Feds Plan Sachuest Point Restrictions

[Crafty Angler]

Well, I think those of us who fish that area pretty much knew it was gonna happen, it was just a matter of time.

If any of you fished there this past season, the reasons were abundantly clear - the shoreline was completely trashed with everything from bales of discarded mono to broken bottles, food wrappers, bait boxes, bags of garbage and even dirty disposable diapers (!).

In short, it was pretty damned disgusting to see a beautiful area trashed like that, and I left the place angry and cussing more than a few times.

The report on proposed usage changes was published in Friday's Newport Daily News - it was probably published in the ProJo too but with a weekend full of holiday stuff to do I didn't get a chance to proofread my Journal, so this may be old news for ya.

Anyway, it said jogging, dogwalking, bicycling, sunbathing and swimming will be phased out by 2005.

And "to battle ongoing problems with vandalism and littering, Deputy Refuge Manager Ware said people who fish at night will need to obtain a permit from the Fish and Wildlife Service to use the 242 acre Refuge. Details and a timetable for the new program are still being worked out."

"Ware said in the coming months, Fish & Wildlife personnel would focus on educating refuge users about the pending changes and would gradually shift to enforcement."