this that


Registration, please. PHOTO: TOM WATSON


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>> FOR ANYONE WHO KAYAKS or canoes, the topic of boat registration is a hot one. Boaters in Florida, Louisi- ana, and other locales are facing addi- tional fees to get wet. And more states are proposing registration fees for kay- aks and canoes as a way to raise mon- ey—which raises the ire of paddlers. Florida and Louisiana have pro-


posed a fee of $20 per human-powered boat per year. A coalition of paddlers and fishermen defeated a similar Or- egon bill in 2005, but expect to see it resurface. The fees would be in addi- tion to those already charged to use the parking lots and boat ramps. Paul Sanford of the American Canoe


Association notes that at least 17 U.S. states require registration. “Any state looking to impose a registration require- ment on canoes and kayaks is likely to face some resistance from the paddling community,” he says. “Agencies should be prepared to explain how the funds raised from canoe and kayak registra- tion will be used to benefit paddlers.” Many paddlers see registration as


making them pay for infrastructure that only benefits power boaters. “Kayakers just need a place to pull


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Summer: 613.756.3620 Winter: 613.594.5268 WWW.MKC.CA | ADVENTURE KAYAK spring 2007


off the road, access to the water, and maybe a bathroom,” says kayaker Ron Wright of Portland, Oregon. “But if kayakers pay registration fees, when


Government, 1; Kayakers, 0. PHOTO: SEBASTIAN GRÜNDLER


Boat registration and user fees foot the bill to PAVE PARADISE


my family pulls up with four kayaks on the roof, we’re paying more than the guy who rolls in with his 20-foot cabin cruiser pulled by his big four-by-four that needs an acre to turn around.” But boat registration may be part


of something even sneakier. Many conservation groups, such as Ore- gon-based Wild Wilderness, see user fees as a step toward privatization of public lands and outdoor recreation. Groups like the deceptively named Property and Environment Research Center back both increased user fees and selling of government lands to private owners. The 2005 Oregon bill packaged boat registration fees with restrictions to public access of some Oregon rivers, effectively removing the public’s right to float them. Similar moves are afoot in Canada


to squeeze more revenue out of the wilderness. The British Columbia gov- ernment is accepting proposals from private operators for lodge accommo- dations in 12 provincial parks, includ- ing Cape Scott on Vancouver Island. On a positive note, some jurisdic-


tions have backed off. Alaska ended registration fees for every canoe and kayak in 2004. Of course, since the “last frontier” has roughly one person per square mile, the fee may have been unenforceable. — Neil Schulman


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