Announcement: DNR Proposes Kayak Fee
The DNR spring hearing on April 11th will ask the public if they want mandatory registration for kayaks (numbers + fees). I would advocate voting NO which you can do online (the poll though won’t be posted until then). Personally I own 4 kayaks and this would sting. It would also deter new and low income paddlers from entering what is a low impact sport that doesn’t need regulation. With a license system, the government would act as a gatekeeper and in essence you would need to get their permission to kayak. This is supposedly done for “safety” and so lost boats can be retrieved. But users can already add their own identification to their boats if they wish. While we are at it, should we require hikers to register and log their trip plans in case they get lost? To me this seems too authoritarian and would never be repealed if enacted (like most laws/regulations).
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Webmaster’s update:
Thanks to everybody that voted. The results are in:
- 5092 – Yes
- 14813 – No (good work people!)
- 1536 – Unsure
- 9559 – Yes
- 9854 – No (this was close…thankfully it didn’t pass)
- 2028 – Unsure
I think this is a horrible idea. Would keep low income people out and younger kids. I know kids under 18 with no job that have kayaks. We already have to pay to kayak in State Parks, which all users have to pay. Most places don’t charge for people to walk on hiking trails outside of state parks. We need more people to get outside and stop watching TV and playing video games.
I agree!