Boaters Will Need Conservation License At Public Launches In/Around: Liberty Lake

Sat., April 8, 1995

By Chris Derrick chrisd@spokesman.com (509) 459-5515

People who have spent thousands of dollars on a boat might want to consider one more investment:

A $10 conservation license.

Without that document, boaters who launch at public access ramps before April 29 - or after that date without a fishing license - are breaking the law.

Violators won’t face any egregious penalties but they can be ticketed.

“Our officers tend to write warnings, but they can write tickets for chronic abusers,” said Madonna Luers, information specialist for the Washington Department of Fish and Game.

April 29 is the opening date for fishing season. People who spend $17 for a fishing license are welcome to use Fish and Game-tended launches.

Conflict can occur when non-fishermen use public launches.

These people haven’t contributed toward launch upkeep, and often are not versed regarding their obligations.

Luers said posted signs remind boaters of conservation licenses, but many people report that they don’t know where to obtain one.

The answer is: Go where fishing licenses are sold.

Liberty Lake has one public launch, on the lake’s north side.

Conservation Corps workers tidied up the site Tuesday and Wednesday, temporarily opening the gate leading to the access. The gates are now closed and will remain so until at least April 27 or 28, Luers said.

Some people who own property at Liberty Lake use the launch because they don’t have one of their own.

They, too, need conservation licenses.

“What generally pays for those accesses are fishing licenses,” Luers said.

Luers said Liberty Lake property owners have complained in the past about non-licensed boaters who abuse the area.

Ralph Larsen, who owns property near the public launch, said most boaters respect posted signs. Yet the boaters can become an unwitting nuisance because of the area’s congestion.

“It’s a nuisance for the people with boats because they can’t turn around, and a nuisance for property owners who are parked on the street,” said Larsen, who has lived at Liberty Lake since 1968.

Liberty has been free of ice for close to two months, much longer than Newman Lake.

Newman Lake has one public access. The owner of Sutton Bay Resort at Newman Lake said illegal launching has not been a problem there.

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