By Mike Donahue

Moapa Valley Progress

A fishing boat makes it’s way up the Overton Arm of Lake Mead just north of the Overton Beach launch ramp where water levels have risen enough to allow boat passage. Photo by Vernon Robison.

Echo Bay Marina enjoyed its busiest weekend of the year over the three-day Labor Day holiday, according to Herb Riggle, operations manager at the facility.

“Labor Day was the first weekend where the weather maintained, stayed sunny and almost windless,” Riggle said. “We were really busy with rentals and business in general; a lot of boat rentals. It was great for a change.”

Additionally, Riggle said the marina snack bar, which serves breakfast and lunch, and the small general store experienced their best days since opening for business in July this year.

The National Park Service estimated 104,689 people visited Lake Mead Recreation Area over the Labor Day weekend, which includes Lake Mohave and Lake Mead.

“Park rangers responded to multiple boating accidents and disabled boats in the park,” NPS spokesman Andrew S. Munoz said in a news release. “There were several major medical calls including one medical response in which a person was saved in a near drowning. There were no fatalities over the holiday weekend (in the park).”

An annual survey revealed that recreation area visitors overall were satisfied with facilities, services and recreational opportunities.

“We are pleased that our visitors find value in their national park experience at Lake Mead National Recreation Area,” said Bill Dickinson, area superintendent. “We work hard to provide a first rate experience. This (survey) recognizes the hard work of both National Park Service and concessions’ employees who make it happen every day.”

In the survey, some visitors expressed concern about the increase in the entrance fee, but 77 percent said they were satisfied with the value they received for the fee.

While most write in comments were consistently positive, some visitors said they wanted to see improvements in the number of on-the-water law enforcement patrols and additional amenities such as floating restrooms.

This year NPS completed a $20 million upgrade at Willow Beach with funds from the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act. Additionally, more than $2 million in improvement were made to picnic areas and launch ramps in the Lake Mead Recreation Area including work at Echo Bay.

“We always get a lot of boat launches here over the weekend and Labor Day was no exception,” Riggle said. “The ramp use was above anything we’ve seen all summer and we hope it continues.

“We don’t close down just because Labor Day is over,” he added. “With the water level coming up and the excellent weather we’ve been having, we hope we’ll continue getting a lot of business.”

Munoz said the Lake Mead area is America’s fifth most visited national park with more than 7 million visitors a year. It offers variety of outdoor recreation including hiking, boating, fishing camping and hiking.

“The park is rich in natural and cultural history,” Munoz said. “More than 10,000 years of human history and 1.8 billion years of geological history are represented within its boundaries.”

There are 25 threatened and endangered species protected within the park as well as sensitive Native American cultural sites.