Quote:
Originally Posted by Just Sold
Uppy, I have an e-mail into F&G asking what is/will/when be done at Downings Landing including what permits are in process or approved. I will post when and if I receive an answer.  |
I received this e-mail today and I think it answers many questions even if some may not provide quick resolve to some of the facility issues. I did respond to Garret and said that I felt the courtesy dock at the ramp appears to be in poor condition and very hazardous. I feel someone may trip/fall and get hurt using it. Anyone in Alton want to post a photo of it?
Dear Mr. XXXXXX:
Thank you for your email inquiry about New Hampshire Fish and Game’s Downing’s Landing boat access ramp to Lake Winnipesaukee.
First, I thank you on behalf of everyone at Fish and Game for backing the Department with your boat registration fees for many years! The Department would not own the Downing’s Landing site or many other ramp sites without the long-standing support by patrons like you.
Maintaining safe conditions is a key concern at all our boat access facilities. We made repairs to the Downing’s Landing ramp courtesy dock last September to remove several trip-and-fall situations and firm up the platform to provide satisfactory access for launching and retrieving boats. We will be upgrading the ramp to a state-of-the-art system similar to the Lake Winnisquam ramp located on Water Street in Laconia.
As a Department, and like you and many others in the boating community, we would like to improve the conditions at Downing’s Landing as quickly as possible. But, we have to proceed and operate within our means. As you may know, the Department is essentially self-funded through various program license and registration fees. We receive only five dollars from each boat registration to build new ramp facilities and maintain 143 existing sites (Public Boat Access Program). There are about 90,000 boats registered in NH so that is $450,000+/-. We leverage these dollars to receive another $450,000+/- in federal funding through the Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration Act grant fund managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. So, in a good year we may receive almost one million dollars to design/permit new access ramps, maintain/refurbish existing ramps, maintain/purchase equipment, pay personnel, and purchase new access properties, if they become available. It seems like a lot of money, but that 5 dollar contribution has not gone up since the early 1990s and we all know a dollar does not go as far as it once did.
The price to purchase the Downing’s Landing property in 2012 was about one million dollars; a lump sum greater than the annual budget for the Public Boat Access Program. We could not afford to miss that rare opportunity to secure waterfront on Lake Winnipesaukee, but the reality of the outcome now requires even more attentiveness and evaluation of project budgets and access priorities.
A schedule to refurbish the Downing’s Landing facility to a “Winnisquam level of quality” is not firm at this time. There are several competing projects ahead of this site including the ramp to Ossipee Lake located on the Pine River. This project was permitted and on the priority list several years ago. We started the construction of that ramp this month. We intend to pursue pre-construction activities at Downing’s Landing to lay the ground work for design and permitting as resources may allow. An archeological evaluation has been completed and the site is clear for development from an historical perspective. Last week the buildings at Downing’s Landing were cleared of hazardous materials and abated for asbestos. Next week the buildings will be demolished to prepare the site for further pre-design/pre-permitting assessment as funds become available. We hope to do a subsurface investigation this fall to support a design for a new main dock.
I hope you will understand and support the Department’s multiple efforts to provide and maintain high quality access to the State’s water bodies and wildlife habitats in a fashion that protects and conserves the environmental conditions that attract us to these natural resources. We endeavor to complete these projects as quickly as possible using our funding from the state’s fishing and boating enthusiasts in the most cost effective manner. Unfortunately we cannot complete these objectives overnight and still achieve the high quality results the public deserves at a reasonable cost.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact the Department. I appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns and urge you to call me if you have further questions.
Sincerely,
Garret Graaskamp, P.G.
Coordinator
NHFG-SPBAP