Attended A Lake Asscociation Meeting Today!!! Not Happy With One Of The Statements

[AllenW]

As long as it remains "it's them not us" we're all going to lose.

I remember many years ago the snowmobile and ATV crowd arguing who should get to use trails, both groups lost on that deal too.

Our battle is with the DNR who hasn't a clue, and the politician who think any law/restriction is better than no law at all, not among our selfs.

Al

[thump55]

Originally Posted by Gary Korsgaden

During a break I went up to the Supervisor of the AIS Inspectors and told him the locals can be his greatest support, however if statements like what I just heard continue a deeper wedge will divide those on the lake with those off the lake.

I am a little confused on what you mean by "statements like I just heard". The guy actually checking boats and seeing the violators tells you firsthand who is doing the majority of the violating, and you are upset by that?

You can say locals care and want to stop the spread of invasives, but since they are the ones doing the majority of the violating, then I'd say actions speak louder than words.

[eriksat1]

I went to a Lake shore owners assoc. meeting once and most of the lake shore owners consider themselves lake owners.

[dutchboy]

Talking the talk won't get it done. Sportsman can sit here and type until their fingers fall off, won't help one bit.

Want to get into this game? Get your checkbook out and join some organization fighting on our (sportsman) behalf. The "anti's" have cash and are willing to spend it. We sit on-line, in our boats, in bars, in our stands and blinds and complain. Do we do anything more? Doesn't seem enough of us do. We as a group need to be heard. Lobbyist need to be bought. A "pro" campaign started. Sportsman as a group need to go on the offensive. You WILL spend the money anyway. Your license fee's will go up. Education for AIS will be spendy. You don't think the state will pay for this without hitting the sportsman do you?

Join a group, spend your cash with people who have a like thought process as you do. Vote out the "anti's" and get our people in, it's the only way to fight this. We all know that the middle class is shrinking, we also understand the old saying that the "rich get richer', now it will apply to the outdoors.

No more typing on-line, no more sending worthless e-mails to the DNR and your representatives. It's time we "put up" ($$$$) or "shut up".

[v-bay gord]

I'm enjoying this topic. Funny how the guy with the lake cabin is the "rich anti" and the guy with the $60 k Ranger is the "blue collar sportsmen". Of course the DNR knows nothing and is just the Nazi arm of the government. I'm eager with anticipation to see when the "tribal netting" aspect comes into this arguement.

[steiny93]

as being someone who is either a "local" or a "lake shore owner" depending upon which lake i'm on i can see both sides

the owners are typically pony'ing up cash to attack the problem; so from an opinion perspective the AIS dudes see them as very strong ally's

local's don't have a voice; as such they are referred to as "them" or "those guys" as they don't appear as a voice or an organized body; rather they are nameless and faceless (easy to blame)

as an owner; i fully support fewer public launch's; make the launch's we have better and easier to monitor (staffed compliance checking); as a local i don't see this as an issue; what difference does it make if my favorite 4k acre lake has 2 launches instead of 4? It isn't like i'm now forced to motor 20 miles extra.

as a local; if you want to make a difference; get organized and get active; i bet if local's starting showing up at the various lake assoication mtgs and were volunteering to staff access's; and the like the 'us' and 'them' mindsets would start changing

regarding the spread... i doubt if this is really going to matter; these waters are very interconnected; the species will transfer

The difference here is the locals want to eat the fish.

The home owners want to protect the fish from the local fisherman to benefit there lake/home/cabin value.

The DNRC/F&G are looking for something to create more jobs at the expense of all fisherman, and judging by the tone of the meeting there will be an exception granted to property owners in the area.

And we wonder why as a whole people don't/quit fishing.

[eriksat1]

You can't deny that the lake shore owners usually get there way, most people on the town board are lake shore owners, and they figure they pay more in property tax so naturally there lake shore roads get black topped first, snow plowed first, repaired first, everyone else off lake can wait until he-ll freezes over to get there gravel roads black topped or for that matter graded. I'm sure it's the same all over.

[Burr]

These things never turn out well when they take an "us against them" approach. It was in very bad taste a decision was made to single out a group of people, any group of people, in a public meeting.

Would have been much more effective for a strategic decision to be made to work on education events held in the region that might have demographically reached the group they felt needed reaching the most?

The only 2 know causes of infestation I am aware of were caused by lake owners, moving boat lifts from an infested body of water onto a non-infested body of water. So would it be accurate and appropriate for me to say the real problem is lake property owners? It sure would not be productive.

Gary, just your prescence at these meetings goes a long way to getting them to realize the locals are not the enemy. If you were totally absent, you would really be in for a beating. Sometimes we don't know what groups we are associated with until we hear the terms from someone else, I know from your work on other items, the lake owner associations would be hard pressed to find someone as informed and responsive as you have been to the threat of AIS. Hopefully they are giving you the opportunity to speak, and have an open mind regarding the topics you can address, I'm sure you have more to offer than they currently realize.

[Kyle Posterick]

Originally Posted by eriksat1

I went to a Lake shore owners assoc. meeting once and most of the lake shore owners consider themselves lake owners.

I used to work at a grocery store that was a frequent destination for a load of lakeshore owners in the summer, this mentality was common throughout that populous.

In the end, the blame game will get us nowhere. This country has a "me first and screw everyone else" mentality issue that will be the end of a lot of good things.