Here's a question for all of you who think you know something about Washington law.

On the Green River, (a tributary to the Toutle River) lies a state owned and operated salmon and trout hatchery. The only access to the state hatchery runs through and across Weyerhaeuser property off the 19 mile road. Weyerhaeuser has closed off entry to their property by claiming that it is doing so because of fire hazard. Yet a few special employees of Weyerhaeuser who have keys to locked gates above the salmon hatchery area are allowed to pass through the closed entry area to fish on the fish that are products of the state hatchery.

I do not know what the state has for easements, but it still is state controlled property and has been used by the general public for way more then eight years.

Can Weyerhaeuser, or for that matter any other private entity deny the public access to or from state owned property, or to harvest state produced fish from that state property? I have heard first hand from a local game warden that he gave out three tickets yesterday to people who had passed the closed area signs going to the state owned Green River Hatcher. How can a private party prevent a person from entry to a state owned facility?

What do you think is wrong with this picture?

Cowlitzfisherman
Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????