Well, I have some good news and some not so good news. Today I met with Sergeant Patrick C. Smith of the Lewis County Sheriff Office. The meting was over the "Wallace Gravel Pit" access issue. I read both cases that that has been failed and had a good discussion about what will or will not happen at the Pit site. The good news is that the sheriff office probably wont be coming out and writing any new trespass tickets if fishermen are using the general area that the easements show are public fishing areas. That doesn't mean that you won't get cited if you're in the middle of the Gravel Pit doing something other then fishing! That sounds fair enough to me! Until the proper fencing or signs are installed, we need to remember where the "free zones" are currently located. When you drive into the pit, though the red-gated area, you need to remember to stay to the LEFT side of the ENTRANCE ROAD. Only follow the POWERLINE road straight down to the river, DO NOT GO TO THE RIGHT OR ENTER the INSIDE OF THE WORKING PIT AREA, unless they (the pit owners) have signs that say otherwise. The bad news is that the Lewis County Sheriff Office believes that it is up to the State Fish and Game to assure that the gate remains open at all times. Because it's a state easement, they believe that it's the state responsibility to see that the gate remains open. In a way, that makes some sense ( maybe we need to call a "state tropper and file a complaint if the gate is locked!) I am working on this issue with Ray Croswell. So that's what is happening right now. In the mean time, I am going to turn up the heat "locally" by sending this letter to our local newspaper. They may not want to print it, but I think after they verify the facts, they'll print it.

Keep using it or we will lose it!

Cowlitzfisherman,


To: "Our Readers Opinions", June 5, 2001

Finally, fishermen are now getting what they had already paid for years ago! For years now, fishermen have been denied access to one of the most single largest state owned public fishing areas on the Cowlitz River. I am talking about the WDFW public fishing site located 1.7 miles below the I-5 bridge boat ramp on Mandy Rd. WDFW refers to this public fishing area as "the Wallace Gravel Pit". The area is located just south of Toledo off Mandy Rd. In 1971, WDFW purchase a 60-foot wide by 4,000-foot long easement road that starts at Mandy Rd. and the entrance of the "Wallace's Gravel Pit." The road runs westerly from Mandy Road all the way to the Cowlitz River. In addition to the easement road, WDFW also purchase an additional 25 foot easement that is to be used for pedestrian and sport fishing traveling that runs for thousands of yards along the Cowlitz River. WDFW also purchased an additional 100'x 200' vehicle parking area for the sport fishermen to park and walk the 25' pedestrian fishing easement. The easement starts just north of the pits gate and runs southwest all the way downriver along the riverbank to the "County Line area".

WDFW purchased these easements in 1971 for $40,000.00 from the Wallace's. Back in 1971 that was a lot of money! Two additional easement sites were purchase for an additional $17,730.00. For the $40,000, the "Grantor" agreed to build a road and parking area at the site. On May 12th, 1971 the "Grantor" agreed to sell a road easement 4,000 feet in length and 60 feet in width extending from the county road to the Cowlitz River bank, traversing through Government lots 5 in Section 28 and through Government lots 1 and 4 in Section 27, containing in all 5.52 acres. As part of the sale, the seller agreed to clear 4,000 feet of roadway, 60 feet wide. He also agreed to Ballast the roadway to a dept of 9 inches deep and surface the road with 4 inches of crushed rock.

Now, 30 years later, our Sheriffs Office is being called out to remove fishermen who are legally using and fishing on these easements. What a waste of our taxpayer's dollars and our sheriff's time! It appears now that most of the original 60' easement has now been mined away by the pits owner. For years now we have heard how terrible it is for the government to take our property without fair compensation. What's the difference between that, and people whom mine away property that they were paid to leave as public easement property? Property rights go both ways. Fishermen must be allowed to have full use of the property that they help paid for, and that means no more locked gates on state owned fishing easement property!. The Gravel Pit owners ought to consider themselves darn lucky that the state doesn't come back and demand that they backfill the 60'wide road that is now 40'under water!

Good job standing up for all of us and protecting our fishing grounds Cowfisherman! I salute you. Hopefully these people will finally get the point when that letter hits the paper.

Hmmm,

I can see his point that it was the STATE'S agreement with the Wallace's, BUT I'm sure that the Lewis County deputies are out there ALL the time enforcing legal disputes which are covered by STATE laws, rather than county laws. I'm sure with the limited resources that any county has that they're not anxious to have to enforce any additional binding legal agreements, but this issue shouldn't matter any less to them because it's only an angler's problem.

Have you asked the WDFW people you're woking with if Wallace could be ticketed for preventing access? I'd be interested to know what they'd say. They'll ticket you for no pinched barb, maybe they would ticket him for not upholding his end of the agreement.

Thanks again for all your efforts, although I've never used this access, it's the PRINCIPLE of the matter that is of concern. Keep up the good work.........

good going cowlitzfisherman . i comend you for your efforts .

I wonder how many of the Local law enforcement have lunch at his truck stop ummmm.

Thanks for the update.....Os


NWO
Redneck Pro-Staff