Dear Editor, and all who else happen to read this; My name is Ciara Brough, my husband, Warren Brough and I own The Historic Brooklyn Tavern. It saddens me to have to say that we are cutting back to being open only four days a week, Thursday-Sunday, in hopes of being able to keep the business operational; effective January, 1, 2015. Even with all the publicity and extra attention we have gotten from the media; Weyerhaeuser’s recent closure of their lands for public use has devastated our business. Before the closure, October through February was our busiest time of year, during which various game seasons are open for hunting. Now my tavern stands mostly empty, during this time. It breaks my heart that “Big Industry” has devastated another small business. My husband and I bought the tavern in hopes of keeping the tavern running as traditionally as it has always been, in doing so, preserving the history and memories for all who have ever happened to walk through the door. We found that we could sustain being open seven days a week with the extra income that came in during hunting season. In the four previous years I have worked behind the bar at The Historic Brooklyn Tavern, during hunting season, the barstools were full, which led to money in the till and the business sustaining itself. Now those once occupied barstools stand empty and my sales have dropped by over seventy-five percent. That hope is fading drastically, with once publically open lands of Weyerhaeuser, having been closed to the public. Unless of course, you purchase a permit. These permits range from seventy-five dollars to two hundred and fifty dollars, depending on which areas you would like to have access to. These permits are only good for you, your spouse, and children and grandchildren under eighteen. Most of my customers are working families that hunt and depend on the game they hunt to fill their freezers and to sustain their families. Hunters must buy a hunting license, this is reasonable especially when a combination hunting license for deer, elk, bear, and cougar costing $95.50; but now they have to add the permit costing $75-$250, per family, which is two to three times the cost of four large animals .If you get caught on their lands without a permit you are given a fine up to $375. This doesn’t leave much in the tight budget of today’s working families to patronize my tavern. Leaving us wondering how long The Historic Brooklyn Tavern will be able to scrape by. What I have seen is not many of my once regular customers have bought a permit, many down right refusing to give Weyerhaeuser even a penny to be on their lands. Especially those of whom have grown up hunting those lands in this area with their fathers and grandfathers. Some could even considering hunting a religion of sorts, with deep traditional roots from those that taught them how to hunt and the generations of ancestors that hunted before them. This has led to fewer and fewer making the trek out here visit The Historic Brooklyn Tavern and this preserved piece of local history. Even if they have forked out the extra cash to come hunt in the area, not many have stopped in to enjoy a beer or have a bite to eat. How is Weyerhaeuser getting away with charging the public for access to lands they are getting a tax break for allowing public access? How is the legislature even allowing this to happen? Will The Historic Brooklyn Tavern be able to remain self-sustainable and open? I do not have the answers to these questions. I do know that if Weyerhaeuser is allowed to continue this, in my opinion, unlawful activity of charging the public for access to what IS rightfully, as tax payers, fee free public lands, The Historic Brooklyn Tavern will have to close and this lingering piece of local history will fade. Sincerely, Ciara Brough, Co-Owner of The Historic Brooklyn Tavern
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 20:40:35 +0000
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