PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO PADDLE IN ILLINOIS

We the undersigned wish to protest the possible implementation of the DNR's Dam Safety Rule (#3703) as currently written.  As written, Rule#3703 would close some of our most popular water trails in Illinois to through paddling.  These include the Fox, Kankakee, Rock, Des Plaines, and Sangamon Rivers.  The proposed rule establishes exclusion zones above and below run-of-river low head dams that are so long that nearly all traditional portage (carry around) trails will be made legally inaccessible, necessitating not only a long carry, but also potential trespass on private property.  This functional closure of the affected rivers - all legally designated as 'public waters' - will cause economic losses to river towns, the possible closure of several paddling related businesses, and a possible end to the largest and best known canoe race in the Midwest.

Other provisions of Rule#3703 would require that local property owners purchase, erect, and forever maintain warning/safety signs at a cost of tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per dam.  Such an unfunded mandate is a misuse of governmental power, tantamount to having the Department of Transportation require that landowners along public highways be responsible for purchase, installation, and maintenance of traffic signage (stop signs, passing zone signs, speed limit signs, etc.).

We also feel that the enabling legislation for this proposed rule (Public Act 95-0020, now section 23b of the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act) is flawed in that it contains no mandate for a dam safety education outreach program - which we consider the best means of preventing deaths and injuries at low head dams.  Instead, the legislation criminalizes entering the exclusion zones, with the criminal penalty being a Class A misdemeanor - the equivalent of aggravated assault, theft, or prostitution.  Such attempts to criminalize generally accepted behavior are rarely successful, and simply create an additional burden for law enforcement.

We also feel that the enacting legislation is invalid, in that it is contrary to other prior provisions of the Rivers, Lakes, and Streams Act (615 ILCS 5/16, 615 ILCS 5/26, and 615 ILCS 5/27), all of which expressly require the DNR to protect and enhance - and not impair - the public's right to recreate on public waters.  
We the undersigned demand that the Proposed Dam Safety Rule #3703 be rewritten so that exclusion zones are adjusted based on an assessment of hazards and a review of accidents, injuries and deaths at each dam, and allows for the continued use of existing portage trails.  The signage manual must also be rewritten in conjunction with revised exclusion zones, and the DNR must fully fund the required safety signage.