Freedom of speech is to be cherished, yet it carries a certain responsibility for one to be accurate in what is stated or published.

Such is not the case in parts of Mr Moffat’s letter headlined ‘Trails debate the latest chapter of Orange’s haves and have-nots’.

Reference is made to the past use of Lake Canobolas as being only available to fishers by what he calls members of the “trout fishing clique”.

Having been a member for 20 years of the Department of Primary Industries’ fisheries trout stocking committee, I might suggest that I am qualified to state that this has never been the case.

Fisheries policy on stocking both native fish and trout, for which the latter has been undertaken here yearly since 1932, has been to only liberate fish into waters open to all who hold a licence to fish.

POLL: Have your say …

Orange City Council restricts recreational use of Lake Canobolas to non-motorised boating of all kinds, swimming and fishing.

There never has been – and never will be – control exercised by the Orange Trout Acclimatisation Society over the recreational use of the lake.

So to say that OTAS members, who might I add are still in existence, bottle up a facility built for everyone is totally wrong.

Finally, Mr Moffat suggests that Mount Canobolas State Conservation Area is a precinct that he and others sponsored.

He further implies that a small number of hikers and bird watchers wish restricted access and no doubt have similar control to that which he states the trout fishing clique have over Lake Canobolas.

Surely these recreational resources, when properly administered, would be better utilised by all, rather than locked up for the likes of Mr Moffat?