Fence at steamboat built to block off popular beach

 

Last updated 2/16/2022 at 7:48am

A new length of fence at Steamboat Rock State Park signals an off-limits area to park users. - Jacob Wagner photo

Fences were built last week to close a popular beach at Steamboat Rock State Park a year after the decision was made to close it.

In January of 2021, The Star reported that a stretch of beach, located near the main boat launch in the park, was being closed due to erosion and to protect resources, according to employees from the park as well as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 

Originally, a fence was going to be built from a point on the beach near the boat launch, up to an access road, around a large piece of land, and back down to the water near some boat-in campsites further down the beach, which will remain open.

What has been built is a 325-foot length of post-and-pole fence from the access road down to a point on the beach near the  boat launch, and a separate, 300-foot length of fence near the boat-in sites.

The fences were installed just last week, according to Denis Felton, area manager of state parks in the Coulee Corridor, including Steamboat Rock, Sun Lakes-Dry Falls, and Potholes.

He said if there were problems keeping people out of the closed-off area, State Parks could end up building the full length of the fence surrounding the full area.

A log boom, to keep boats from accessing the closed-off stretch of beach, will likely be installed in October of 2022 and finished in the early spring of 2023, Felton said.

He said that enforcement of the closed beach will be more serious this year than last year, with general enforcement patrols planned in the area. 

Signs being attached to the fence that include a USBR insignia will read, "Sensitive area closed to public use; violators may be subject to citation and expulsion."

 

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