Weather permitting, up to five additional boat ramps could open on Lake Sakakawea sometime during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Fourteen ramps on the big lake already are listed as usable, and two others are deemed OK for smaller boats but marginal for larger watercraft.

In a news conference Wednesday aimed at reassuring North Dakotans that recreation, boating and fishing opportunities still abound on the state's largest boating destination even during this record low-water year, Gov. John Hoeven and officials from the state Game and Fish Department and North Dakota Parks and Recreation spread the word.

Six additional ramps are listed as "works in progress," and two of those - Sakakawea State Park's renovated main ramp and the new low-water ramp at Indian Hills State Recreation Area - should be among launching spots open for boaters sometime during the holiday weekend, Doug Prchal, state Parks and Recreation director, said.

Skunk Bay and two U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' ramps - the new low-water facility at Pouch Point and the low-water ramp at Sportsmen's Centennial - also could open this weekend. A telephone call to the corps' Riverdale office asking about the status of those ramps was not returned Wednesday.

Terry Steinwand, the chief of the fisheries division for NDGFD, stressed that the chances of any additional ramp opening this weekend depended on a string of sunny, rain-free days.

That's not in the National Weather Service's forecast. For the Garrison area, the NWS is predicting a 30 percent to 40 percent chance of rain from Friday afternoon through Saturday and a chance of showers or thunderstorms all the way through Memorial Day.

Sanish Bay, listed as "in progress" and a proposed low-water ramp at Hazen Bay aren't expected to be operational until later this summer.

South of the lake, 13 boat ramps are listed as usable, and another three carry the "marginal" tag. Closer to the South Dakota border, where the northern reaches of Lake Oahe have shrunk to little more than the Missouri River channel, some ramps remain landlocked.

Last year, the state had 28 ramps available on Lake Sakakawea. The lake has 36 recreation areas with multiple boat ramps, some of which are used at high water and others at low water. Depending on the season, typically 36 ramps at a time are operational.

Hoeven said the state has committed between $1.5 million and $1.75 million to secure lake access. Sportsmen's groups chipped in additional money, he said.

Dean Hildebrand, NDGFD director, urged boaters to be patient during this long weekend , which traditionally is the kickoff to the summer season. "Cooperate, help those (boaters) who need help," he said.

And the fishing outlook for Lake Sakakawea?

"Wonderful. We're expecting good things," Steinwand said.

(Reach reporter Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or outdoors@bismarcktribune.net.)