How about recreation area

As an avid kayak fisherman and Barre resident, I have been salivating at the opportunity to fish Berlin Pond for several years with dreams of landing monster fish for a few moments of admiration. The beauty I find in my fishing forays is grossly disproportionate to the number of fish I catch (and release) and I am the first to encourage my friends to explore and experience Vermont from a river, pond or lake. It would be remiss for me not to acknowledge Ms. Donnis’ at times in her observations of inappropriate behavior by some of the new visitors to Berlin Pond. I, too, witness the same littering at some of my favorite fishing spots and find it discouraging that the same people who come to enjoy the outdoors feel no responsibility for the debris they bring. I rarely see the perpetrators, only their trash and the only recourse I have is to pack it out with me. I do, however, take issue with the later third of her letter which sounds like the lament of the Lorax as the Truffula trees are hacked down. Oh, the suffering! The cacophony of noise these kayaks and canoes make drowns out the drone of traffic from the nearby interstate! The dwellers of the pond, these People of the Quiet Pursuit, must surely abandon the peaceful, pristine pond for the fishermen have come. Sad, indeed. Ms. Donnis, as I have expressed above, I understand the aggravation of litter in our shared environments. I vehemently disagree with your assertion that all is lost now that another group of recreational users has access to Berlin Pond. Rather than fight to maintain the exclusionary regulation against anglers, I hope the city of Montpelier will consider transforming Berlin into a recreation area closed to motorized watercraft similar to Colchester Pond.

Philip Stevens

Barre