Bill Kearney wrote:
These perpetually
increasing costs for DNR "leases" make property taxes look like a
bargain, and the costs are passed along to the boating public or
absorbed by the business owner until they are driven under by the
expense.

So do something about it locally, not just whinge in a newsgroup. Vote
people in that will pay better attention to what you're after.

It wasn't intended as a whine. The fact that an organization generally
friendly to boating (BOAT/US) is addressing this as a national issue
suggested that it might serve to stimulate discussion of boating
related topic in the NG.

One challenge that all boaters face when it comes to political
candidates is that there aren't enough of us anywhere to carry much
local clout. When it comes to the sheer number of votes we can deliver
at the ballot box we usually lose out to environmentalists,
preservationists, or a general public that doesn't agree that
facilities for boaters are consistent with the concept of "public"
access. That's not the worst argument in the world, either- "Why should
we have to be wealthy enough to own a boat in order to enjoy the public
shorelines?"

When it comes to the number of dollars we can pump into an expensive
political campaign in order to call in favors after the election is
over, we usually lose out to corporate real estate developers.

I would suppose that if easy solutions were readily apparent there
would be no need for the sponsoring organization to pass out awards to
the best ideas offered, wouldn't you? :-)