Two hundred years ago, Lewis and Clark’s wood and
hide boats lacked speed, but floated the explorers safely along
sections of the Yellowstone River.
Had Bill
Henderson of Big Sky Marine not withdrawn his application to host a
Jet Boat Marathon this June, 20 personal watercraft would have
raced up and back a 50-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River in
Montana at more than 100 miles per
hour.
Christine Phillips of the Sierra Club said
if the marathon were run, “Lewis and Clark would roll over in their
graves.”
Henderson withdrew his application
March 4, after learning the event required extensive environmental
studies, said Lt. Tom Allen of the U.S. Coast Guard, which oversees
all navigable bodies of water in the United States.
Criticism had also mushroomed: Federal and state
officials said the marathon overlapped with waterfowl nesting and
fledgling season, and that noise would disturb bald eagles, falcons
and great blue herons that nest along the river between Billings
and Columbus.
*JT
Thomas
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Jetboat race withdrawn.
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