Steve, I grew up watching the "NIMBY" attitude of people and it always sickened me to no end. In case anyone does not know what "NIMBY" stands for I will spell it out. "Not In My Back Yard=NIMBY" As I have approached 40 years old I am disgusted to see this attitude actually GROW!!!
These people supporting this NWZ are doing this solely for selfish personal reasons. They could at least come out and be honest about it. They won't though because the DOS wouldn't grant the NWZ, or would they? Anyway, I can assure every reader of this site and this thread that the truth of the matter is that a NWZ is not warranted in this area. I can not stress this enough.
There are 4 possible ways for people from the Northeast part of the lake to access the main body of the lake. 2 of those points are already NWZ's. Long Island Bridge, Hole-In-The-Wall. Currently we have two spots that are not NWZ's Point Sara (Between Little Bear and Long Island) and The Barbers Pole. Out of all these areas the Barbers Pole Channel is the widest, straightest, channel with more than adequate space to handle the traffic.
My only issue is the wake action that whips my boats around at the dock. I hate it. HOWEVER, I bought the house knowing FULL WELL that I was buying a house that sat in a busy channel that had large wake action on weekends. Therefore, I deal with it and I am not going to try to change the lake to support my narrow agenda. Instead I have grown to love watching the many boats pass by on weekends. I've probably seen almost every boater on this site pass through at one point or another. It seems that every 5th or 6th boats beeps and waves. Most I know some I probably know but don't recognize. We get a good laugh out of the tubers and waterskiers trying to use the channel on a Saturday. I can't tell you how funny that can be to watch. I will say though that everyone slows down and not once have I seen a close call. Just angry boaters forced to come off plain because someone is in the water waiting to ski or tube.
All in all the channel is very safe and I and my neighbors have no problem swimming, kayaking, and boating in front of our houses. The Squirrel Island property is a small island that has hundreds and hundreds of feet of waterfront. As does Little Birch. The fact that any of these people are complaining about feeling unsafe is so silly I can not laugh hard enough at them.
Both of these Islands have areas on the backside close to Cow where the water is calm and no boats can access the area. Essentially they have private swimming areas on the back side of their islands. Yet, they want to swim in the channel.
These people may need some psychiatric help. Please come visit me on Saturday, OCD might be swinging by. I will walk all of you through this area and show you the thousands of feet of swimming and recreation area these two Islands have that is away from the channel.
This is a plea to the membership of this site. Please sift through the rhetoric and make note of the people on this site that are trying to derail this discussion. Note that even though they "won" their cause they are still trying to divide and derail because they can not let it go. They are hung up on old arguments. This is not an us v. them argument. This is a completely separate and unique situation that has nothing to do with the old arguments.
I will disclose to you all that YES I am a member of SBONH. In fact I was a founding member along with many on this site. I was never a member of any other organization. This was my first. I happened to like Scott and his point of view. I can honestly tell you we don't sit around and collude on these items. In fact SBONH has no position on this issue and Scott and I have talked and he understands where I am coming from and appreciates why I might actually like a NWZ. He has been friends of my Island Neighbors LONG before I ever purchased my house so he knows the area just as well as I do and knows how the wave action can be frustrating to us and our boats.
Bottom line a NWZ is not warranted. A hearing was held, no neighbors were notified. All we want is a fair hearing where all points of view are heard. If the majority want it I will accept it and enjoy the benefits. If the majority does not want it then I will be happy that my commute to my vehicle won't be lengthened.
FYI-When I say all points of view I mean it. I hope the renters, boaters, sailors, kayaker's, swimmers, residents, non-residents all show up and give their opinions. I think Vita, Scott, LI and the rest of you need to rally your neighbors to have their voices heard on this as well. I know you guys live north of the area and will have to deal with this NWZ every time you go boating.