As winter steelhead season on the South Fork Coquille River gets under way, a familiar sound will still be heard — the roar of motor boats.

By a vote of 4-1, the Oregon State Marine Board decided Tuesday not to enact a proposed motor boat ban on the South Fork from Myrtle Grove State Park to the National Forest Service boundary. The lone vote in support of the ban came from Coos Bay board member George Tinker.

“Not wanting to set a precedent was a major part of (the board’s decision)” said OSMB Planning and Policy Analyst Randy Henry.

Henry had drafted a report recommending the ban following a series of public hearings on the issue in the Bay Area and Medford, but board members disagreed.

According to Henry, the four opposing board members were concerned banning motors on this stretch of the Coquille would amount to a slippery slope. They worried similar requests from users on any number of smaller rivers around the state would follow.

The proposed ban was in response to a July petition from nearly 350 area anglers who said they were being forced off the river by a growing number of aggressive motor boaters. The main complaints are that fishermen using motor boats — primarily guides — repeatedly fish holes and run right over the top of bank anglers’ lines.

“We’re extremely disappointed,” said petitioner Jim Thurber. “I think (the board members) do not understand the situation and did not have the courage to be proactive.”

But late in the process, dozens of South Coast businesses and some residents came forward in the form of a counter-petition voicing concern about such a ban.

“As a lifelong businessman in this community and a user of this river since 1956, I am very much opposed to the petition to ban the use of outboard motors,” wrote Norm Jarvis of Myrtle Point. “The economic benefits to the small community should not be overlooked. Many small businesses benefit either directly or indirectly from the influx of fishermen during the winter-month steelhead season.”

 The counter-petition had an effect, Henry said.

“That (counter)-petition listed a lot of names and businesses, and several members of the board mentioned that as part of their decision-making process,” Henry said.

The vote left the ban’s supporters dismayed, none more so than landowners along the South Fork, who have become increasingly frustrated with conflicts on the river between bank anglers, non-motorized drift boaters and motor boaters.

Gordon Hayes, who owns a key access point to the South Fork through his farm near Powers, has banned motor boats from traveling through his property and put up a sign to that effect.

Lura Ann Lokan, who owns another access point upriver from Hayes, has followed suit and posted a sign at her gate that says “No Motors.”

“I guess we’ll pass our own (ban) then,” she said when told of the Marine Board’s decision.

The problem of public access is of concern to Henry, given that most South Fork access is through private land. Owners appear ready to close it off to motor boats. He said he’d already heard news of a bottleneck of motor boaters at Myrtle Creek State Park, the best public access to the South Fork.

“The board would like to address public access on the river,” Henry said. “I haven’t considered what other options might be available to us.”

Given that a ban won’t become a reality, Henry added it will be up to anglers who use the river to find ways to get along.

“There really needs to be some thoughtful consideration of the ethics and etiquette of that river,” he said.