State should reassess boat-ramp strategy

It's a testament to thousands of careful boaters and hundreds of volunteers that we've sharply slowed the rate of infestation of lakes and ponds by invasive aquatic plants.

The bad news is that it is still occurring at a reduced rate.

Most of these infestations are, for all practical purposes, irreversible. Whether we lose one lake a year or 20 lakes a year, we're still losing lakes. And the number is still rising inexorably toward the day when we have no pristine lakes at all.

Under these circumstances, it seems incredible that the state government would continue to encourage boaters to travel to New Hampshire and move their boats from lake to lake.

The state should stop spending taxpayer dollars to build boat ramps that pollute our lakes and establish rules that insist that boaters pick one lake for the summer and stay put.



John Lumbard
Hollis

YOU read this week by host Arnie Arnesen