For over 2 years straight WDFW have made us buy their Access Stewart Permits (the little sticker for our rear window). The decals are included in the original purchase of our fishing and hunting licenses. If bought it separately, they will cost you $10.00 ea. According to the WDFW own 2000/2001regulation pamphlet, the decal sales money is supposed to help support the upkeep and maintenance of the WDFW areas. It's was to be used to keep them clean, and REPAIRED, and safe for the public use.

For some unknown reason, WDFW has put these funds into a special interest account and has refused to use any of that money for what it was intended for. Just look what's happened to the I-5 public Boat Ramp located at river mile 30 off Mandy Rd. and the I-5 freeway. WDFW is supposed to operate and "maintain" this state area. This boat ramp is 1 of only 2 public boat ramps on the lower 30 miles of the Cowlitz River. The problem is that the WDFW bureaucrats can't get their act together and make it usable again for lunching our boats. If anyone intends to lunch their jet sleds at I-5 this year to fish the lower Cowlitz for summerrun steelhead or fall chinook this year…forget it!

There isn't 5 inches of water for almost 30 ft. to float your sled into the Cowlitz after you lunch your boat off your trailer. The entire area is sanded in. Becuase of a deep hole of water (4-5 feet deep) you will not be able to back a 4 wheeler over the sanded in area. If you intend to lunch your boat there this summer, I suggest that you look it over before you make the trip down with your boat. Drift boats will still be able to lunch and take out at I-5, but not sleds that draft more then 6 inches over water.

Isn't it time that WDFW does something about the deplored conditions of our public boat ramps on the Cowlitz and other rivers? What do you think the answer is?

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the stink of the hook?

Yes, I will agree that there are some real $hitty boat launches along our rivers and other sites,that need repairs badly.But,what
are we doing as fisherman & fisherwoman to do our part of the clean up process?????.Almost every boat launch or river bank that I've used or stopped by in the past year looks like a garbage dump.Just walk down to the plunkin hole below the bonnoville dam and check out all the trash from the springer run,it's pretty sad to see all the empty bottles,sand shrimp containers
ect.Maybe if we would respect it then the state would too.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I agree whole hardedly. My home river is the Snoqualime and they used to keep the ramps up and the silt down to a minimum. Since we started paying for the right to park at these ramps they haven't maintained them once. I've written to the wsdfw but to no avail. Just another scam by them to put more moneys into the general fund.

I've actually seen work and improvements on public property on a couple of Puget Sound streams. Have you tried emailing the department regarding the conditions of the launch? There are public areas next to streams, lakes, and the salt all over the State. Get the Cowlitz launch in the queue so it can get fixed!

cowlitzfisherman-
They have just been enforcing the program in the last few years, but have actually been charging a fee for over 10 years. We just didn't see it as it "was included in the cost". But if you didn't purchase any license you were required to purchase a card/sticker. They were about $5 ten years ago.

As for the "a special interest account and has refused to use any of that money for what it was intended for", I have no information.
I have not seen the launch in question, but is it possible that the Regional Office doesn't know there is a problem?


STRIKE ZONE-
I agree with you 100%. We all need to "take out more than we bring".
If everyone that said it actually did....we wouldn't have a litter problem.

I know in Region Six that there is only one "Maintenance" person for all of the launches & public fishing areas. One man to cover the whole OP down and around to the Thurton/Pierce Co. line. There are alot of areas that are used heavily, yet the guy still has a route to cover.

To all that has posted a answered to my posting about the lack of WDFW taking care of their responsibility to maintain their boat ramps. When I was the President of the Friends of the Cowlitz (3 years ago), we had a policy at that time to fund the "Boy Scouts of America" to help clean up the cowlitz. In tern, the local Boy Scouts in our area made a "commitment" to go down our river and pick up trash with the supervision of certain "guides" or other responsible persons who knew the water and had the right insurance to cover the event and participate. The event was to pick up river trash, and remove it from the area and bring it back to a boat ramp and then have a "local trash" company pick it up…. What a great idea! To bad it never was followed up on.

My plan was a simple one, which would involve the entire community, gives credit to the parties who participated, and also promote fishing as a family event. Well like I said earlier, things don't always go the way we plan! I know that this process will work on many Washington Rivers, if we can get the right people to motivate it! Maybe when WDFW realize that we don't "really" need them anymore, they may come back to reality! I haven't quite figured out yet how to post pictures on this site yet, but I will work that out in short order with RT. Becuase one picture of the ramp would save you the trip!

Also, I have talked to key members of WDFW who I have worked with for years about this problem. They understand the problem but their say, and know that their superiors are the problem! We need a "major" change in our fishery management if we are expected to see any change! We need to get back our control.

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook?