Christmas Lake might be getting a gate put in.....

[scubafreek864]

I have been hearing talk, on other sites, about the town of Shorewood, Christmas Lake association putting a gate at the Christmas Lake PUBLIC access, and making it mandatory to go to a centrally located inspection site to get your boat inspected, prior to entering the lake.  You will then get a code to open this electronic gate.

What is everyone's thoughts on this?    Comments please.  Good, or Bad?

I think that is pure B.S.    :  :-X  :

[grumpie]

my question is, isn't that a DNR boat launch? I though that the DNR put it in because there were no public acess to the lake.

[scubafreek864]

They posted this link on another site.

[arcFlash]

I've been in Christmas a few times and she's no 'holiday' so I don't really mind not getting in again. But sympathetic to the lake owners, it's a shallow lake and if the B.S. (bad seaweed) gets thick the property owners will need to go over to White Bear for advice on what to do so I don't blame them for trying.

On second thought, We need to get a dive sign in the inspection station so all the boaters know us divers are in the lakes. This could help the poor compliance to dive flags!

[scubafreek864]

The problem I see is, what will this do for all the other PUBLIC ACCESSES in this state?  To me, by putting a gate at the access, they are no longer public.  Who's to say that they don't have a hidden agenda with this gate being put in???  A lot of people have the same thought as mine, a hidden agenda to keep it private. 

This is money that should be spent elsewhere, and not putting a gate in.  JMHO!

[popolarbear]

my thoughts are that this action is to remove the public from access not exotics. would exotic milfoil or zebras really change this lake much? would the landowner really care if the fish species changed slightly ... my thoughts are no....

zebras and milfoil would probably find a way in anyways. its too close to tonka. birds and other animals are already moving back and forth its too close to make a difference.

I seem to remember this summer when state shut down public funding of weed harvesters. I ran into one of the harvesters parked blocking the entire parking lot at Christmas's. the guy siting in his rig mentioned he was privately hired by .... to sit on the launch. he said it might open up again later in the day. they paid him just to take up space and block the public access of this lake..

Ive dove christmass and it wasn't interesting to me. water is ice cold. it is clear with white murky tint. but not much for fish. also most of areas i visited had thick mud bottom. tonka on the other hand has allot of sand bottom areas.yes water is typically lower in vis, but tons more fish and things to see. some areas also have gravel runs

[arcFlash]

Logistic of keeping a gate combination private in a public venue is impossible. People will just write it on the gate or cut the lock. This is not maintainable.

What agenda? Hypothetically, if every lake had a gate and everyone followed the rules what is the hidden agenda? Who wins? Lake owners may think they do until they realize they too are locked in and can't launch their boat in a nearby lake. To get the new code without a boat based on address on your ID (that may be a cabin) to pull the boat, to get it inspected to get a new code to get into a new lake. They lose more then us. It's a case of being careful what you wish for.

[scubafreek864]

According to a person in that area that knows more about it than I, he stated that the electronic combination would not be the same every time.  Each time a code is entered to unlock the gate, the code would change.  This would keep people from giving everyone and their friends the code to get in.  It would be a touch pad code lock, not a lock that can be cut.  You wouldn't be locked in, either.  The gate will be able to be opened from the inside at any time.

Even people that just want to go diving from the access would have to get the code to get in.  It is not just for boats.