Recently, the Oregon Legislature attempted to ban wake enhancement devices and inflict a Slow-No-Wake law throughout part the Willamette River. Here is more on the proposed laws:

Oregon Legislator will pass or deny House Bill 4099 and House Bill 4138 next week. The bills will implement laws prohibiting boaters from using wake enhancement devices (WED) and require boats to abide by the Slow-No-Wake law within 200 feet of docks, boathouses or moorages. These laws will be enforced within Willamette mile 50 (Roger's Landing in Newberg) and Willamette mile 30 (10th Street in West Linn) if the bills pass.

If you love to boat and participate in watersports, email your local representative and the Oregon transportation committee with the subject line "NO on HB 4099 and HB 4138" now to voice your concern of these potential laws! Go to the Oregon Legislature website and type in your address to discover who your county representative is. Also, if you want to stay up-to-date on the status of these bills, find them using the search bar, then sign up for the email subscriptions.

If these two bills pass, boaters with WED within the mile mark 50 to 30 radius or boaters that do not follow the Slow-No-Wake laws will face a fine of up to $2,000 on the first offense and up to 30 days in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both, and prohibition from operating a boat for two years on a second offense within three years.





But, after Oregon boaters' massive support, a huge thank you goes to all who have shared your opposition to House Bill 4099! Our collective efforts have succeeded in changing House Bill 4099 from a proposed law into a proposal for an Advisory Panel to look at the best ways to share our waterways while mitigating the impact of wakes from towboats. Another thank you goes to State Representative Vial for agreeing to take more time to look at this issue from all sides.

At this point, let’s work together to educate ourselves and other boaters. We all need to work together to keep our waterways open and safe. Below is a quick list of things to remember when we are out on the water:

- Stay at least 150 feet from shoreline, docks and other structures
- When picking up a fallen rider, stop and turn around slowly, avoiding power turns that throw waves in all directions
- Avoid repetitive passes through the same area
- Listen to music at reasonable levels

Be a good steward of the sport and we will continue to enjoy all the access we have now!