Many lakes are polluted, and sport fishing suffers because fish are dying. Even where lakes have active tourism, managers face difficult tasks in balancing recreation and other lake uses. At Lake Mead near Las Vegas, the largest reservoir in North America at 180,000 acres, water levels can fluctuate by as much as 50 feet depending on water demand, snow levels and diversions for flood-control storage. That's not the way to run a lake,'' he said. Congress should authorize a permanent fee structure at the lakes and allow more agencies to collect fees.
Federal agencies get more flexibility to address recreational needs.
For instance, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers should be able to build recreational facilities without finding a state or local partner, as current law requires.