Quote:
Originally Posted by ishoot308
Marine Patrol cannot enforce what occurs on land at the Rattlesnake LRCT dock / trail. I believe that would fall under local police jurisdiction.
The problem is, the LRCT has tried to do something good buy allowing the public to enjoy the land it has preserved in its trust. Unfortunately it is NOT a select few (as mentioned above) that are / have ruined it for everyone else, it is more like quite a few that have caused the severe issues that have taken place on rattlesnake.
Severe littering, destruction of property, parking at the dock for excessive periods of time with loud music, excessive drinking, overnight camping and fires, drug use and lewd behavior as well as violent confrontations with area land owners have left the LRCT with no choice but to now limit public access to its members and only under supervised guided tours. What the heck else did anyone expect them to do??...turn a blind eye and pretend none of this is occurring?? Wait for a island fire to occur so they can be sued?? This has been going on for quite sometime and something needed to be done!
As far as Ragged Island goes, I have been a supporter both financially and physically for many years to help conserve this beautiful spot on the lake. I am extremely saddened at what I have personally seen occurring at Ragged in recent years and it is pretty much the exact same issues that occurred at Rattlesnake. It sickens me to no end to see such a beautiful place be slowly destroyed and it will eventually be shut down as they will have no choice, just like rattlesnake....I feel really bad for Muriel Robinette (island Steward) who has dedicated much of her life to the protection and conservation of Ragged. She has a thankless / pay less job yet continues to do it because of her love of the island. It must be heart wrenching for her to watch its demise...
Dan
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dan - i do not think anyone on this forum is supporting the behavior seen (alleged or otherwise) on ragged or rattlesnake. if lrct believes their only option is to limit or prohibit public access to these islands - that is their decision. what is not their decision is to limit or restrict the public's access to the lake.
furthermore, to piggyback off deadhead's comment above, the real solution is to address this unruly behavior (alleged or otherwise)...not just kick the can down the road and make it someone else's problem.
winnipesaukee belongs to the people of the state...not a select group of landowners or a trust that gets to limit access as they see fit. this proposed nrz, which would severely limit public use of the sandbar on the eastside of ragged island, is in direct contradiction to NHs public trust doctrine.
The State of New Hampshire holds in trust all the public waters, including all natural lakes and ponds of ten acres or more in size, navigable rivers, and tidal waters for the use and benefit of the people of the state.