What say you??? Invasive Species or greed??

[Chuck S]

Here in Wyoming we are being nickle and dimed to death with the latest being a required invasive species decal on any boat longer than 10 ft or so.
That means my sit on top kayak, my Pontoon boat and my car topper Gheenoe all have to have the decal. were they a foot or two shorter they wouldn't but in it's infinite wisdom Wyoming Fish and Game saw fit to write it this way???? They charge an extra five bucks if you even use an electric motor and they do have to be registered if you use that motor. I wouldn't mind if we really had a problem or possible problem with invasive species but to date that's not the case. For one thing, here in Wyoming our reservoirs are just that and since the irrigators own the water they fluctate wildly much more than the twelve feet or so the Zebra and Quagga Muscles need for survival as I understand it. This is a several times annually thing and effectively kills much of our warm water fishing (spawning requirements and flow) as well as some cold water species also. Besides that here in this state we likely have dozen or more wade fishermen using felt soled waders to every boater so again I have to conclude that this state is greedy, ignorant or both!

In the not too distant past just the Fed Govt required registration if you used your boat on any water under their jurisdiction such as tidewaters, navigable rivers, national Rec areas, etc. Then it slowly started spreading as states saw an opportunity to soak willing sportsmen and women. I checked into it 15 years ago or so, with the U S Coast Guard, which was the office of primary responsibility originally for the regulation and they laughed when I told them I'd been ticketed by an overzealous County Sheriff on the Tillamook for running a small Jon Boat using the smallest of electric motors. The Coast Guard officer in charge pointed out that the reg was originally written for motorized craft such as those big ships, etc that use Elec thrusters, etc.

The original state regs requiring boat registration were fairly reasonable and were designed to add a bit of extra money to be used for boat ramps, wake damaged shorelines and docks, enforcement and other big boat use problems, but most certainly not for car toppers, poontoon boats, canoes, etc. This latest nonsense is strictly greed and building a bigger bureaucracy.

I do not mind at all when my sportsman dollars are being used appropriately but this latest rash of nonsense, in my mind, has me steamed! What say you is this a good or bad trend and what might be done about it? I have talked about this and the apparent problems with these regulations as high as the second in charge here with Wyoming Fish & Game to no avail. Any suggestions?

[idlerick]

What's really silly, Chuck, is the way the different states interpret the "invasive threat" differently. In Colorado, they don't sell a sticker, but trailered boats have to be inspected entering and leaving every reservoir, every time. So if your pontoon is in the bed, or your canoe on the roof, breeze right past. But if you've towed it there on a trailer, you have to wait in line for the inspection. For the life of me, I can't imagine how a $5 sticker (or whatever they cost) could keep the mussels off the boat. But, then, paying some retired doofus (like me) $6 an hour to inspect boats for mussels too small for the naked eye doesn't seem much better.
I agree that forcing rec boaters to register and label their boats is taking a valid idea and abusing it for the sake of revenue. Especially if that rec boat is a canoe, pontoon, kayak, etc. But at least the money (in Colo) goes to the Parks and Wildlife guys for access and ramps. Who gets it up there in Windyland?

[Joel D. Popham]

I would pay for the decal if I was confident that the $$$ was going to preventing invasive species.

[Kerry Stratton]

Ha! A few weeks ago I went on a picture taking expedition with my neighbor. We needed 4 or 5 permits and maybe more to access the areas we visited. One called a Discovery Pass, some sort of trail use permit and a SnoPark permit. There could have been more like a parking permit and I think we needed some sort of National Forest access permit too. Jeez, we were only taking pictures. The goverment is charging us up the nose to use our own land. What the hell?

[Daniel J]

Really, the LAST State of the Union I would have thought would do something that annoyingly "fee-ing"

[Chuck S]

"I would pay for the decal if I was confident that the $$$ was going to preventing invasive species." That says it all for sure. Here as in many places now we are stuck with a bureaucracy that has lost touch with providing a service for dollars collected and that goes for both the Invasive Species Stickers and Registering Car Toppers, etc!!!

[Mike Thomas]

Ha! A few weeks ago I went on a picture taking expedition with my neighbor. We needed 4 or 5 permits and maybe more to access the areas we visited. One called a Discovery Pass, some sort of trail use permit and a SnoPark permit. There could have been more like a parking permit and I think we needed some sort of National Forest access permit too. Jeez, we were only taking pictures. The goverment is charging us up the nose to use our own land. What the hell?

This is on public land? Man I thought the States was the land of the free! I cant believe you guys let them get away with locking up public land and demanding fees and permits to access your own land. I could see a parking permit being fair but anything else is robbery.
All the best.
Mike

[Kerry Stratton]

Mike,

Our goverments are broke. The first things to get cut in the budgets are parks and public lands. To keep the parks and public lands open they resort to permits and user fees. I don't mind paying a fee if it helps keep roads, trails, campgrounds and such open for public use but I do wish they could condense all the permits down to 1 or 2 instead of 5 or 6.

[Dave E]

Chuck,

Here, in some jurisdictions we have to be inspected, but not all jurisdictions recognize each others inspection process. So you could end up with multiple inspections over the course of a few days, as you move from one water in the state to the next. You can also be on one lake that requires an inspection, but the lake below it ( that catches it releases ) you don't need an inspection at all. That lake then dumps into one of our most noteworthy trout rivers. That lower lake is also the first lake you come to, if you are traveling in from an east bound state - without ever having encountered an inspection station.....and on top of that, if you've got an inspection sticker on your vessels from some lakes in California or if you're registration is from the wrong zip code, you aren't allowed to launch in certain other lakes, new inspection or not - your vessel is persona non grata.

As far as the trolling motor on small craft tag, we've been on the hook for that for decades. That hasn't anything to do with the current financial problems in this state.
I look at it this way, I wear rubber soles with cleats, I dry my gear between moves, I tie all my flies on barbless hooks, I get my vessels inspected willingly, pay my taxes, I workout regularly, eat right, pray and so far none of that has kept the good state of California out of my pockets.

Now if I could just get someone to form a super pact to fund my fishing lifestyle, all would be right with the world.
Dave

[Breamchaser]

Remember folks, we are talking about, local, state and federal governments here, LOGIC is out the window and has no place in these equations. Sorry state of affairs but governments have become a huge monster and our politians have taxed and fee-ed us beyond belief. Every government wants their share and more of our dollars. Logic, there is none and I'm afraid it will not get any better. Y'all take care, John.