Ponderosa soapstone, one of the artiisan products produced in his Merritt store. file Photo KDG

Ponderosa soapstone, one of the artiisan products produced in the Merritt store.
file Photo KDG

Ed Hendricks the owner of Ponderosa sports says that tonight there will be an offical of the local RCMP office on CBC saying that cutting locks on gates  to ranch land is considered mischief. The broadcast is at 6:PM according to Hendricks. Ed  is an advocate of access to lakes as it affects his interests in recreation and fishing access. He and others have published a brochure that shows a number of lakes the public have lost access to. The brochure is at his Merritt Sport shop on Voght Street downtown Merritt.

Editors note:

Locked gates can be an indication of a drive that is private and there is no right of way to anyone other then the land owner and their associates.

The Forestry and lands part of the government maintains many recreational sites on lakes in this area and ensures access to them for public enjoyment. The right to quiet enjoyment is also safe guarded by the government where lawful activities are carried out.

 

Right of way is a term used to describe “the legal right, established by usage or grant, to pass along a specific route through grounds or property belonging to another”, or “a path or thoroughfare subject to such a right”.[1] A further definition is that it is a type of easement granted or reserved over the land for transportation purposes, this can be for a highway, public footpath, railway, canal, as well as electrical transmission lines, oil and gas pipelines.[2]

As well this phrase describes “the legal right of a pedestrian, vehicle, or ship to proceed with precedence over others in a particular situation or place”,[3] and in hiking etiquette, where when two groups of hikers meet on a steep trail, a custom has developed in some areas whereby the group moving uphill has the right of way.[4]

The right of way may be limited. When one person owns a piece of land which is bordered on all sides by lands owned by others, a court will be obliged to grant that person a right of way.

In some countries, especially in Northern Europe, where the freedom to roam has historically taken the form of general public rights, a right of way may not be restricted to specific paths or trails. A similar right of access also exists on some public land in the United States and in Canada, Australia and New Zealand (where it is called Crown land). source Wikipedia

Merritt’s Chamber of Commerce in the past has had the theme A lake a day as long as you stay.  Ed from the sport shop says that there are two roads in contention, the Raspberry and Loon lake roads, both roads received large cattle guards after the construction of the Coquihalla highway, he says they are public roads as they are both maintained by the government.Douglas Lake Cattle Company has locked the gates on them perhaps in anticipation of a decommissioning of public maintained status, Kim Robinson and a grazing rights holder still need access through them, says Hendricks. He also adds that he can see the other view points but would like the process to be more open as well as stay legal, and accountable.

We trust that Staff SGT White and  SGT. Fleming will give a good accounting of the authorities duties in these situations on CBC news tonight.

Click to access DV03S%20-%20Site%20Aspen%20Grove%20-%2027-046NS%20-%20N%20on%2009-27-2006.pdf

Today in history: November 18th 2013

NASA launches its Maven probe to Mars.