Court Backs County Ban on Jet Skis

The straits around the San Juan Islands are big enough for tall sailboats, big luxury cabin cruisers and high-speed cigarette boats. But not Jet Skis. San Juan County’s stand against waterjet-powered personal watercraft came to a head July 9 when the state Supreme Court affirmed local authority to ban the machines from the county’s vast waterways northwest of Seattle. The county approved the ban in 1996 in response to complaints that cited noise and safety concerns, as well as potential damage to the fragile marine environment.