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Ever since I was a little kid, I've been baffled by the No Trespass rule between the dam and buoys at Deer Creek Reservoir.
Does anyone know why access to this area is off limits? That's a whole bunch of our water that we're being kept from enjoying and I've never had the reasoning behind this explained.
The yellow sign along the rail trial states that it's U.S. Property - No Trespassing.
Aren't we in the U.S? I know I'm a citizen, so that would make it public, wouldn't it?
I think it's absurd that we aren't legally permitted to access this large area of a public impoundment.
The worst part is that I make sure to walk the distance to stay legal (and beyond that), yet other people ignore that and are content to sit and fish there all day long, free from harassment by any enforcement.
I pointed out the sign to a couple of parties at the lake this past Saturday. The first group seemed to appreciate my warning, as they didn't notice the yellow sign. The second group was a guy and some kids and he treated me like I was a total jerk for politely mentioning the sign and that he should be careful to avoid a ticket. Nice.
So I guess I'm just ranting a bit that all sorts of people are using this area without any kind of reprisal, while I continue to walk by in order to stay legal.
Why is this area off limits?
What can we do as citizens to open up the access? It's ours and I believe we should be able to use it.
Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.
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I have a foggy memory of it being related to protection of the dam for homeland security reasons. But then, I have a lot of foggy memories.
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I've heard mention of something like that too, but this area has been off limits since I can remember, way back in the 80's - before "Homeland Security" was a commonly used term.
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I have allways heard that that's were they get water for salt lake citys drinking water.
I allways wanted to walk the shore looking for lost fishing stuff. probably a rapala bone yard.
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I was fishing the Strawberry River beneath Soldier Creek Dam. There's a dirt road that parallels the river all the way up to the dam and a iron gate that blocks access to the road.
I was fishing the section right near the iron gate when a Utility Truck came down and left the gate wide open, not 5 minutes later a Suburban with a few anglers came around the corner and drove down the dirt road.
Id say about 2 minutes later a DNR cop came and I could hear them talking. The DNR Cop basically stated its Federal law against having a motorized vehicle car, boat or atv this close to a Dam.
Reason being is the Feds are worried that you may have large amount of explosives and try to blow the dam up.
More info:
The waterside barriers described here are systems or technologies designed to protect critical assets from attack by swimmers or the water-borne vessels commonly found on rivers or reservoirs.
[url "http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/ip-dams-waterside-barriers-guide.pdf"]http://www.dhs.gov/...e-barriers-guide.pdf[/url]
"The need for vehicle access control to protect against the possible use of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs) may be necessary and, if required, should be addressed in the site security plan."
[url "http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/ip-dams-active-passive-vehicle-barriers-guide.pdf"]http://www.dhs.gov/...e-barriers-guide.pdf[/url]
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Fear must be a self-multiplying thing, because the No-Access buoy line at Pineview keeps marching farther and farther from the dam. It was once only about 50 yards from the dam face, but got moved eastward a bit every year until now it's darn near a half-mile from it.
I guess there are some really big pressure cookers out there...
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I guess it's for security reasons, but I think they have the buoys out way too far. It made me mad, cause this year I went there a few times, and on one visit they had moved the buoys all the way to mile marker 7. They used to be closer to the dam, but now they cut off a bunch of access.
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I know right I remember you could Ice fish right near the dam, now I hear people were being cited last winter for fishing inside of the buoys.... crazy
I think allot of these laws popped up after 9-11 If you remember at that time everyone was on edge and Bush put in place a bunch of Homeland Security laws
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They told us as kids that they were worried about the possible undertow from the intake of the dam.
Don't know if it is true or not though.
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TD, I noticed last Sunday when we went by Jordenelle that I couldn't see any markers in front of the dam, just wondering why they were removed or maybe my eyes are getting bad and I just couldn't see them[frown]
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No they are not there at this point and time.
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[#0000FF]I think you got your answer from someone who lives nearby and has current info.
I have not been by Jordanelle for a while but it may have something to do with the current low water levels.
Virtually all impoundments in the country seem to be subject to the "off limits barrier" thing. One of my former favorite fishing spots...around the intake towers on Lake Pleasant in Arizona...has been off limits to anglers since 9-11. Prior to that there was great fishing along the dam and out around those intake towers. The moving water attracted shad and the shad attracted multiple predator species. But I recently heard of a guy and his kid who walked out on the dam to fish and the old man was jailed. He was one of the old timers who used to fish on the dam and ignored the signs. Sad. And not a terrorist in sight.
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I would believe it is for the same reason you can't tie off to the metal buoys anymore... You are a terrorist if you do just another one of our dumb rules we have no one knows the real reason for it we just have to fallow it.
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I have been traveling past Deer Creek for nearly 45 years, and I used to fish it a lot from a boat. For as long as I can remember there have been buoys near the dam preventing full access to the face. Years ago it was to protect from potential undertow. Remember, water sports have always been popular there. After 9/11 the buoys were moved way out. The same at Pineview. Now, at Jordanelle you used to be able to fish right up against the dam. But 9/11 ended that.
I don't know for sure but I suspect the reason the buoys are gone (or moved) at Jordanelle is the winter ice. It can cause problems. I bet they just haven't put them back in yet for the season. It has been a few years, but I was fishing from a boat at Deer Creek once and noticed that the buoys were way, way out of place around the state park marina. I asked the ranger and he said the ice had had its way with the buoys and they just hadn't had time to re-position them. They tried to move them with the ranger boat but it was too small to move the anchor weights and they were waiting for some kind of crane boat/barge.
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I also heard as a kid it was about the under tow that they were there. These days of course they'll say it's because of 9-11.
I know from experience when you cross the bouys you have to show your Driver License and they write all your information down and send it in the feds. They also look at every square inch of your Vessel and do a through safety check on you.
I was trolling one day knowing I was close but couldn't really tell how close when a Nice (and cute) DWR Lady pulled me over. She let me go through with a warning.
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ly the only effect has been a restriction on the general public...with little real deterrence to a future catastrophe. Maybe we need bigger and more strongly worded signs.
