Schwatka Lake: Joggers, anglers, boaters vie for space
People's expectations for Schwatka Lake range from pristine wilderness to a rowdy drinking spot.
Now, a potential conflict has emerged after the Yukon Breeze Sailing Society applied to set up a small base at the lake, including a boat launch and a dock.
The City of Whitehorse may have difficulty reconciling different user groups at Schwatka Lake. Mayor Dan Curtis expects there won't be heavy development in the area.
"It is a recreation area, there's a lot of people who bike there, an awful lot of people that jog there and walk there and fish there," Curtis said, adding "not with a whole lot of success."
Conflicting uses
But among recreational users there are tensions. Dan Girouard with the Yukon Canoe and Kayak Club said they're not all there for the same reasons.
"[People] also come here to drink and hang out," he said. "We're trying to have this place be a secure, safe place for people to come and then you have other people that are a bit oblivious to that and just, you know, do their own thing."
Girouard said he worries about safety when he sees a large group of children out on the lake in small boats mixing with others in motorized boats.
"You know, maybe we'll have to move somewhere else, or maybe the people that are using motorized vehicles will have to move somewhere else," he said.
Girouard hopes all the user groups can work out arrangements that make everybody happy.
