15/06/2023
Fellow trailer owners and friends. To follow is an article that was published in the McCook Gazette today. It is a history of what has occurred over the past six years concerning the BOR's relentless attack to remove our trailer parks and marinas. As you can see from the article, BOR's Mr. Thompson has no trouble telling trailer owners and association leaders what they want to hear, and then doing just exactly the opposite. Our elected leaders are now coming through for us and we are cautiously optimistic that we could have a positive outcome. But if the past has taught us anything, it is that tomorrow we could be in dire straits once again. WE MUST KEEP FIGHTING! If you haven't contacted our congressional leaders and governor yet, do it today! It takes about two minutes per call. The contacts are at the end of the article.
My name is ______________. I live in _________________,and have a trailer at Red Willow Lake {or Swanson Lake) in SW Nebraska. I strongly oppose the Bureau of Reclamation's plan to destroy our beautiful trailer parks and marinas. Thank you for your support.
We are just getting started and we can't let up the pressure.
Thank you!
Kent
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
This article is in regard to the front-page article in the McCook Gazette on Friday, June 9, entitled, “Bureau lays out plans for area lakes”.
Integrity and honesty have always been the cornerstone of people in Southwest Nebraska. The following observations should be shared with readers that may have been misled by the aforementioned article.
Bureau of Reclamation Nebraska-Kansas Area Manager Aaron Thompson stated that trailer owners have known about their plans for decades. The first that we actually knew of this was in 2017 when the concessionaires invited us to a meeting between the Bureau of Reclamation, Nebraska Game and Parks, and the concessionaires. The cat was out of the bag, and we immediately started to fight this ridiculous policy by contacting our Congressional leaders, Governor, State Senators, and making the public aware that the Bureau was out to destroy the facilities at our area lakes.
It is estimated that well over 70% of the trailers have been sold and bought at Red Willow and Swanson since 2005, all of them with the knowledge of both Bureau of Reclamation and Nebraska Game and Parks. Why would someone buy a trailer if they knew they would have to pull it out and remove all decks and buildings in the near future? We had no idea that they planned to destroy our marinas and trailer parks. In the past couple of years, we have been informed that there is a federal rule stating that we can’t sell our trailers on federal property even if the trailer is to be moved. The lakes have always been federal property. Why are they enforcing this policy now?
On July 18, 2018, at a public meeting held at the Keystone Business Center in McCook with 42 people in attendance, Mr. Thompson told the group in so many words that with a proper lottery system the existing trailers could stay. With more than a 70% turnover, why is a lottery necessary?
On April 5, 2019, Senator Fischer, Nebraska Game and Parks Director Douglas and Assistant Director McCoy, a representative for Congressman Smith, Association Board members, Concessionaires from Swanson and Red Willow, and others met with Mr. Thompson at the Bureau regional headquarters in McCook. Mr. Thompson stated that the trailers at Cedar Bluff and Lovewell in Kansas, (which were allowed to remain), "fell through the cracks", and that was why the Kansas Master Agreement accepted existing private exclusive use. Senator Fischer ended the meeting by stating there was no agreement at this time between the parties. She said meetings between her office, the Bureau and Nebraska Game and Parks needed to happen immediately to seek clarity, what is the law and what is required. The State has an interest in the land and it's citizens, and these meetings need to happen as quickly as possible so an understanding can be reached. That understanding was a final agreement where the Nebraska Game and Parks gave the management of the marinas and trailer parks to the Bureau of Reclamation after Nebraska Game and Parks wouldn’t sign an agreement that would remove the trailers.
Last year, on November 2, 2022, in a meeting at Bureau’s McCook office with three members of the Board of Directors of the Hugh Butler Lake Trailer Court Association, Mr. Thompson stated, “We wouldn’t be sitting here today with you if we were planning on pulling the trailers out”. They had no plans to repeat what happened at Medicine Creek Reservoir. But in the referenced article he said that the removal of the trailers has been in the planning for 23 years. There seems to be a huge discrepancy between what Mr. Thompson says and what he does.
Aaron Thompson painted a very beautiful picture of their grandiose plans for Red Willow and Swanson Reservoirs. It has been reported that the Bureau plans to invest 10 million dollars at each of Southwest Nebraska’s area lakes. New campgrounds, “glamping” tents and cabins, a splash pad and dog wash. It would be very nice if that actually happened, but don’t hold your breath. The only thing we can see is hog wash.
Of course, to do that, they must first remove the over 50-year-old trailer parks that they claim, “deprives other American citizens of the right to access and enjoy public lands and resources.” He failed to mention the fact that out of 35 miles of shoreline at Red Willow, about one half mile is dedicated to the trailer park. It encompasses zero of the 30 miles of shoreline at Swanson. There are much better places to build their dream parks at both lakes, but they are intent to destroy the marinas and trailer parks. To make this even more ludicrous, they want to completely remove all the trailers, all the infrastructure, and bulldoze the marinas to build their fantasy park with state-of-the-art facilities. Wouldn’t that constitute a huge waste of taxpayer money? Wouldn’t it be more economical to start from scratch and continue to collect taxes and revenue from the existing marinas and trailer parks? The icing on the cake would be that no one would lose tens of thousands of dollars and have the anxiety and expense of tearing down what they have built up for years. Their plan is senseless.
Consider the trailer park at Harry Strunk Reservoir that was destroyed by the Bureau three years ago. There’s a huge log blocking the former entrance of the trailer park with a sign that says, “No vehicles beyond this point”. What used to be a place for both trailer owners and the public to enjoy is now a waste land with knee high weeds. The Bureau’s first enforcement in this area of “exclusive private use of federal property” was removing the boat docks and sailboats at Government Bay at Red Willow a few years ago. What used to be a bustling area full of public fishing and swimming off the docks is now a deserted bay with a fishing dock that very few have ever been seen using. So much for enhanced public use.
Why is Reclamation not adhering to the Code of Federal Regulations which clearly states that no NEW private exclusive use is allowed and does not direct removal of EXISTING private exclusive use for areas that are in compliance with regulations in the Code? Why is existing private use and the sale of trailers allowed at Cedar Bluff and Lovewell in Kansas and Alcova Reservoir in Wyoming? Why was North Dakota able to get Congressional approval of a bill to save the trailer park at Lake Tschada in North Dakota? Why can’t we do that in Nebraska?
Are the plans for our area lakes a beautiful fantasy or simply Mr. Thompson’s fallacy? If it ever does happen, how long will it take? How many years will we be without a marina and new camping areas? Mr. Thompson, utilize the 98 percent of property that is not being used, not the marinas and trailer parks already teaming with activity that were in existence long before you were born.
In 2018, 1,898 people signed a petition in Southwest Nebraska to “Save Our SW Nebraska Marinas and Trailer Parks”. The petition statement reads as follows; “Urge our Nebraska congressional delegation to work with the Bureau of Reclamation and other Federal and State agencies to find a solution that allows mobile homeowners at SW Nebraska lakes to freely transfer their permits and leave mobile homes on their lots.”
In her May recap last month, Senator Fischer reported that she continues to push back against federal overreach. If this isn’t federal overreach, we don’t know what is. Senator Fischer, Senator Ricketts, Congressman Smith, and Governor Pillen, WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Kent Confer, with the support of:
Hugh Butler Lake Trailer Court Association
Swanson Lake Trailer Owners Association
If you want to save our marinas and trailer parks at Red Willow and Swanson Lakes, please contact your elected officials today. Information on where to contact them is to follow.
Nebraska
Senator Deb Fischer:
https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/?p=email-deb
454 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6551 Fax: (202) 228-1325
Congressman Adrian Smith:
https://adriansmith.house.gov/contact
502 Cannon HOB, Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-6435
Senator Pete Ricketts:
https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/contact/
139 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4224
Governor Jim Pillen
[email protected]
PO Box 94848 Lincoln, NE 68509-4848
Phone: 402-471-2244
Kansas
Senator Jerry Moran
[email protected]
(785) 628-6401
Senator Roger Marshall
[email protected]
(620) 765-7800
Kansas Congressmen Tracey Mann
[email protected]
(785) 370-7277
Governor Laura Kelly
(785) 296-3232
Contact Pete Share Your Opinion Scheduling Request Media Request Form
