.

Let's see ... the "barrier reef" is 200 (just for the launches) to 500 yards (including the walkback path from the east) long X maybe 100 yards wide X 5 feet high (they begin at knee-deep and extend FAR beyond neck deep ... probably well beyond 100 yards out. That's on the order of 75,000 cubic yards (2 million cubic feet) of weeds labeled by several highly experienced kiters as life threatening (because dropped lines gather weeds which slide down the lines to completely encase the chicken loop). Several sailors of both persuasions (poles and strings) vowed never to return to Roosevelt. One WSer hit a mattress -- a dense mattress-sized-and-textured floating island of weeds -- beyond midriver, got launched, and lost everything, maybe permanently. Even if he gets it back some day, the rocks east of Arlington will have destroyed it.

The last time I tried getting a foil through the weeds took me 30 minutes, even before they got this bad. It took me 30 minutes to fight my way through the reef even with the board on its back. Then another 30 minutes on the way back in, followed by fighting my way 500 yards back upwind wrapped in chest-deep weeds. Key word: last time. My foil board is not coming out of my shop again until the weeds disappear in the fall.

I sold my last PWC >20 years ago, so don't know how tolerant the latest designs are of weeds matted like hair in a drain. I would guess they are impenetrable to any form of mechanically powered watercraft short of an airboat.

I like Karen's suggestion. Let's keep calling the Corps and add her idea to the call. They obviously have no clue how extensive and serious the problem is.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
I like Karen's suggestion. Let's keep calling the Corps and add her idea to the call. They obviously have no clue how extensive and serious the problem is.

Oops; I forgot that no government agency can accept funds from any source but the Congress, and MAYBE the Corps might see literally one cent of any fiscal contributions.

Here's what I sent them about the issue just now:

I called about the milfoil infestation at Roosevelt, WA Park.
The Corps dropped off a rake for us to use.

I guess I wasn't clear. This "barrier reef" is 200 to 500 yards long (including the walkback path from the east) X maybe 100 yards wide X 5 feet high (they begin at knee-deep and extend FAR beyond neck deep ... probably well beyond 100 yards out. That's on the order of 75,000 cubic yards (2 million cubic feet) of very dense weeds accurately labeled by expert kiters as life threatening because dropped lines gather weeds which slide down the lines to block their safety release. Several windsurfers and kiters vowed never to return to Roosevelt. One WSer hit a floating island of weeds beyond midriver, got launched, lost gear worth $5,000, and had to swim half a mile to shore. Kids play in this stuff, and one man got entangled in it in Kennewick and drowned. You need to take it seriously and remove most of it.
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westender



Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 1288
Location: Portland / Gorge

PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 10:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Waterweed closes Roosevelt due to safety concerns. Problem solved.
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vientomas



Joined: 25 Apr 2000
Posts: 2343

PostPosted: Sat Jul 20, 2019 11:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

westender wrote:
Waterweed closes Roosevelt due to safety concerns. Problem solved.


That is the most cost effective solution. Makes me chuckle when small government advocates whine when the government does not jump and spend money at the behest of the special interest.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2019 10:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

westender wrote:
Waterweed closes Roosevelt due to safety concerns. Problem solved.

The last time it was closed was for the rest of the summer, after the F-18 collision overhead. MAN, were the crowds down that year!

But that closure was CGWA-driven. Neither the Corps nor the Navy supported it, the former because recreation is the Corps' primary goal at their parks and the latter as long as we didn't interfere with their months-long recovery efforts.

Your solution hadn't occurred to me. Oh, well, it's highly unlikely simply because it makes sense.
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