This was sent to me by a friend who lives in Mass:

"Lake Congamond Usage Fee
The Town of Southwick tried to raise the ramp fee at the state boat ramp at Lake Congamond by $10. This got derailed by the Office of Fishing and Boating Access as the extra monies over the already in place $5 fee were not going back to the ramp but directly to the Southwick Police Department.
Now the town is pushing for a “Lake usage sticker program” where every boat that uses Lake Congamond would be forced to buy a yearly sticker to the tune of $60. From what I understand there would be a one day provision for $10 also for Southwick residents who do not reside on the shores of Congamond they would be charged $20 and for lake shore owners there would be no charge. To do this Southwick has enlisted the help of Senator Michael Knapik. The “sticker program” would need a change in the Massachusetts state law which is where the Senator comes in.
The passage of such a state law would be extremely damaging to EVERY boater who uses the waters of Massachusetts. The Lake Congamond sticker program would set a precedent for every association and town out there to start their own program and next thing you know we are paying thousands of dollars just to boat on different waters within the state.
We have a chance to stop this before it gets started. As of yet Senator Knapik has not introduced any legislation. Please voice your opinion to Senator Knapik and let him know we do not want such a bill proposed and we vehemently oppose such an action. You can e mail Senator Michael Knapik at Michael.Knapik@masenate.gov or send a letter to his office address which follows;
57 North Elm Street
Westfield, MA 01085"

Fight for the Right...to Boat!

Barn.

Your going to see more and more of this type of action soon. Candlewood Lake may very well be next. In these tough economic times, municipalities are going to get creative on how they raise revenue, and this is one of them. They get to raise revenue with the advantage of keeping out of towners off their water.

Actually these guys would be Capitalists. a.k.a. you got to pay to play.

Commies would would take the lake from the private owners and re-distribute it.

I also live 10 minutes away and I couldn't have said it better myself! I also blame the convenient proximity to Springfield for the outrageous boating behavior I've seen on the water there.

If it's too crowded it's not due to the general public as parking is limited, once the lots are full, no more public. The issue is with the lake front property owners themselves.

Funny, but the package store on the south shore of the middle lake brags about being the best packy on the lake then the residents complain about the boozers.