Letter: Charging for recreation

I read the story (Oct. 27, “More hunters priced off Weyco land”) on Weyco charging more for entry and hunting on their timber land so I looked up their tax break.

I pay over $100 an acre; they pay under $1 per acre. The tax for them didn’t go away, the tax burden was just shifted to the smaller land owners (us).

Why would the people of the state of Washington do this and pay most of their taxes? When this was enacted into law, some of the promises under legislative findings RCW 84.33.010 was that timber companies would be providing habitat for wild game and scenic recreational spaces for the citizens of Washington.

The legislation even devoted language in a RCW that if they provided recreation on their property and didn’t charge for entry they would be protected from lawsuits.

I have maps that show what the process was when they got the tax break. There was no mention of charge for hunting or recreation. They even gave out free maps. Now they have gone back on their word, so I would like my money back.