LATEST DEVELOPMENT ... BOAT ACCESS LAW 5pm Tues

[BottomDollar]

I also called the Governors office this am. The lady who I spoke with said that the bill had changed dramatically from yesterday. She was talking about boat owners being responsible for the cleaning of their boats and no mandatory wash downs or inspections by lake hosts. I hope this is true! The woman that I spoke with seemed concerned with our opinions and was very polite.

Great to hear.

[C-Hawk]

Don't get too excited yet, there may be some curves thrown yet. Keep the pressure on. For those that have done nothing yet, now is the time. Do not complain here on this forum when a part time state boat washer breaks your favorite pole and you sat there without e-mailing, calling or writing.

[Cas]

Email sent and fingers crossed hoping for the best

[N8parry123]

Any luck in Keelers recently or are they moved out?

[N8parry123]

Very concerned with this. Waiting for a state employee to get up in the morning to inspect my boat prior to fishing is ridiculous. I would of caught 10 fish by the time I get thru the bottle neck of boats trying to get on the water... ! I'm not against it, but regulations and inspections need to be more accommodated to the angler.

[Ahhspray]

Sent an email this morning.

[boatrampsleuth]

Hi All LCU forum guys. My name for now is "boat ramp sleuth'. Had to come up with something real quick so I could join and relay this information. I'll finish with my introduction later. I spoke with my State Rep. in Montpelier this evening regarding the boat ramp issue. I have to tell you his name
is Adam Greshin, and he could not have possibly been any nicer and/or more helpful. So here's the deal. There is a "conference" (don't call it a meeting because if you do, no one will know a thing). It's a conference of the 'committee on natural resources, fish, and wildlife'. The time is noon, Tuesday May 2, 2017. The supposed focus of this 'conference' is the impending vote regarding invasive plant species and boat ramp regulations. I could go on forever about this, but I don't think I need to be preachin' to the choir. I propose that as many of us as possible meet in the State Hse cafeteria before we go to 'monitor, the meeting. Hope this helps us somehow. Getting this information was kinda like pullin' teeth. But we have a definite place to show our strength on this issue. I plan on putting everything aside until this comes out in our favor. Please be in touch and I'll do all I can to coordinate this. PLEASE leave messages and or texts and I will reply to all. My home phone is 802-496-6885 and cell is 802-461-7881. E-mail is tjw05673@yahoo.com

[Gecha (Gerry)]

Thanks Thomas for the info, and welcome to the forum.
Hope tomorrow many will show up at the "conference".

[Surprise]

I'm deep in Customers and swimming pools now so I cannot attend.

I would like to message that a friend dug a new pond and within two years had crayfish and milfoil.
No boats or traffic But Blue Herons and Ducks......do you suppose that undigested milfoil and crayfish eggs just passed thru and infected the pond?

Nature likes equilibrium, little we do to try and stop it will matter in time.

Kinda like building a wall someone is talking about.

Randy

[Ancient Mariner]

Here is the response from one of the state reps from my town. It seems hopeful
Hi Karl - I checked in with a member of the committee and learned that while you have an legal obligation to clean and dry your boat and trailer before it enters the water, there are no mandatory inspections. So yes, you are responsible for a clean, dry boat, but no, you are not required to get an inspection. While there may be greeters, particularly in the smaller lakes and ponds, they are not allowed to board your boat without permission, but can take pictures and notify authorities if you attempt to enter water with a “dirty” boat. As a fisherman, I am sure you understand the problems encountered when propellers loaded with invasives infect our lakes and ponds.

There has been an unfortunate amount of misinformation spread here, so I am glad you contacted us directly. Be well, and let me know if you need anything else.

[keithm87]

Here is the response from one of the state reps from my town. It seems hopeful
Hi Karl - I checked in with a member of the committee and learned that while you have an legal obligation to clean and dry your boat and trailer before it enters the water, there are no mandatory inspections. So yes, you are responsible for a clean, dry boat, but no, you are not required to get an inspection. While there may be greeters, particularly in the smaller lakes and ponds, they are not allowed to board your boat without permission, but can take pictures and notify authorities if you attempt to enter water with a “dirty” boat. As a fisherman, I am sure you understand the problems encountered when propellers loaded with invasives infect our lakes and ponds.

There has been an unfortunate amount of misinformation spread here, so I am glad you contacted us directly. Be well, and let me know if you need anything else.

This is kinda how I had read the legislation to begin with, which had lead to my posts. That said the language is far to vague as it stands right now. Specify the lakes, and the enforcement powers and I think it could be a good bill that may help stop some lakes from being infested, but as written the potential for the give an inch take a mile is scary.

[keithm87]

As a side note the members of the Committee of Conference (the people who try to hash out agreement between the chambers) are:
Senate
Chris Bray D Addison cbray@leg.state.vt.us
John Rodgers D Essex/Orleans jrodgers@leg.state.vt.us
Brian Campion D Bennington bcampion@leg.state.vt.us
and house
David Deen D Windham ddeen@leg.state.vt.us
Mary Sullivan D Chittenden msullivan@leg.state.vt.us
Trevor Squirrel D Chittenden TSquirrell@leg.state.vt.us


These are the people meeting tomorrow. Here is the schedule for the committees tomorrow. Looks like room 47... 12pm

[PerchSlayerVT]

did anyone go?