The boat launch at Lake Martin is now closed.
The Advocate reports that the owners of the land where the boat launch is located shut off access to the area on Sunday, March 1.
In February, the landowners said they would close the launch because of liability concerns. The launch is in need of repairs and Ryan Hebert, the son of one of the landowners, tells the Advocate that the closure is necessary to make those repairs.
There was no timeline on when the launch would reopen.
St. Martin Parish President Chester Cedars stated Monday that an agreement has not been made with the owners of the property, and that he is still waiting for a response from the family.
When it does reopen, Hebert says the boat launch would operate for-profit. He tells the Advocate that a charge of $8 to $10 would be set up to use the launch. Swamp tours would pay $5 per customer.
And while the launch is now closed, Hebert says Lake Martin is not.
"We're not shutting down the lake," Hebert tells the newspaper. "We're just shutting down our property at the lake. There are other ways to access the lake. They're just a little tougher, and a lot of people don't want to go through with that. They might have to downsize their boats. They may have to use kayaks or pirogues to go fishing. They might have to carry them a little ways. But we're not closing the lake."
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