The Fishing Preserve That Would Not Be Shared
A landowner tired of trespassers chases two Spokane fishermen through the dark and hauls them out of a schoolhouse they broke into to sleep.
L. M. Poirier, of Blanchard, has had a great deal of trouble with fishermen trespassing on his property, despite the signs erected and repeated warnings. One day last week he caught two young men from Spokane fishing on the place and ordered them off. Later he again found them at the sport and, securing the precinct constable, started after them. It becoming dark, the young fellows got away, but Louie and the constable found them early the next morning asleep in a schoolhouse that they had broken into. He let them off after their paying $10 apiece for the sport they had. Louie intends to keep his fishing preserves for the use of himself and friends and will continue to make it interesting for trespassers.
“Louie intends to keep his fishing preserves for the use of himself and friends and will continue to make it interesting for trespassers.”
Access to water and land — who gets to fish, and who gets chased off — is an old fight in Washington, and it has never really ended. Poirier's private preserve anticipates today's battles over river access, posted land, and the line between recreation and trespass.
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