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A series of four meetings were held in 2003 to discuss fishing, boating and law enforcement issues at Candlewood Lake. Representatives from the Fisheries Advisory Council, CT BASS Federation and Trout Unlimited were among those attending these meetings. A boat sticker was one of the options that was discussed as a potential mechanism for generating funds for additional law enforcement.

This approach has been successfully used at other large lakes such as Lake George in New York State. Anglers in attendance at the 2003 meetings did voice concerns that a sticker program at Candlewood might spread to other CT waters. However, the general feeling was that the additional costs associated with local administration were too high to be cost effective for a smaller lake.

Costs are significant because the stickers need to be (1) reasonably priced, (2) equitable among all users, (3) unrestricted in number, and (4) readily available over the internet and through local venders and municipal offices. Equitable among all users meant that shoreline residents and state launch users were to pay the exact same price. Anglers who attended these meetings were willing to support the concept of a sticker program pending discussion of the details. At the time, the Candlewood Lake Authority did not feel they were prepared to endorse this approach. Ultimately, DEP was able to increase both monitoring at the launch areas and Law Enforcement on the lake and were able to address many of the concerns. As a result, the boat sticker option was not pursued further in 2003.
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