PAGE, Arizona — Buoys are supposed to keep boats in the channel with no risk of hitting bottom.
On April 26, one buoy east of Antelope Point Marina on Lake Powell was out of the channel and in front of a sandbar. It had been that way since at least April 7. That’s when the Kane County, Utah, Sheriff, told FOX 13 he brought it to the attention of the National Park Service.
It’s hasn’t been the first buoy in need of maintenance, said Bob Reed.
“And even though we made mention of it,” Reed said, “‘We’ll pass that along. We’ll let the other departments know.’ And nothing happens.”
Reed, who operates the guided outfitter Up Lake Adventures, is among those who rely on Lake Powell for their livelihood or for family fun and feel the Park Service’s management of the lake is putting both those things at risk.
The Park Service itself will be under new management at Lake Powell soon. Michelle Kerns, the superintendent at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, which includes Lake Powell, sent an email to staff Wednesday saying next week would be her last day.
Kerns made the announcement a day after FOX 13 reported how the Park Service has not sought bids for its biggest Lake Powell contracts in more than 50 years.
But reached by phone Wednesday afternoon, Kerns said the reporting was not a factor in her departure. She is retiring from the Park Service for “personal reasons,” she said.
FLOATING IN WATER
That means a new superintendent will have to field a list of complaints from boaters. The list includes buoys – like that one that was out of place, or others that are missing lights so they can be seen at night.
Boaters also miss a mid-lake fueling station. The fees keep increasing, too, the boaters point out.
Then there’s the most talked about topic – unkept restrooms.
Glen Canyon received 4.7 million visitors in 2024. That’s double the number 10 years earlier, but the Park Service has not added any toilet locations to keep pace.
In recent years, kayakers have begun paddling in an arm of the lake called Antelope Canyon. Reed will take clients there, too.
“We have found, many times, floating poop in the water,” Reed said.
LOWER LEVELS
“I would just like to see this lake return to its former glory of what it was,” said Zach Smoot, who runs the account Powellheadz on Instagram.
Smoot and Reed, in separate interviews with FOX 13, discussed what they refer to as the “decline” of services and management of Lake Powell. For Smoot, one of the biggest declines happened in 2022, when the Park Service closed Dangling Rope Marina over concerns about lowering water levels there.
Dangling Rope sat near the center of Lake Powell. Now, it’s 50 miles across the lake between stops for gas, food and help. That’s too far for many boats.
“And this lake just continues to get more and more popular every year,” Smoot said as he stood on Wahweap Marina on the southern end of Lake Powell, “and it really congests this end of the lake because people can’t continue to go up.”
Meanwhile, fees have increased. Annual boating passes on Lake Powell jumped from $50 for all boats in 2023 to as much as $1,600 for the longest houseboats this year. Boat owners pay more to keep their vessels docked at a marina.
“There’s many of us that think the Park Service has outlived its usefulness at Glen Canyon,” Reed said. “They need to go away, and it needs to be turned to the state of Utah and Arizona to manage it.”
‘NOT THE SAME LAKE’
Kerns spoke to FOX 13 last month – weeks before her retirement announcement. She picked visitor comment cards off her desk and pointed out the majority of remarks are positive.
The increased visitation is driving a perception of declining services, Kerns contended.
“We are not the same experience for many of our longtime visitors that they experienced in their childhood 25 years ago,” Kerns said. “It's not the same lake.”
As for specific complaints, Kerns says there’s a crew that maintains the buoys. She encouraged anyone seeing a broken or out-of-place buoy to report it.
There’s no timeframe to add a mid-lake fueling station somewhere with enough water, Kerns said, though the Park Service is looking for a spot.
There are no plans to add restrooms for kayakers in Antelope Canyon.
“Getting infrastructure back there is pretty problematic,” Kerns said.
“We do require that our kayak delivery services provide that human waste bag,” she added.
Kerns also pointed out that restrooms and human waste management are a challenge across the Park Service.
In 2023, the Park Service budgeted for 130 employees at Glen Canyon. That number will decline due to Kerns’ departure and because federal workers across the country will submit voluntary resignations at the end of May.
What would Kerns say to anyone who says the Park Service isn’t accountable at Lake Powell?
“I take that rather personally,” Kerns said, “because I believe that we hold a high standard for the management of the resources that we've been entrusted to.”
AMERICAN JEWEL
Complaints notwithstanding, Reed and Smoot are evangelicals for Lake Powell.
Reed calls it a “jewel” of America.
Smoot points out you don’t need a houseboat to enjoy the lake. There lower-cost options like renting smaller boats or jet skis, kayaking or fishing.
“I just want to see things get fixed,” Smoot said. “That’s the thing. Whether that be through the states, whether that be through the Park Service.”