Boaters near Erie County who have been high and dry since boat launch ramps at North East Marina shuttered will finally see some action—just not their own boats sliding into the water, at least not until later this month. According to a release from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC), starting April 1, the North East Marina's public boat launch is undergoing a maintenance makeover.

Heavy equipment is rolling in, and contractors will get busy with some serious dredging, sediment scooping, and shoring up against erosion but while this flurry of activity gets underway visitors should keep their distance and heed the caution tape because nobody wants a bulldozer to be the catch of the day. The word from the PFBC is this essential maintenance is key for keeping the marina shipshape, which has had boaters out of water since the boat launch ramps were closed for this scheduled tune-up.

Mark your calendars, folks, because April 27 is shaping up to be the day the docks are abuzz again, promising access to a newly spruced-up launch fitted with all the usual trimmings—ramps, fish-cleaning facilities, and even the less glamorous but equally essential portable johns. The seasonal courtesy docks are making a comeback too, sticking around through summer and fall for all your aquatic recreational needs weather being the unpredictable guest that it is in these parts.

After a tough call last year when the PFBC had to wave goodbye to a slice of the marina thanks to budget-busting environmental permits and infrastructural headaches, leisure skippers lost their privately leased boat slips. But let's paddle forward because according to the same commission statement, the PFBC isn't leaving boaters high and dry—steadily anchoring efforts with locals to keep marina shores open to Joe Public; and that's a promise they seem intent on keeping, barring any unforeseen storms, of course.