[LIforrelaxin]

So lets think about some things here....

1. State buying Downings Landing..... This actually makes sense, there has been Good state facility on the lake... This is also in line with what the state is doing on other lakes as well... Squam, and Winnisquam both now have state owned facilities for launching and parking. This helps bring in tourist $$$$$, as it is easy to draw people in when they have facilities that can be used conveniently and at no cost, to launch and retrieve boats. While you can play all kinds of games, with Money and state that this was a bad time for Fish and Game to spend that kind of Money, the reality is that the state had been looking for a while at how to provide a state maintained ramp and parking facility on the lake. To top that off, expenditures such as this, are often not part of the operating budget of the Agency, and are funded, separately.

2. What are the impacts of requiring people to register canoes and kayaks.....
-- It will deter people who normally use NH waterways once or twice a year, from wanting to continue to do so
-- It will bring about a decline in sales of such equipment
-- It will give a new source of income for the state, which if not properly legislated will just end up in the general fund.
-- It brings about the need for man power to enforce cost the state more money

People need to stop trying to blend issues... yep you can bring the purchase of Downings into this argument, but it isn't proper to do so... Really what is at stake here is my #2 of things to think about... Does the fee associated with having people register canoes and kayaks, off set, the loss of tourism $$, the inevitable decline in sales and over all effect on the economy, the fact the money will end up in the general fund, and the additional costs of enforcing this new law, make it worth while.....

NH has an issue, like most states, it has lost track of how to fund itself... The legislators keep trying to find sneaky ways to bring in more money, but the reality of the problem is that anyway they have to bring in more money, has to be enforced... that cost money. Fees on recreational activies, always had a negative effect on those activities, history will shows us that. So the question is can NH afford the Fee for Canoes, and Kayaks... As the state can't afford to fund itself right now, I believe the answer is no....