SANDPOINT — Landowners on the Pend Oreille River are calling on the county to deny a permit for a wake surfing contest on the Pend Oreille River at Willow Bay.

The Willow Bay Resort is hosting the INT League wake surf contest on Aug. 4, according to the INT League’s website.

But landowners along the river want officials to pull the plug on the event in order to protect shoreline and docks caused by boat wakes.

Damaging boat wakes have surfaced as an increasingly contentious issue, especially with landowners along the river. They report spending thousands of dollars to armor their shorelines, replace boat lifts and repair damage done to docks and vessels.

“It’s a real battle. We are just trying to enjoy our home,” said riverfront landowner Rick Cramer.

Cramer said the river is too narrow to accommodate the large wakes trailing from powerboats designed to displace more water in order to produce waves which can be surfed on. “There’s no room for the wakes to dissipate,” he said.

The event permit is reportedly being reviewed by the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office. Cramer and other landowners have lodged objections to the permit request.

INT League communications director Jacqueline Stocks-Banks pointed to a Water Sports Industry Association study which underscores the low-impact nature of wake sports.

“When the boat path takes place at a reasonable distance from shore, the shore impact is no more than the daily boat and wind activity on the water,” Stocks-Banks said.

Event organizer Adam Wheeler said the contest will be taking place in an area northeast of Willow Bay’s marina, where there are very few docks and properties.

“The course is only 45 seconds which equates to roughly 750 feet. We will be operating in accordance to all marine laws of Bonner County,” said Wheeler.

Wheeler added that the half-day event is in its third year at Willow Bay and has been reduced in size since organizers removed traditional wakeboarding from the competition.

“I do not think operating one surfboat for half a day adjacent to a sparsely populated shoreline will do much to exacerbate erosion of shorelines and damage docks,” said Wheeler.

A request for comment from the sheriff’s office was not immediately returned on Thursday.

Opponents of the event contend other county officials have brushed aside their permit denial request out of concern the county would be drawn into litigation. A similar argument has been employed in response to requests that the county restrict wake surfing boats on the river. County officials said boat manufacturers would target the county with litigation if they imposed the prohibition.

Landowners along the river, meanwhile, say they are contemplating their own litigation against the county and state for damage done to their property.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.