Since Labor Day, boaters on Lake Hayden now benefit from 15 new navigational buoys and one hazard buoy, recently installed and maintained by the Lake Hayden Watershed Improvement District.
Navigational buoys, which meet Coast Guard standards for aids to navigation, help boaters identify the 200-foot no-wake zone specified in the Kootenai County Ordinance to protect swimmers, anglers and non-motorized craft that spawn near the shore.
The new navigational buoys are positioned within sight of each other, marking the edge of the area where the maximum speed is 5 mph and wakes should not exceed 4 inches.
In addition to the navigational buoys, a danger buoy has been installed in Mokins Bay to alert lake recreation enthusiasts in the bay to the dangerous sand bar hidden below the surface during the open sea boating season.
The Idaho Department of Lands issues encroachment permits for navigational buoys to authorized entities such as the Hayden Lake Watershed Improvement District, Kootenai County, and other state or federal agencies. This set of buoys complements the 33-buoy permit issued to the Watershed Improvement District in cooperation with county agency stakeholders.
Buoys installed without a permit are illegal. Because they are often incorrectly positioned or configured, they make the message conveyed by legally authorized buoys ambiguous and make boating laws more difficult for the sheriff’s office to enforce.
The Lake Hayden Watershed Improvement District maintains navigational buoys for the benefit of boaters and non-boaters alike, creating an easy-to-identify reminder of the safe, no-wake zone so everyone, regardless of activity, can enjoy the beauty of Hayden. Lake.
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Mary Ann Stoll is the Communications and Public Education Manager for the Hayden Lake Watershed Improvement District.
