Sustainable Low Water Access Plan

Public Comment Period Now Closed

Thank you to all who provided their input on this important process. The NPS is reviewing all comments and will continue to engage with the public with updates as we move forward with the decision-making process this Spring. 

 

Introduction

The National Park Service (NPS) is currently developing a plan for Lake Mead National Recreation Area (NRA) that supports strategic direction for the future of motorized boat launching and related services, facilities and infrastructure needs at the park.



This plan, the Sustainable Low Water Access Plan (SLWAP), focuses on possible management and operation concepts at five key locations:

• Hemenway Harbor
• Callville Bay, Echo Bay
• Temple Bar and South Cove.

Lake Mead NRA wants to hear from you. The park is seeking public input on:

• where and how motorized boat launch access on Lake Mead may be maintained at low water levels;
• priority concessions operations on Lake Mead;
• opportunities for nonmotorized, water-based recreational access; and
• interests in other recreational activities that provide a safe and positive visitor experience as drought continues to rapidly reduce lake water levels.

 

Background

Currently, only one of the plan’s five motorboat launch ramps is usable (Hemenway), and that ramp has limitations (only shallow-hull vessels and approximately 24 feet in length).

Declining water levels and topographical constraints required the closure of the remaining four ramps: Callville Bay and Echo Bay in Nevada, and Temple Bar and South Cove in Arizona.

While South Cove is closed, limited launching is available via a park-approved road south of the original launch ramp.

The loss of boat ramps on Lake Mead has impacted recreational boaters and the park’s gateway communities while increasing boat use on Lake Mohave. Over the past two decades, the NPS has spent nearly $50 million relocating and extending ramps and other infrastructure to maintain motorized boating access onto Lake Mead, but the unprecedented decline of water levels has left many of those investments high and dry.

 

The Process

To start the public process, we are inviting the public to share thoughts and input into the development of the SLWAP’s proposed management concepts.

Lake Mead NRA will host a series of public scoping meetings in December 2022 to explore management options on how to maintain launch ramp access for motorized recreational boaters to the lake and other visitor services at the park. 

The concepts shared in these public scoping sessions are an initial component of environmental assessment compliance and will lead to selection of a preferred alternative, additional public comment, and management decisions in the spring or summer of 2023. 

Three management concepts are under consideration and include:

• Current Management: Some boat ramp extensions and marina relocations are anticipated while other facilities remain closed.  

• Concept 1: Similar to current management, some boat ramp and extensions are constructed, while other facilities are closed or remain closed.  

• Concept 2: This recognizes significant financial restraint where no facility relocation is done to reestablish launch ramps and marinas and many other facilities are shuttered. 

Each concept is compared to the 2019 Finding of No Significant Impact report and 2018 Low Water Plan and environmental assessment.

This previous plan called for a massive federal investment to extend launch ramps and relocate marinas and other facilities to a lake level about 90 feet lower than today. By current estimates, the 2018 planning guidance would cost significantly more than previously anticipated and it is unlikely that many of the construction efforts would reach future projected low-water levels by the time they were completed.

The proposed current and two new management concepts are based on new long-range water level projections by the Bureau of Reclamation, better understanding of physical constraints at the lake, desired conditions, and updated cost estimates and funding options.

Details regarding each concept and current management are outlined in the park’s SLWAP planning newsletter. 

Public scoping meetings will include a presentation on the concepts and encourage constructive dialogue with attendees to better understand the public’s perspective on the future of Lake Mead.

Meetings were held at the following times and locations: 

• Meadview, AZ – Tuesday, December 6^th, 2022, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. MST at the Meadview Civic Association Building; 247 E. Meadview Blvd., Meadview, AZ 86444

• Boulder City, NV – Wednesday, December 7, 2022; 12:00 – 2:00 p.m. PST at 500 Date Street, Building 100; Boulder City, NV 89005 

• Kingman, AZ – Thursday, December 8, 2022; 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. MST at the Kingman Office of Tourism, 120 W. Andy Devine Ave., Powerhouse Conference Room, Kingman, AZ 86401 

• Virtual – Wednesday, December 14, 2022; 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. PST.
  

Originally extended from December 23, 2022 to Janaury 22, 2023,
THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD IS NOW CLOSED.

Sustainable Low Water Access Plan