Barefoot water skier wants Richland riverfront reopened to speedboats

A West Richland man is asking the Army Crops for permission to reintroduce high-speed motorboats to a stretch of the Columbia River where they were banned a little more than a year ago.

Neil Heeney, who competes in the extreme sport of barefoot water skiing, has applied for a special use permit to allow ski boats to use the western channel of Nelson Island under certain conditions between Sept. 1 and May 30.

He called the Richland waterfront one of the few local spots where water is placid enough for him and the other Tri-Citians involved with barefoot water skiing to practice their sport.

The corps banned motorized boats from the Nelson Island channel in July 2022 in partnership with the city of Richland.

Heeney said he’s seeking a compromise that would preserve the channel for swimmers, paddle boarders and kayakers in June, July and August while preserving river access for ski practice during the colder months.

Even then, he said, motorboats would withdraw if other users were on the water.

“It’s all about keeping that area safe. It’s also about using it,” he said.

Heeney shared his vision of sharing the water with the Richland Parks and Recreation Commission earlier this month, prompting a lively debate on Richland Residents, a Facebook page dedicated to city news.

Banned for safety

The motorboat ban came six years after more than 200 residents asked for the area to be reserved for swimmers, kayakers and paddle boarders after close calls between motorized boats and other users sparked safety concerns.

Joe Schiessl, the city’s deputy manager, confirmed the city informed the corps it opposes a plan to share the river, even during the colder months.

The area in question extends the full length of Nelson Island and involves the narrow sliver of the Columbia River that flows past Leslie Groves Park.

Motorboats are still allowed on the main stem of the Columbia east of Nelson Island.

Dori Luzzo Gilmour, a former Richland City Council member who championed the motorboat ban after she left office, said she’s mystified by efforts to restore access to motor boats.

Even before the ban, the channel was a no-wake zone. She said motorboats, paddlers and swimmers are a bad combination.

“It’s used all year round,” she said.

Suitable spots

Keeney argues that the west channel is one of the few spots suited to barefoot water skiing in the Tri-Cities. The island itself shields the channel from boat wake and keeps the water placid.

Keeney wasn’t aware of the plan to close Nelson Island to motorboats and would have weighed in then if he’d known, saying it makes little sense to prohibit motorboats 12 months of the year to accommodate summertime needs.

The Tri-Cities once had three spots that worked. Now, only one is left, the lower Yakima River.

They have been shut out of the “mud hole,” the brackish Yakima-Columbia delta area behind the Bateman Island causeway that has long been a no-wake zone.

With Nelson Island closed, they’re limited to the lower Yakima as it makes its final run to join the Columbia in south Richland. That poses its own challenge, he said.

It is choked with weeds in the summer months and fishing boats in the spring.

“In the spring we really p-- the fishermen off back there, and I don’t want to do that,” he said.

That leaves the Nelson channel, he said.

High speed boats

Barefoot water skiers are pulled behind boats at speeds around 43 mph. Even a minor ripple can send a skier tumbling painfully onto the river surface.

Heeney said his brother, Brian, introduced him to the sport and he competes regularly in the senior category. Competitions are held on private lakes designed for the purpose.

The 2024 nationals will be at one such lake near Helena, Mont., next August.

Dylan Peters, spokesman for the Corps’ Walla Walla District, confirmed it is evaluating the special use application.

No decision has been made. If it is granted, the overall status as a non-motorized zone would not be affected.

“As the city is the lease holder for Leslie Grove Park, their position will factor in our decision process,” Peters said in a written statement to the Tri-City Herald.

Close call incidents

The Corps banned non-motorized traffic from the Nelson Island channel after noting it is adjacent to the swimming beach at Leslie Groves. Paddle boarders and other users are frequent users of the area.

When motorized craft were allowed, near misses were common.

“Over the years, there have been a number of close call incidents between motorized vessels and these non-motorized channel users,” he said. The decision was further bolstered by low water levels in the summer, which can make it a dangerous spot for bigger boats.

Heeney’s special use permit is being processed through the Tri-Rivers Natural Resource Management office, which has jurisdiction over the local stretch of the Columbia.

The plan to bring water skiing back to Nelson Island sparked a debate on social media, with most users opposing the mix of speedboats and other users even under limited conditions.

While some saw no harm in motorboats using the area during the winter months, others object, saying the water is heavily used even when the water cools and that speeding motorboats don’t mix well with smaller craft and swimmers.

View Heeney’s presentation to the Richland Parks and Recreation during the public comment section of its Nov. 9 meeting. The video is archived at bit.ly/3RhA83L

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