President Theodore Roosevelt created the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge in 1909, long before high-speed boating, waterskiing, kite-boarding, mountain-biking and other outdoor recreation that Idahoans love.

It's up to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage the refuge and balance the competing interests of recreation and wildlife.

The management plan the service proposed in 2011 was met with uproar from boaters and local government officials, who said restrictions to benefit waterfowl and habitat needlessly restricted boating and other recreation uses. The plan federal managers are presenting in a series of public meetings beginning Friday is much less restrictive than their initial proposal.

A POPULAR PLACE

The refuge and 9,000-acre man-made Lake Lowell are popular with outdoor recreationists. It's also popular with birds - more than 215 species have been observed there. Often, birds and people don't easily co-exist. Federal wildlife managers are tasked with protecting the refuge's wildlife, fish and vegetation. Canyon County officials must protect their taxpayers' interests.

In 2011, county commissioners and mayors were convinced federal managers wanted to shut the lake down. Mayors in Canyon County fired off a letter to Idaho's congressional delegation advocating an "act of Congress" to put Deer Flat under county control.

LEGAL AUTHORITY?

County officials also argued that Lake Lowell is a reservoir filled with water that belongs to irrigators, not the federal government, so the feds had no authority to dictate public uses on the lake.

Nearly two years later, county officials are sounding more conciliatory - although they're still reading the draft. "At this point," said spokesman Joe Decker, "the board feels positive about the plan but they don't want to fully commit to anything until they've done a full review."

MORE TO COME

For 10 years, Marlene James of Nampa has been making regular bird-watching forays into the refuge. She has no complaints about the new draft, saying it seems to do a good job of balancing wildlife with public needs and wants.

"There are a lot more boats now than when I started coming here 10 years ago," she said.

Managers propose to add additional trails, three fishing docks, two observation/photo blinds, visitor contact station, a nature play area at the lower dam and enhancements to about 2,000 acres of wetlands, mudflats and riparian habitat.

A LOOK AT THE PLAN

What's proposed, and how it compares to the past:

Boating season

Current: April 15 to Sept. 30.

2013 proposal: No change.

2011 proposal: Reduced days and hours.

Boating area

Current: No-wake zone at lake's easternmost end.

2013 proposal: No-wake zones east of Gotts Point, the Narrows and 200 yards from vegetation between parking lots 1 and 8 on lake's south side.

2011 proposal: Entire lake no-wake, except for the deepest portion at west end.

Swimming

Current: Allowed at the upper dam and elsewhere.

2013 proposal: Allowed within upper and lower dam designated areas only.

2011 proposal: Lower dam area only.

Gotts Point access

Current: Walk-in only.

2013 proposal: Vehicles allowed upon agreement with county for law enforcement.

2011 proposal: Vehicles allowed upon agreement with county for law enforcement.

Access fees

Current: None

2013 proposal: None.

2011 proposal: Access and boat launch fees.

Dogs and horses

Current: Allowed on designated roads and trails only. Dogs on-leash.

2013 proposal: No change.

2011 proposal: Banned.

Fishing

Current: Allowed in all open areas with some restrictions during waterfowl hunting.

2013 proposed: Increase shoreline access with new trails, docks. Increase off-trail access at certain times. Continue some restrictions during waterfowl hunting.

2011 proposal: More area closures.

Upland hunting

Current: Allowed in designated areas.

2013 proposal: No change.

2011 proposal: Banned on south side.

Waterfowl hunting

Current: Allowed in designated areas.

2013 proposal: No change, but hunters limited to 25 shotgun shells per day.

2011 proposal: Managed by controlled hunt.

Cynthia Sewell: 377-6428, Twitter: @CynthiaSewell