[LRSLA]

There are other issues on the water.

Milfoil was just found within 100 feet of Biggus's
house. The Maine DEP has divers working on the
Songo River at this moment. Invasive's
are a great concern in our region.

Operator issues abound on the lakes.
We believe that this is somewhat do to the
lack of enforcement presence on the lakes.
This is the reason that we contracted dedicated Warden services
in our region.

I constantly hear stories of close calls. I have also been
in some very dangerous situations caused by poor operators.
Of course NH has a mandatory operator certification program.
Maine does not and probably should, but these programs are
hard to pass into law.

I think that we are at one of those times when technology has
exceeded operator ability. I remember when I was young and
I jumped into my dads new Mazda Rx-7. I gunned it around a turn and
ended up fish tailing down the road out of control. My abilities at that
time were not up to the task of operating that vehicle.

This is what I think is happening across the country in the boat area.
Again when I was young a friend of the family had a cigarette
just like Biggus's. I used to ride the second seat during races.
Of course this was on the ocean. One thing I can tell you about
fast boats is, the faster you go the faster something bad can happen.

One of LRSLA's directors has a resume in the navy and on the water
that is unbelievable. He does not back down on the issue that excessive
noise is a safety issue. His belief is that any distraction to the driver
is a safety issue.

Speed and racing have also been an issue on LONG LAKE.
A number of the High Performance boaters being angered at my
activity on the Quiet Lakes issue spent the last month raking my
shoreline at full throttle and full out exhaust. Many of the boats came
closer then the 200 foot safety zone limit. One day I followed a
high performance boat as the operator ran the shore line at about 75 feet
off the shore at full throttle and full exhaust.

Violating the shore line safety zone is dangerous and causes wake damage to the shore line.

In closing I think the greatest issue I have seen regarding noise enforcement
is the tendency of the boaters that receive citations to look for some one else to blame. In our area they chose me and my family. Here I am a guy that is just trying to make the lakes safer for all who use it. The noise issue has been so bad on Long lake that literally you can not carry on a conversation with some one sitting three feet away from you.

Yet when the Warden's writes some one up I am the one getting harassed.
The list is long on the forms of harassment that have been leveled against me. Those same guys that wave the flag are the first to violate my write to free speech. I have been, harassed via email. I have received late night calls telling me to leave town. I have had my cell phone deluged with false calls. I have been threatened with violence repeatedly. I have been cursed out in front of my children. I have had false reports filed against me to the Maine DEP.

Who needs to look for terrorists, we have them right in our own back yard.
I have been maligned and chastised and raked across the coals on national
High Performance Boating web forums.

WHY, because some people don't want to be told to stop violating the law.
The last time I looked, laws were created for a reason. Biggus, the
people that have done all these things are your buddies. These are the
guys you hang out online with and the guys you hang out on the lake with.
Nice bunch of fellow, fine upstanding citizens, that is until they don't
agree with some one else's actions.

In this year of an election, we all need to remember that we are all American's, citizens of a great country. Yet our country is only as great as our tolerance for others beliefs. Look to your neighbor and afford them the same respect that you would request. "Live Free or Die", doesn't mean I'm right and every one else is wrong. It means that we all must have the right to fight for what we believe in with out fear of harassment or prosecution.

High Performance boaters violated my rights.
Those that propagated those actions should be aware that they
have only made me more ready to stay my course.