By BETTY RIDGE
Despite rainy spring weekends and an economy that is sluggish at best, float traffic on the Illinois River is up 3 to 5 percent so far over last year.
L.D. Stephens, representing the Illinois River Association, told members of the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission Tuesday that businesses along the river have not seen a decrease in traffic, and are operating close to capacity on weekends.
“This yea, we started out with 21 days of rain, cool weather,” he said.
Tulsa TV weather forecasters have predicted at least a 40 percent chance of rain most weekends, he said, but 40 percent in Tulsa amounts to only about 25 percent this weekend. This discourages some people from traveling to Cherokee County to make their float trips.
“The during the week business seems to be up some, but the church and the school groups are not booking the lodging as much as they have in the past,” Stephens said.
But outfitters with lodging and camping facilities told him they are booked up for the weekends through early August.
Store sales are a little below last year, he said, but people still see a weekend floating as a reasonably-priced excursion, even during difficult economic times.
“I guess people think they can go out and spend $20 or $30 and have a good weekend, which is true,” he said.
More people are bringing beverages and snacks from home, rather than purchasing them at stores along the river, he said. And many people are hauling in their own kayaks, to avoid paying a float fee.
Stephens said the float outfitting business has come a long way from the mom and pop operations of the early days, when canoes were loaded into the back of pickups and floaters hauled up river. Now buses make regular trips up and down State Highway 10, and the loading and picking up of rafts and canoes requires quite an organized effort.
He said outfitters are still making money, despite such expenses as rising insurance costs. He said they contribute $16 to $20 million annually to the economy, with outfitters employing 120 to 125 students who earn $275 to $500 weekly during season.
“All the resorts spend thousands of dollars a year improving facilities and making them look better,” he said.
Commissioners asked how OSRC policies are affecting the float businesses, including the policy on alcohol. Alcoholic beverages have been banned from several popular access points.
“We’re seeing families with a lot of little kids come back this year,” Stephens said.
He said there have been fewer rowdy people on the river and fewer complaints about drunken misadventures.
“We’re going to have drinking on the river, but you see a lot less of it,” he said.
Stephens said few float customers are local. The majority of out-of-area floaters come from Texas, Kansas and Oklahoma City.
OSRC Chairman Gerald Hilsher said this was the first time since he joined the commission in 1998 that he has heard a comprehensive report from a representative of the float businesses, and he hopes this will continue.
Stephens said he and fellow businessmen have one major complaint: the increase in semi-truck traffic along State Highway 10. “Our bus drivers can’t drive over 45 or 50 mph, and these semis pull right up on us. There’s a possibility we’re going to have a major accident there with all these trucks,” he said.
OSRC Administrator Ed Fite said he has discussed the issue with Darren Saliba, Division 1 district engineer for the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. He said traffic monitors will be installed to discriminate between large trucks and passenger vehicles when making their counts.
Fite said he and Saliba agree there are more semis on the road now than in the past.
“It seems like there’s a truck for every couple of cars,” he said. “We believe a lot of that has to do with the trucking industry trying to shorten their routes between northwest Arkansas and Dallas.”
Members delayed taking a position on a wastewater treatment plant for Bentonville and northwest Arkansas communities until they have studied the issue more.
Kurt Robinson, president of Save the Illinois River, said the plant will begin operating with one phosphorus discharge level and plans to decrease it by 2012. He questioned why, since it is a new plant, it will not operate with the lower level from the start.
“I’m fairly astonished at the silence of the OSRC on this matter,” he said.
Fite told him he expects the OSRC members will have something to say after they get more information.
Commissioners approved a joint funding agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey for monitoring and water sampling for $86,600. They also OK’d the OSRC budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The budget anticipates an 18 percent decrease in revenue, including 7 percent less in appropriations from the Oklahoma Legislature.
