During the first of two semi-annual gatherings of the “drinks well with others get together” this one in the spring, boats still tied up, a lot of itching going on for the want of summer things, this holds us over until then the big one to come later in the fall.
In either gathering always starts with lots of appetizers, and libations to follow, and then we get down to the business at hand in ladling out our various treasons against the feds, the county, the state, especially the state these days, and without exception the Minnesota DNR.
I led off with why do I have to license any of my boats, and how the fees have skyrocketed. I bought the boats, I paid taxes in the purchase and nobody gathering up my money on yet another scheme to add revenue to the coffers, helps me maintain the vessels.
They get the money, they’re not making anymore lakes, they just keep passing laws to make them less fun to watercraft in at all boat owners expenses. You don’t even need to fish to pay this extra special fee, just buy a boat.
I was intervened upon by another who chimed in with, hey let’s let wolves in Minnesota do whatever wolves want. But put a stranglehold on walleyes, firewood, bears, ducks fisher, lynx, wild rice, actually the only thing the Minnesota DNR hasn’t taken over yet is the mosquito.
Loud laughter and firm applause I assure you. There was a robust cheer to that one.
Next up the astute observation by one of the what we all consider egregious fees required to enter the BWCA, after all, tax dollars, already paid to establish it, maintain it, the people working in the BWCA already get paid by taxpayers.
Then you get the entitlement of walking up to the counter, and paying the person a gate fee, to a place we’ve already paid for several times over in our respective lifetimes.
And just so nobody’s kidding nobody, the feds didn’t create the millions of acres in the BWCA, Mother Nature did that. All they did was verbally fence it with no trespassing signs, add a mountain of rules and regulations and fees (by the way the word fees is simply a revenue stream), enough to make many stop bothering to go in at all. It’s sickening, like a war of attrition they wage against us, ya know, us taxpayers, when will they stop, because it’s really starting to take the fun out of it. Cheers, - The Trout Whisperer
