Spring & The Mystery of Dissapearing ROW Signs

by | Apr 25, 2017 | Fresh Water Fishing, skeet shooting

Share This Article On…

Each Spring, along with the return of ospreys and Florida license plates, comes the disappearance of public access signs. Surely it pays to do your homework before you double click the alarm and push through bayberries and bull briers to launch your new kayak. When properly maintained, legal points of access to the shoreline are marked by a sign stating such. Often though, they seem to get vandalized or just up and leave as days get longer and parking near the water becomes impossible.

Back in 2014, a guide to legal access points was compiled by RI Sea Grant which remains accurate. “Public Access to the Rhode Island Coast” can be found at Sea Grant’s website and is a handy guide. The Coastal Resources Management Council has done a wonderful job identifying and promoting public access points. You can go to their website to view the ArcGIS map.

Generally, if there are no No Parking signs, it’s okay to park there with common sense prevailing. If you are at a place where you believe you have a right to fish, swim or launch a boat but there’s no signage, you should contact your town or send me an email. I see lots of signs torn down or defaced. Most often, neighbors who feel their water view should not include you or your canoe will allow vegetation to grow unchecked, making good use of Spring rains and warm days to obscure access signs. It’s classic passive aggressive obstructionism. Summer is next on the calendar so knowing your rights is key as we gear up for another wonderful season.

 

peterjenkinstieflies-edited

Peter Jenkins of The Saltwater Edge teaching the basics of fly tying

To honor Earth Day, Middletown’s Saltwater Edge fishing shop sponsored a Shore Clean Up Contest. Any fishing groups involved with picking up trash that day could upload pictures to the shop and win one of three shop gift certificates. Trash is a problem that causes us to lose rights. There’s no charm in smashed Schaeffer cans or used up plastic bait bags drooling pogie oil where some cottager walks little Fifi. Losing access is as easy as a town meeting; Middletown’s Peckham Avenue Right of Way is a prime example of how disregarding neighbors and the basic tenants of being a responsible fisherman leads to a loss of access.

April 29 is the RI Environmental Police Officers Association’s Pig Roast and Sporting Clays Shoot. This will be a big day at the Peace Dale Shooting Preserve and you can enter as a single shooter, a junior or as a team.

The main goal of this shoot is to raise awareness of the International Wildlife Gamestoppers group. IWG works to stop poaching and in their own words is, “a non-profit membership organization created by wildlife resource officers dedicated to reducing the illegal taking of the world’s fish and wildlife resources through the global exchange of information with anti-poaching organizations.” The short story is that our enforcement officers very much want to have another tool to protect our state’s wildlife but of course, with our government focused on building oil pipelines, blessing the dumping of poisonous coal mining spoils into streams and the sanctioning shooting bears sleeping in winter dens or while nursing their cubs, there are insufficient funds to initiate such a defensive program here in the Ocean State.

Our DEM officers can’t be everywhere. They are resource and manpower limited so participating in an organization like IWG is a best option. The big door prize at this shoot is getting closer to membership, which will give sportsmen a place to report poaching, stealing, illegal killing and the wasting of the wildlife we love.

Much like the stocking debate, there might be mumbles and mixed feelings about environmental police officers but from this desk, it’s crystal clear they’re working their damndest to protect what we all share and keep those who take more accountable to the rest. The shoot starts at 9 a.m. at 130 Pearl’s Way, South Kingstown and you can register with Officer Mike Schipritt at michael.schipritt@dem.ri.gov

0 Comments

READ THESE NEXT

Thanks For Your Patience
Lt. Lewis Kitts' Last Alarm
Lt. Lewis Kitts’ Last Alarm
TU Wants Your Christmas Tree
TU Wants Your Christmas Tree
Surf Day and Stock The Box
Surf Day and Stock The Box

You Might Also Enjoy…

TU Wants Your Christmas Tree

TU Wants Your Christmas Tree Trout Unlimited, a national cold water conservation organization with more than 300,000 members, would like to have your Christmas tree. That may seem an odd request but instead of tossing it onto a curb or over a stone wall or watching it...

Surf Day and Stock The Box

Narragansett Surfcaster’s Surf Day and Peter Jenkins’ Stock The Box Fly Tying Expo help us prepare for stripers, albies & full tackle boxes. Both fight off winter blues and build a sense of community with anglers new and experienced, young and old.

7 Late-Season Kayak Fishing Tips

Fishing from a kayak in cold waters can be fun and safe with a few precautions and the right gear. Here are 7 tips for kayak safety with hopes you get to fish far later and safer into the winter months.