Mark's notice to Gary Leavens

Mr. Leavens,

This excerpt is from a review of recreational bodies of water:

'Preview: Holland Pond sits less than a mile, as the crow flies, from the Canadian border, in the Northeast Kingdom. The pond has moderate development along its western shore, but these summer cottages (approximately 40) are much different from the ones farther south. Few big docks and few huge motorboats loom in front, and little new development is in evidence. As long as the camps remain small and unpretentious, the pond will likely remain a nice place to visit, though you may want to time your visit to avoid popular summer weekends.'

A nice review, and not a bad piece of advice from an impartial source, out of New York.

You don't know me, but very soon I imagine we will be rather well acquainted. You see, I disagree with the petition you so quietly filed with the Vermont Natural Resources Board for the adoption of a 'no wake rule' at the lake. Yes it is a Lake, it is called Holland Pond, but it is a pond in name only. I would like to add that your lack of interest in circulating the petition to all owners on the lake, and the fashion in which it was presented to many of the locals who unwittingly signed, speaks volumes. You never approached either of my parents, which seems odd to me when you have no trouble finding my Father at his work when you need roadwork done.

As far as the petition itself, now that I have a copy of my very own to read, I see exactly your angle. Your lack of intimate familiarity with the Lake, The Bill Sladyk Wildlife Management Area, and Holland, is quite obvious. You could easily get the few facts that you have gotten right out of any number of State publications.

Your statement that there is an 'increased presence of motorized wake producing activities' is, from my own observation, flat out wrong. There has been a noticeable decline over the last 11 years, two of the three boats kept at the lake haven't even been in the water for three years. Those boats pulled water skiers, and tubes, which, while not my cup of tea on a regular basis, are a tremendous amount of fun when the mood strikes.

Your statement that 'motorized wake producing activities are not common, traditional recreational uses' is also flat out wrong. My Mother grew up waterskiing on the Lake, as she has pointed out in her letter to the Board. We are collecting photos, and enlisting family and friends to send letters of support, memories of 'wake producing recreation'.

Your statement that the lake 'is a source of potable water used by the International Water Company.' is also flat out wrong. I have on several occasions dealt with Mike Houle of the IWC, as over a half mile of their water line runs across another one of my properties in Holland. The pond is only maintained as a source water for fire suppression, and the water currently runs, year round, discharging without utilization into the Tomifobia River at the pipeline's termination. It was replaced years ago with a system that takes ground water from natural aquifers. They discontinued use of the lake's water because it was nearly impossible to keep the beavers from trying to dam the intake up to raise the level of the lake, and bacteria from their feces posed too great a health risk.

I don't own any motorized watercraft, yet, neither do I want a 'quiet' lake. My canoe has offered me wonderful service for the past 11 years, since I bought my Camp, with no conflict from motorboats or personal watercraft. I also enjoy my parents' kayaks, though I avoid the camp side of the lake because I, myself, detest camp-shore-sneaks who paddle close enough to join my conversations, and seldom seem farther than a stone's throw away, and I throw like a girl. I might add, with impeccable aim.

We will be personally circulating our own counter petition, to many of the same folks who signed your petition. Some of those folks have already offered letters of retraction, stating they were not fully aware of what they were signing, and that YOU were not the person who presented it to them. I have made myself available for the site visit and subsequent public hearing on July 31st, so I look forward to meeting you soon.

If you wish to discuss this in further detail, my home Phone # is [number removed for blog], evenings are best, after dark I am usually in the house.


Mark D. Tice