# Boat launch fees



## harleyharry (Mar 3, 2003)

This past saturday, my son parked his car in a boat access site, in the parking lot of the site. This is a large parking lot next to the Cheboygan Dam, here in Cheboygan. He went boating with some friends for the day.
When he returned from the boating tirp, he had gotten a citation from the DNR for not having a boat launch access sticker on his car. 
Is this legit? He did not use the access site to launch a boat. He was using a car that is not even able to pull a boat and trailer. 
I tried to get some info from the DNR web site, but after an hour of searching, I gave up.
I have not seen anything on the forums about this. I do know that the site on Mullett Lake was made into a fee type access two years ago. From what I have been able to gather, most of all the DNR access sites in our county are now fees type access sites.
Does this mean that you can no longer even drive into one of these access sites without an access sticker on your vehicle? I know many people that use these sites to eat their lunches during the week. Does this mean that they are breaking the law now by not having an access sticker? The access site where my son got the citation normaly has about ten vehicles parked there on any give day during the lunch period. The people sit there, eat their lunch and watch the boats as they navigate the locks at the dam.
If someone has any info on this, please respond. If there is a link somewhere that I can access, please put it up.

Thanks everyone

Harley Harry


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## FishinJoe (Dec 8, 2003)

The DNR once told me that you need the sticker for access to the lot. I believe the officer was within the law when he wrote the citation. The fine is just the daily price correct?


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## jstfish48162 (Mar 8, 2003)

if it was a DNR Access site a "permit required" sign should have been posted at the entrance. plus, he was taking up a parking space that could have been used by a vehicle launching a boat at that site.

this has happened to me at several launches.......all my fault.......had to pay either a day fee or yearly fee upon my exiting the property. one was at Sterling State Park in Monroe in February ice fishing at the launch. no other vehicles in the lot, but the park ranger was working that day........had to pay the rate for a daily pass.

if it was a citation from the DNR you MUST pay the fee.......period........just like a parking ticket......don't let it go.

if the DNR wanted to be "by-the-book", yes they could go in at lunch time and collect fees from each vehicle sitting there eating lunch and watching boats.

the fees are needed for keeping the access sites accessible (for a lack of better words). just the rules.


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## copusch1 (Jun 28, 2007)

I had the same thing happen to me last winter while ice fishing at a state park in SE MI. Sounds like its fairly common practice and must be legit. 

The issue I had with my ticket was that there was not even a booth or an "honor system" box to give someone who might be visiting the park for the first time the option of paying. I was visiting for the first time, and wasn't about to turn around and not fish. So my only other option was to risk the ticket.

Like said earlier, the fine is only the cost of the daily fee (or season pass if you choose) so no harm no foul. I would have paid the honor box if given the option and could have avoided the whole thing though.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Yep, absolutely legitimate. Access sites are bought and maintained with funds from boating registrations and licensing, and fees to use the sites. Parking spaces are for those launching boats...that's what the sites were bought for. How would you feel if you were going there to launch your boat and fish, and many of the spaces were taken by cars w/o trailers, leaving none open for you? It's happened to me a time or two. So yeah, absolutely legit.


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## mhawk21912 (Jun 9, 2008)

To be honest each DNR site is run differently. The DNR site at the rawsonville boat launch has a sign that says fee required when manned on the both when you enter the boat launch ,there are about seven parking spots designed for vehicles without trailers. If you show up before the guy gets there in the morning you do not have to pay the fee. I always buy an annual pass but as i said No two launches are run the same because each launch is different.


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## harleyharry (Mar 3, 2003)

Thanks for all the replies everyone. The reason that I posted this question is that this is all new to us in the northern part of the state. We have never had to contend with this up until two years ago, and then it was only one lake access.
This year every DNR launch site is fee based. To my knowledge, this was never posted, was never in the news, and was not in the local news papers. This has caught everyone unaware.
Just to set the record straight, this was not a bitch. I am more than happy to pay my fair share for the ability to use the launch sites, and to have ready access to them. The site in question has more parking spots than will ever be used. This is not a question of someone not having a spot to park after launching their boat. And, there are many parking spots that are for single vehicles only. If the parking spot is not long enough to accept a vehicle and trailer, than the intention of the spot is for a single vehicle.
My mission now is to gain as much knowledge on this as I can so I can get the news out to the local sportsmen and sportswomen so a lot of people will not be caught unaware, will not get tickets and be upset. This will also get more people to purchase the launch site stickers, which in turn gives the DNR more funds to keep the launches updated and care for.
Again, thanks for the information. I will pass it on.

Harley Harry


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## Jim..47 (May 5, 2009)

Its looking like next year we won't have to pay access site dues, as you will pay it for every vehicle you own when you buy your plate renewals, so even those who never use a public DNR access site will also pay. Good for us who use them but bad for those who don't


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## bowhuntr81 (Sep 13, 2007)

Monday morning at a lake in Argentine Twp the DNR attendant that day was talking with my fiance and I and she wrote 10 citations for people who had not done the self registration and did not possess an annual access permit. While we were talking some people who received a citation came up and were very upset that they had been fined for parking there when they had not launched a boat but were shore fishing. The attendant explained to them that it does not matter if you are launching a boat or not, you are using a boating access site, you must pay the registration fee. Its the same as a state park, if you don't have an annual sticker you pay a daily fee. 4 daily fees have paid for your annual sticker so hand over the 24 bucks and forget about it. 

Also at this lake in Argentine Twp there is a step project being worked on from the parking area back down to the launch. These steps will be a great addition to the launch site as you won't have to worry about slipping down the hill that was never easy to walk down. If you want o see your site fees and registration fees at work, visit this lake.


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## cbgale2 (Oct 21, 2008)

Jim..47 said:


> Its looking like next year we won't have to pay access site dues, as you will pay it for every vehicle you own when you buy your plate renewals, so even those who never use a public DNR access site will also pay. Good for us who use them but bad for those who don't


Unless this has changed recently it was going to be a $10 option at the time you renew your plates. Which is fine with me, Im buying them one way or another. But I dont think it was a mandatory purchase when you renew your plate.


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## WALLEYE MIKE (Jan 7, 2001)

Not a "boat launch fee". Its a "state boating access site permit". You are paying for the privilege of using the site for launching a boat, shore fishing or parking. Not all have shore fishing but a lot do.


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## mhawk21912 (Jun 9, 2008)

cbgale2 said:


> Unless this has changed recently it was going to be a $10 option at the time you renew your plates. Which is fine with me, Im buying them one way or another. But I dont think it was a mandatory purchase when you renew your plate.


 I spoke with the guy at the DNR launch on Saturday and according to his boss it did not look good for this to pass because of it being optional and on the honor system. They don't want to have special plates or stickers on the plate. making it mandatory may be their solution. This is third hand info so take it with a grain of salt. I hope they can work this out it would save me $76.00 a year even by paying for it on two vehicles.


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## mhawk21912 (Jun 9, 2008)

mhawk21912 said:


> To be honest each DNR site is run differently. The DNR site at the rawsonville boat launch has a sign that says fee required when manned on the both when you enter the boat launch ,there are about seven parking spots designed for vehicles without trailers. If you show up before the guy gets there in the morning you do not have to pay the fee. I always buy an annual pass but as i said No two launches are run the same because each launch is different.


Just an update, when I posted this I had just seen the sign hanging that day, the next time I went it was gone. I forgot to ask the dnr guy about it. Makes you think big brother might be monitoring this web site:yikes:


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