| Yeah, it's the classic "I'm here now, let's pull up the drawbridge"
syndrome. They used (among others) the hackneyed "...will churn up the
lake and damage the fragile ecology..." thing.
This is not a pristine gin-clear natural state lake. This is a built-up
220 acre lake, studded with cottages and houses, most of which have power
boats at the docks. Max depth is about 26', but that's in just one hole.
Most of the lake is 8-12' deep.
I've lived in the area long enough to remember Da Skeez, a straight
inboard owned by one of those `natives'. It had a 454 Olds engine and
straight pipes. I frequently heard it from the opposite side of Walnut
Hill. Then there was the "Gas Man" (the locals' pet name) with the
souped-up Johnson outboard that was allegedly running close to 300 hp. He
made regular and routine 80mph runs up and down, up and down, up and
down... (they figured he owned a gas station, hence the pet name).
Now, we've apparently discovered a scientific phenomenon that boats owned by
waterfront owners do not churn up the bottom and damage the fragile
ecology.
Many of the properties were once "camps" and seasonal cottages. You know,
the type that has a 55-gallon barrel for a septic system. Then with a few
studs and some Texture 111 - voila - a year-round house and real estate
bonanza. I've personally seen (gag) raw sewage floating in one of the
coves - on enough occasions to decide that one of those fragile
ecology-sensitive types has a failed septic system. But that's okay
because they belong to the Association.
I volunteered a few years back, and worked on the Amherst Recreation
Commission for a year. One of my ulterior motives was to clear up the
mystery surrounding the public access to Baboosic Lake. I live about a
mile away. You never heard so much bull - or saw so much foot-dragging.
At the time, Leo Daigle allowed people to use the launch ramp in his yard
(for a cash `donation'), so the town decided to just benignly neglect to
stomp on him, and backed away from the Public Access issue. Leo's ramp
pacified the folks who wanted to get on the lake for a day's chugging or
fishing. Leo died.
If you leave the town beach and drive directly toward Leo's old house,
bear left, and go about 200 feet, there's a "public access" on the maps
right there on the right that has been hidden by the two
abutting lot owners. It's essentially invisible now, having the
appearance of a continuation of the abutters' lots.
One of the problems surrounding the whole thing is the definition of
"public access." The "I've Got Mine" crowd says, you can carry a canoe
across the town beach and lauch it there: that's public access.
Apparently the State said, we need a launch ramp, and it will cost
$61,000 to build it.
And, by the way, I happen to own waterfront property on another, larger
lake in NH. There's public access to that lake, and I vote to keep it
open.
Art
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| Art I,m a member of the State B.A.S.S. Federation and at one of
recent meetings we had a presentation on what the state is
attempting to around public access and identifying the access points.
Volunteers were requested, to assist in checking lakes for possible
access points. Then go to town hall and ask for the the lot plans. IF
any of these access areas are identified with a SOA (State owned
ACCESS) they are to bring that information back to the state so that
they can reclaim the land. In some cases people have closed these
access and built on them. The state will start proceedings to come
to a resolution on these access points. A one hour training session
is given on this process and how to fill out the paperwork to inform
the state. You will also be checking on existing access points and
describing conditions and launch difficulty. The states intent is
twofold: they currently have over 250 access points they cannot locate?
And they would also like to create a book that would identify all
State owned access points and give descriptions of launch conditions
parking other facilities. A house bill was recently passed RSA 207 that
will allow the state to take land by eminent domain for the purpose of
public access. As with any law it will probably be years before they
use it.
DonMac if you could forward me a copy of the Babbosic lake issue. The
federation is having its quarterly meeting with the fish and game on
the 25th of the month and I would like to bring this issue to their
attention since we have other public access issues on the agenda.
Regards
Don B,
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| A week or so Keith and I went to Rocky Pond in Hollis and found a sign
at the boat launch that said no powerboating, no fishing, no iceskating,
and on and on, virtually 'no nuthin'... It's a small pond and I could
understand no use of gas motors but 'no fishing' is absolutely ridiculous.
I just got around to complaining about it today. During lunch I called the
Hollis (NH) Police Dept and they didn't know much about the details but
said the Board of Selectmen were aware of it and to call them. I did
and was told to ignore the sign and to go ahead and fish. Property owners
have put it up without any authority and they are trying to have it
taken down.
They are receiving lots of complaints and are logging all calls. If
this is a pond you occassionally fish feel free to ignore the sign, and
if you are concerned give the selectmen a call at (603)465-2780.
-donmac
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