I believe this subject, which developed in another thread, merits its own topic on this board. The issue is whether private landowners should be allowed to block access to the shores of rivers and lakes. Below is my opinion - I am interested in what others think.

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I have become increasingly dismayed at the difficulty of reaching the shores of Washington State rivers and lakes. The story is the same over and over - on the Sauk, the Stilly, the Sky, the Green, the Skagit. Private landowners, stretched one next to the other, systematically block what should be my right to access the water based on their right to own land. No trespassing signs and barbed wire are standard – for the more fashionable farmers and weekend residents, shotguns and attack dogs save the day. Now, that’s what I call civilized!

I believe that landowners should be required to make the shores of rivers and lakes accessible to the responsible public. I understand that these landowners have problems with trespassers littering their land and damaging their property. Unfortunately, it is the respectful anglers who are deterred by the fences and no trespassing signs. People with malicious intent and lack of manners won’t be deterred. The result: trespassers fish where they want – law abiding citizens are corralled into a few crowded places where they can reach the water legally.

Although it's sometimes hard to tell, we no longer live in Wild West. The rules and attitudes that reigned 100 years ago are no longer appropriate. We should look to other rich, developed countries for possible solutions.

For example, in Switzerland, where most of the non-alpine land has been developed, private property owners cannot block public access to the shores of rivers and lakes. These areas are considered to be public resources for all to enjoy.

In theory, it is possible to walk the entire length of the populated shores of Lake Geneva on the Swiss side. True, some large private estates outside Geneva do not provide this access, but they do ensure a way around. I often used to walk, bike and swim along the 20 mile boardwalk that stretches from Lausanne to Montreux . This is something wonderful for the whole world to enjoy, including gun-toting farmers from Washington and Bill Gates, whose residence there provides public shore access just like everybody else fortunate enough to own property on this enormous and beautiful alpine lake.

Some might label me as an idealist. Well, I don't think that is the case. As a Seattle native having lived and worked in Asia, Europe and North America for the past 12 years, I have an inkling of what can and cannot be achieved realistically. Certainly, we are sufficiently wealthy, populous and educated here to understand that the wholesale privatization of river and lake shores cannot continue without depriving most people from enjoying some of our most precious natural resources. Where will we teach our children to fish and respect nature? This will become something available only to the rich – left unchecked, the consequences will affect us all.

Using another Swiss example, farmers there are required to provide access to hikers over their fields in the mountains. Thank goodness for that - humanity would be worse off with the Swiss Alps were blocked off for public enjoyment by private landowners and their lazily grazing cows. Yet, in Washington, a similarly rich area, this is exactly what is happening. Private landowners are allowed, even encouraged, to make our natural treasures inaccessible.

Some hard-working people on this board have argued on other threads that walking over farmland to reach the water’s edge is equivalent to walking across somebody’s fenced backyard in the suburbs. That is simply not the case – my backyard does not block access to what should be a publicly accessible natural resource. Others have complained about their cows being shot by trespassers. For this I am sorry, but this problem is not unique or isolated to rural areas. Dogs in the suburbs are regularly shot or poisoned. Worse yet, children and innocent people are shot on a daily basis in our cities.

So, if you are a landowner, I ask you to consider taking the first step by providing controlled (even paid) access to the rivers and lakes that border your land. I am certain that appreciative and responsible anglers will help keep your property clean and protect it from vandals.

To wrap it up and at the sake of repeating myself - private landowners who block access to lake and river shores (whether they like it or not) are preventing the general public from demonstrating that they can enjoy responsibly something that they should have the right to enjoy responsibly. I believe this is wrong and I would be delighted to see a change in the attitude of all involved. Mutual respect and courtesy would go a long way to solving the problem, but I won’t hold my breath.

Gerard W.
Seattle, WA