There has been a proposal to essentially privatize the boat launch at Big St. Germain Lake and charge a "reasonable" daily use fee ($7-$10). This would take the boat launch out of the hands of the DNR and has many hidden side effects. Lakes without public launches typically do not get stocked by the DNR for one. This proposal was initiated by members of the Big St. Germain Lake Council. The current boat launch is maintained (and upgraded a couple years back) by the DNR and paid for with your tax dollars, license fees etc. My opinion is that charging a daily use fee would be a HUGE mistake.
The lakes committee has a meeting coming up and I would encourage anyone with an interest in this topic to attend or at the very least send a note expressing your questions or concerns. Here's a copy of the meeting announcement letter I received from the Chamber of Commerce.

As we stated during our Chamber after 5 social event we would let you know when the next Lakes Committee meeting was to be held. Town Chairman Walt Camp has told us that it will be Tuesday, May 8th at 7PM at the St. Germain Community Center. The topic came up as a result of conversation about charging a launch fee at the Big St. Germain boat ramp. If you have an opinion on this fee per launch proposal this meeting may be worth attending. It is the belief of the St. Germain Chamber that this fee proposal would be detrimental to tourism in the St. Germain area.

St. Germain Area Chamber of Commerce, Inc.
PO Box 155
St. Germain, WI 54558
(715) 477-2205 / 800-727-7203 / Fax (715) 542-3423
www.st-germain.com / email: info@st-germain.com