[Ken Hunter]

You've hit on my pet peeve. The property owners do have shellfish rights and we should respect this. To expand this to complete ownership of the beach too much. The public pays taxs through the snoot to protect the marine areas of Washington. We have the right to use these areas for recreation. We don't have this right to break any other laws and we should be good citizens from a moral point of view too.

I suppose the only way to get our right to use these very public areas is through the legislature or by initiative. A high profile law firm with like mind could help get the ball rolling.

Ken

 

[Ken Hunter]

Greg.

Thanks for the information. I feel this goes much farther than hunting and fishing. In fact if it only benifits this small special interest group it may fail. The right to access should benifit the entire population. People like to use the beach for many activities and it should be open to all of the people. After all we all pay for it.

I saw in the paper a few weeks ago that an agreement between land owners and enviornmental groups has been reached that addresses land use and access. The mediators were three people appointed by the governer. The article nor the state's web site did not give any specifics as to the access issue. It did say that the state legislature was to vote on it this year.

Ken

 

[Ken Hunter]

You bring up an interesting point. I would like to read the RCW. Do the people living on the beach indead have full and total control of the beach? If a dead whale washes ashore, do they have to dispose of it themselves? I don't have any problem with the ownership of the shelfish or any other fixed object. I don't feel that the tidelands should be degraded by those who recreate on it. The people who live on the beach are going to pay higher taxes anyway access is structured.

I do feel that we all have a vested interest in the beaches of the state. We pay our taxes too. Individually not as much but collectively we pay quite a bit to ensure the protection of the environment. Other states allow the public some limited access to the beach and property values remain very high. That limited access is something that everybody has the right to.

Ken