A group of Lake Vermilion residents is asking the St. Louis County Board to set speed restrictions in the Hinsdale Narrows on Lake Vermilion in order to protect both the public and wildlife from unsafe boat traffic in the area.

Cabin owners in the vicinity of the narrows say they have been concerned for a long time about the dangers posed by heavy traffic in the narrows, but they say the situation has worsened in recent years with the proliferation of large speed boats and jet skis on the lake. “On holidays and nice weekends, it’s like a freeway out there,” said Ron Wilson, whose family has owned property in the narrows since 1970. “It’s a fatal accident waiting to happen.”

For some wildlife, the accident has already happened. Wilson and others in the area recently documented the Aug. 22 death of an adult loon in the narrows, which appeared to have been struck by a boat on a particularly busy weekend. The loon was one of a pair that has been nesting in the area for several years. This year, the loon pair had successfully hatched two chicks, one of which went missing at the same time that the adult loon was found dead, according to Wilson.

The hatching of the chicks this year was improbable. According to Wilson, the loons’ nest was washed off its rocky perch this spring due to a combination of rising water levels and the wakes from large boats. But Wilson said he recovered the nest and its two eggs from the water and the loons successfully incubated both of them.

That little victory now feels hollow for Wilson and others in the area, who say the deaths of the loons has finally prompted them to act. Wilson and others in the area began a petition effort a few weeks ago and will take their case to county commissioners at a county board meeting set for Tuesday, Sept. 28, at the Greenwood Town Hall. Their presentation is set to begin at 9:30 a.m.

The group is asking for a 25-mile-per-hour speed zone in a roughly three-quarter of a mile-long stretch of the narrows, running from Smart Bay to a point about one-half mile east of Oak Narrows (see map).

The group is asking for the zone to be marked and enforced, particularly on busy weekends when the problems are greatest.

Doug Wallace, a Smart Bay resident and supporter of the effort, said it’s a matter of public safety. “We’re not only looking to protect loons, but also children at play, and to protect other boaters who are being hammered by these big boats,” said Wallace. “There have already been a number of near collisions.”