Privatization of our crown lands and waters should be a concern of all of us - not just people who like fishing. I've actually fished a Douglas Lake Cattle Company pay for fish lake a long time ago when it was owned by our own Chunky Woodwards. It was one of the true private lakes on the ranch. The cost to camp and fish was nothing more than pay a cost recovery fee. IIRC, Chunky just wanted people to enjoy what he enjoyed.
Times have changed. Now we got land owners who want everything to themselves. Roads and trails are getting posted and access is getting cut off regardless if they have the legal or ethical right to do it. Just like that other corporate ranch in the Princeton area. When they have no real roots to the area, they have no sense of civic sharing and forget that there is a whole community that lives near their big land holding.
It's pretty simple. If the road is public, ie. there is a right-of-way access granted on the private property via an easement or other road access permit, then it's public property.
Simple search through the land records should turn something up. Mind you, it might be on the old linens and hard to read as some of these easements may be decades old!
This is the same BS that Gang Ranch was pulling during its glory days. Chilco Choate (a local resident) was fighting with them all the time about that. I had a run in with a group of Douglas Ranch cowboys a couple years back, Sopel and I were coming into Merritt from one of the valley and the yahoos were working on a fence there. Since they were there they made sure we were not allowed to cross their gate, on a public FSR, from one Crown land area into another. We were not about to argue with 10 rather well exercised boys with guns.
It's another BS play that these rich guys do, they have grazing right to an area and maybe even water rights that they RENT from the Crown and they think they own the place. I know that Gang Ranch, before its current owners, was horrible to deal with and even the local law enforcement could do very little. Someone needs to remind the rich people that they are accountable and still have laws they have to abide by.
For me it was the 8' x 3' back-hoe slice across a FSR road on Crown land coming off of a mountain where Copper Creek Ranch (aka Ledcor) has grazing rights. In the dark you would not have seen the cut until it was too late. I can only assume Copper Creek ranch was behind it. It fits their MO from what other locals have told me.
Now that I am back in form to do some wheeling this summer we'll see if they are still up to stupid tricks.
Those inbreds from Merritt want access to lakes that have been stocked by the DLCC for 36 years, taking those fish is no different than taking cattle off the range. There is quite a discussion over on FLYBC about it. The fellow that owns ponderosa Sports seems to be the headliner. I am quite sure that is someone went into his shop and walked out the door with stuff that he had payed for he would be calling the cops. Stealing is stealing be it fish , cattle , or waders and rods from his shop.
Even DLCC admits these are public lakes (they say they own the land around them). If you go stocking public lakes with fish then you can expect people to catch 'em.
Those ... lakes that have been stocked by the DLCC for 36 years, taking those fish is no different than taking cattle off the range..... Stealing is stealing... .
Only if they were non-fish lakes and creek systems to begin with. Otherwise, it is not at all the same.
Land ownership does not include the water. The big question is whether those are public (FSRs) or private roads blocking access over their 500,000 acre backyard.
Even if the roads were open you would have to trespass to get to the water, same as Corbett lake which is stocked by Peter McVie. I believe DLCC has the same license as Peter does, same as those pay to fish places in the lower mainland. DLCC can also open the dam that makes the water impoundment and turn them both back into creeks and a bit of marsh.
If they are FSRs through private property, I think there would be an easement for the road. The same goes for the license for the damn to raise/enlarge the lakes. Just because you where given permission to do so does not mean you now own the lake even if it is above your land.
In the sum of things, those are two very small lakes out of hundreds of productive fishing lakes in the area. However, there is a principle here to protect public access to crown assets. There is growing pressure to turn crown lands into "productive" private assets. It will only get worse in the future unless people take a stand for their rights to access crown assets.
I don't know, dude sorta has a point, re-read the article. I don't think most people would be too thrilled if joe blow off the street started grabbing some of the gold fish out of your front yard fountain. Goes both ways I would think, I'm with the fisherman if it was a lake and was always crown, but if there was nothing to go to before, then I'm with the landowner, but still think if the road is a public road, it should be kept open, There just needs to be some clarification.
