Not Bantam, not Zoar, not Lilly, not highland, not winchester, not Gardner and these are lakes that I actually know of because I've been there.

LOL... again the issue with THIS specific bill is that it directly funds an agency that ultimately wants me out...It's not going to the DEP nor the towns, it goes directly to CLA and that is as wrong as it gets.

How many of you will plan to attend the Environmental Committee Hearing on Monday 3/10/08 at 9:30 am? This Bill HB 5828, along with the Marine Fishing License HB 5831 will be on the agenda. You can submit written testimony. Simply submit your letter with 50 copies to the Committee Staff 1 hour prior to the hearing. My letter is written.

I am planning on being at both local meetings.
That is if I am allowed to go to the second one
There is nothing in this bill that is good.

I have been thinking of this a lot possessed by it is more likely. My final analysis if this goes forward it will snowball. When the final push to shove occurs Fisherman will need to make a choice where they want to fish. I will want to fish on the best body of water I can. I will buy a sticker for Candlewood SO will everyone else. The fishing traffic on Candlewood Will increase because if you are only going to buy a sticker or two, everyone will want one for the best lake in the state.

There are no inclusions for ramp improvements or maintenance. The CLA has done an excellent job monitoring the lake but has been totally ineffective at any legislation to improve the body of water.

My take on the fishing being so good is this. Candlewood has an overburdened nutrient load that is kept under control by the feeding of phytoplankton eating Alewives. Without them the lake would be a green sewer. All the bacteria are filtered out by septic fields but the nutrients flow through the water table into the lake. The bass eat the alewives and get big IF we stop fishing for Bass the number of bass will go way up. The Alewife population will crash due to increased predation . With nothing to keep the green stuff away there will be a collapse of lakes ecosystem.

The law enforcement has been nothing but harassment for the most part. How many times have you been pulled over to check to see if you have a seat belt on while riding down the highway on your way to work.. Thought so. How many troopers are there per number of motorists?

Last summer one patrol boat left making sure I had My life jackets and such and less than five minutes later a second one pulled up to me to tell the angle of my factory installed bow light was off.


This will do nothing Let ME Repeat myself here This will do nothing to reduce the number of boats on the lake. Most of us will find the money to pay it will hurt the guy that is just making ends meet or has a slew of small kids but that is it. When you pay 2000 – 4000 a year for a boat slip another $ 50 is nothing. CLA has done nothing to reduce the number of Boats on the lake. What really should have been done a long time ago was property should have been bought up and placed into open space land trusts. I am guessing that about 2/3 of the lake side properties have been developed. Based on that there should be another 2000- 3000 boats on the lake in the next 20 years.

Yes There are more tournaments but they are all smaller. All the BASS organizations have gotten smaller in the last ten years. Participation is now about half what it was ten years ago. I used to fish tournaments that had over 100 boats on Candlewood. The DEP now restricts that to less than 50 boats per ramp. They are very hard set on that rule they

This issue is pretty large to get your mind around but there are some items here that need to be addressed. As to Chris's above quote, The DEP currently has the authority to collect, not launch fees, but parking fees ,at any of their launch facilities. DEP can not collect lauch fees as most ramps were built at least partially with Federal funds and the Feds will not allow the state to profit from something paid for from Federal tax dollars.They choose not to collect fees due to a study done that showed they spent more on summer staff to man the booth than they got in income. They will have a person on hand for 8 hours to control traffic and such but rarely collect fees. This is on many of the states larger waters.

The original document allowing CL&P to build their reservoir, known as Candlewood has an extensive clause in it to ensure public access and even create more. I believe the current power company is still bound by that agreement. The CLA has for years gotten its local politicians to lobby against improving public access and certaintly are against any new access. As to developing Vaugnns Neck, aint gonna happen. There is already legislation that does not allow ANY development of that land.

Candlewood is crowded and developed yet it's not the most crowded or developed lake in the state per acre. Come take a look at my lake, Highland, that I also live at and have grown up on. 444 surface acres with homes everywhere. And all have multiple vessels and a state ramp that can fit 42 trailored rigs. The state launch alone is nearly one boat for every ten acres. Acre for Acre Candlewood has nothing over Highland as to population density and boat traffic. We live in the richest state in the country and everyone knows waterfront property is THE premium land. Owning it and developing it is an issue that can be addressed by a lake authority but it needs to be done more effeciently at a State level. I know for a FACT that my Lake association is watching this Bill with baited breath. We have one patrol boat yet no money for adequete coverage or increased patrols. Can you see where the Highland Lake Authority is going to look for more funding?

Take a good look at the Shoreline Management Plan for Candlewood. It's all good for the lake yet has been met with intense resistence from the residents. Change is hard and people are greedy, nothing you can do to change that. Yet change is inevitable.

This Bill is just bad, bad, bad. The DEP failed to live up to their responsibilities so the time has come for individuals to step up and try to correct the issues. That's our Constitutional duty to take control of matters away from the Government when they are incapable or incompetent of doing the job. While the CLA may have good intentions with this Bill (doubt it) it is not the right way to go about handling the situation. This will snowball across the state so fast it will make your head spin if this is allowed. Speak up to the Legislation and tell them NO!