Marina Breaks Ground Near Garrison

After being left high and dry for years Fort Stevenson State Park is tapping back into the water of Lake Sakakawea with a new marina Ground is broken on the more than 10-million dollar project earlier today It should be ready for use by 2009 Shaun Sipma has the story Nat Sound It was ground that was broken today at Fort Stevenson State park but it s the water that s been sorely missed Senator Byron Dorgan D North Dakota This very large lake is a terrific natural resource for our state but this natural resource doesn t provide full flower benefits for this state unless you have access to it The fact is we haven t had adequate access to it Since the late 1990 s drought in the Upper Missouri Basin devastated Lake Sakakawea dropping levels to record lows and leaving many once active boat ramps and marina s high and dry Senator Kent Conrad D North Dakota The pictures that were taken that were in all the news media showed the marina high and dry but it was impossible to show was how far the water had receded and it was really a stark picture Now that picture is going to be repainted A new Marina will be built here at Garrison Bay less than a mile west of the old one in De Trobrian Bay that is now landlocked Robert Michaels Army Corps of Engineers But this new Fort Stevenson will provide lake access at a much lower elevation if drought continues if drought conditions continues as expected Douglass Prchal ND State Dept of Recreation It does enhance and replace visitor service that has been absent for a number of years and the success of the park is directly related to enhance facilities the marina being one of those Paul Schlichting Garrison Chamber President I always ask Dick what park visitation was for the year If he said it s down 20 percent that s what the numbers are at my business and that means about 600 000 dollars And that s just one business in Garrison 10 million dollars in federal funds has been secured to pay for the project which should wrap up and be open to boats the summer of 2009 Governor John Hoeven R North Dakota The Friends of Lake Sakakawea really had a vision on this thing and pursued it and stayed with it and worked on it the right way all the way through Terry Fleck Friend of Sakakawea I d just like to think this is just the beginning of many many good things to happen on this big lake At Fort Stevenson State Park Shaun Sipma KX News Planning for the new marina began in 2004