Quagga, Zebra's and Lake Closures

[HngDvnDave]

Hello to all:
I have only been a member of this forum for a short time but now feel compelled to post. I am a San Diego and Colorado River fisherman. We have faced the issue of closure and bumbling bureaucrats for sometime now. In my opinnion, the only way to combat not only the mussel problem but the closure of many lakes in the near future is to form a coalition.
This coalition should have volunteers from each and every tournament organization in Northern & Southern California. It must have representatives from every major boat and tackle dealer. Two of the most important people to have as part of your team, if it is not a conflict of interest, are Terry Foreman and Mike Giusti. These gentlement are experts and their words and opinions carry great weight in governmental circles. Also needed once the basic frame work and players are identified is the assistance and horsepower of the national organizations of BASS and FLW.
The head government decision makers will always make the worst, most impactful decisions unless they are forced to do otherwise. The easiest decision is NO and requires the least amount of justification, time and effort on their part.
Within our clubs, and tournament organizations I am sure there are many legal experts. We need to identify those that can help. All of us are outraged at what happened at Casitas, but not all of us have the time or money to contribute anything but our ideas and moral support.
I have seen the loss of recreation, privledges, and denial of access of our public resources in hunting, hiking and hang gliding because of mis management, until national attention and pressure were brought to bear.
I would like to ask the leaders of this wonderful bass fishing community to come together now to start this battle so that we may continue to use those resources we pay for through taxes, licenses, and use fees.
If every fisherman does not contribute to this effort, we will lose. It will not be for many years that we are able to count how much we have lost.
Thanks,
Dave Seaberg

[drew]

Hello Dave,

I agree that unity and professional help would be beneficial in preventing poor decisions from being made by out of touch politicians. I do disagree about the financial aspect though. We can't afford not to invest in this cause. We can buy one less lure a month to maintain the reason to have them. I can afford to spend $25-$40 a year, big businesses and wealthy caring individuals can afford much much more. I would also be inclined to help physically. Our efforts need to be well coordinated to maximize the effect of our efforts.

[HngDvnDave]

You are right Drew. The initial post is just a call to arms. We all can contribute something.
The most important thing to do is identify qucikly that core group of people who have the talent, expertise, time and resources to start moving toward a common goal. This should be a small group of people because it is easier to move quickly and decisively. Yet it must be big enough to have the experts needed to have the political clout to accomplish things. What is happening so far is a great start. A dedicated outraged group of individuals that have the support of the entire fishing community.
Not all bureaucrats are bumbling. We have had many mid level gov't. employees provide us with great information and insight. It is the upper and high level decision makers that we need to bring as much information and pressure to bear as we can.
I don't know all the players but I read many posts from some very influential people. Hopefully they have the time available to once again come to the aid off bass fishing.
Dave

[reellittlephish]

I'd have to agree with HngDvnDave; we can not, not fight these issues.

Back up from Bass and FLW - or at least some national co-ordination is necessary.

Local Money and money co-ordination will be necessary...

From personal experience - a small group of dedicated individuals is the best dynamic response to various tactical positions the Water agencies and Gov't may take.

Meanwhile, hopefully, everyone please spread the word to keep the boats "clean and dry". If the fishing community shows a pattern of consistent behavior to the various inspection protocols, then all proactive actions will be supported. In plain English, if confronted by an inspection, then be polite, if there is a problem, take the person's name and identifying information. Make sure your rig is clean every time; inspection or no inspection..

If you hang on the forum and see a notice to write or call certain individuals then do it. keep the message consistent/ stay on topic. That is the way powerful lobby groups work it. We can all take a lesson from the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation), The ACCESS FUND, ARP or the NRDC. There are few actions more potent than having an individual in the gov't receive multiple e-mails on one particular day

[Lane]

You guys need to mobilize pretty quick. I am not familiar with the
laws out in California, but I am pretty well versed in the civil liberties laws in the USA. Last I checked, California was still a part
of the USA. We will continue to do our part to help, but I do have some recommendations. The Amercian Sportfishing Association needs to be notified and brought in on this matter. They have political muscle and can help. We are members of the ASA. John
if you don't have contact numbers, give me a call tomorrow and I
will give them to you. We worked with the ASA before on issues
like this. Ray, you need to call FLW and get them involved. Anglers
or clubs that are BASS affiliated need to call Chris Horton ASAP. BASS has a lot of political connections. After all ESPN and their parent company ABC are considered major media. Anglers with
sponsorship agreements need to notify their sponsors ASAP. If
your sponsors don't want to get involved, DROP THEM! Once everyone is mobilized it will be time to get legal help. This could be
a high profile case, so getting good legal representation should not be too difficult.The Casitas water board better be able to produce some expert scientific witnesses and or evidence to back up their recent EMERGENCY RESTRICTIONS, especially if the recent
posts of the harassment of both anglers and park personnel is true. Good luck!

[John Barron]

NMMA (National Marine Manufacturers Association) I have tried to contact United Anglers and Boating and Waterways. I'm on my way to Tulsa this morning but I will call you later.
jb
"Clean and Dry"
www.cleananddryboating.com

[tunaman]

Time to start an Inland chapter of United Anglers. They've had pretty good success with their marine efforts - I'd expect they'd be open to expansion.

Roger

[Lane]

I just got off the phone with Gordon Roberton, who is the Vice
president of the American Sportfishing Association. He is in charge
of Governement Affairs for the ASA. We have worked together in the past on the VHS issues in the Great Lakes. The ASA is VERY involved in the California marine closures to recreational fishing. Gordon is going to make some phone calls to his connections with
the California Game and Fish. They will get involved and help with
this situation. BASS, FLW, as well as most manufacturers in the fishing and tackle industry are members of the ASA. I will keep everyone posted.

[HngDvnDave]

This is what it takes!!
Concerned people taking action. Calling and coordinating. There is always a need for ideas and open discussion, but right now we need ACTION. Decisive, focused, reasoned and informed action.
Thanks to John for the calls. I see others with different posts moving forward. If there was some way to coordinate all this energy and effort, it should be done immediately. I see many influential titles in signature lines and these people need to set a time and place to come together to set a plan of action and milestones.
Some of the names that strike me right off the bat are Ray L, Scott Sweet, Rick Grover, and a host of others. We need to get these and other great minds together to form our plan of attack. All ego's and politics aside, this is an issue bigger than all of us, our business's our tournaments, our recreation. If we lose here, it impacts a sizable number of people. This is just the first step in a cascading loss of access, and priviledge that we are the major funders and supporters of through our tax dollars.
Once the powers that be win here, other agencies will adopt the cowards way out using these agencies as precedent. If we lose here, we will lose all over California. This will negatively impact every boat dealer, tackle shop, and tournament trail. Not to mention the millions we spend on gas, vehicles, accomodations.
Thanks everyone for the respnses. It is impressive to see the number of people ready to act.
Who do I need to call within our community? How can I help rally the fishermen and women? I am ready to help.
These are questions every single one of us should be asking. Who should be part of this core group that coordinates our efforts?
Clean and Dry, but spittin' mad!!
Dave

[HngDvnDave]

Thanks Lane!!!
Sounds like some great people with some experience at this. Maybe we can stop the spread of bureaucratic strong arm tactics as well as the zebra mussel from getting to Texas.
Dave

[Lane]

I want to post some information for anglers concerned with the
recent actions of the Casitas water board. First, I want to post some information that I received today from the American Sportfishing Association. This information was collected bySouthwick Associates for the ASA and is based upon the USFWS 2006 survey.This information provides insite into the economic impact that anglers have on the industry and the US economy.

The report.
America's nearly 40 million anglers spend over $45 BILLION per YEAR on fishing equipment, transportation, lodging and other expenses associated with their sport. With a total annual ECONOMIC IMPACT of $125 BILLION, fishing supports over ONE MILLION jobs and generates $38.4 BILLION in wages and MORE THAN $16.4 BILLION in TAX REVENUES EACH YEAR. The average amount anglers spend yearly on hooks, rods, lures and other fishing tackle increased 16% from 2001 to 2006. (carefully read this
next part) Substaintially more than any other groups (including environmental activist groups) ANGLERS SUPPORT THE NATION'S
CONSERVATION EFFORTS through the SPORTFISH RESTORATION PROGRAM. Special taxes on fishing gear, motorboat fuel channel
HUNDREDS OF MILLION'S OF ANGLER'S DOLLARS to STATE FISH and
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION and RECREATION PROGRAMS each year!

My state of Texas is ranked second to Florida in total angler expenditures to the tune of $3,366,961,760. California is ranked
FOURTH in RETAIL SALES to the tune of $2,832,442,963. California
anglers generate $336,307,902 in STATE and LOCAL TAX REVENUES.

Maybe someone needs to print this information out for the Casitas
water board! They obviously have NOT CONSIDERED THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THEIR IRRATIONAL ACTIONS! That brings me to my next point. Today I reviewed the minutes of special board
meeting held on 1/9/08 by the Casitas Municipal Water District.

Mr. Giusti (staff environmental scientist for the California Department of Fish and Game) provided expert testimony. His testimony is a matter of public record, but states that there is NO
DOCUMENTATION THAT THE QUAGGA HAS BEEN TRANSPORTED IN
CALIFORNIA via BOAT. Most scientists (including myself) agree that tournament angling and bass boats are one of the lowest risks for transportation of Quagga, Zebra, and New Zealand mudsnails. IMO,
Mr. Giusti's testimony was scientific and right on the money!

On the otherhand, Mr. Dennis Harper who is the Vice President
Conservation Chairman for the Sespe Fly Fishers equated the spread of the New Zealand Mudsnail to the spread of the Quagga mussel. There are BIG differences between the family and species.
The Quagga is a filterfeeding bivalve mussel. The New Zealand mudsnail feeds on vegetation and is NOT A MUSSEL! Mussels are not as mobile as snails,so on and so forth. Mr. Harper states, " I would support a moratorium on access to the lake until there is a good handle on it." Excuse me Mr. Harper but scientists have been dealing with the mussels for over 20 years ( since they arrived in the 80's), and there is NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE to support your
statement! Shame on you for making such a uneducated, unscientific statement. I would have expected better from the VP
of conservation to the Sespe Fly Fishers.

This afternoon I printed out a bulletin from the Casitas Municipal Water District website: ATTENTION BOATERS, IT IS ILLEGAL to possess, transport, or cause Quagga or Zebra Mussels to be planted in California waters. They did not cite the California law.
There is a federal law called the Lacy Act, which states that it is
ILLEGAL to KNOWINGLY TRANSPORT NON NATIVE OR INVASIVE SPECIES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. This law is enforced by the USFWS, and deals with the illegal dumping of non native animals
and plants. Violations of this act are FELONIES! Are these people making up the laws as they go? They have stepped WAY OUT OF
THEIR JURISDICTION. Only California Game and Fish and USFWS
wardens can enforce wildlife laws that are ON THE BOOKS, they are
the regulatory agencies responsible for enforcement of wildlife laws. Do they really think that anglers are going to KNOWINGLY
PLANT QUAGGA MUSSELS?

These inspections are being conducted by untrained park personel.
I doubt that any of them has seen, much less touched a Zebra or
Quagga mussel. I seriously doubt that they have looked at microscopic slides of the veliger stage of mussels. Do they even know what they are looking for? I can tell you that rod storage and tackle storage compartments are not suitable areas for Quaggas, have they lost their minds? Do they know the difference between terrestrial tree and plant matter from aquatic tree and plant matter? Pine needles, please give me a break? This whole boat inspection process is CRAZY! First they need to be trained and educated, then they need to inspect parts of the boat that COULD REMOTELY HAVE QUAGGA MUSSELS. Have they every seen or or better yet felt the juvenile stage of a newly attatched Quagga? Seriously, I feel sorry for these guys! They have been given a boat with no paddle! Please cut them some slack and go after the Casitas water board members.


All I can say is that I hope that the anglers in California stand up against this nonsense in an appropriate, productive manner. Showing up for February 13th meeting would be something that most EVERYONE can do. You don't have to say a word, your presence will speak LOUDER THAN WORDS! Let Ron, John, Ray,
California Game and Fish, along with other QUALIFIED experts do
the talking! Don't let this become a NATIONAL ISSUE, nip it in the bud! I wish that I could fly over there to attend the meeting, but
I have a surgical procedure scheduled for the 12th, and will be homebound for 10 days. I just hope that anglers show their support for the industry and sport by showing up to the meeting!

[DougH]

Good job Lane, we appreciate this info very much.

[drew]

I hope everyone has had a chance to read Lane's previous post. It is very informative. Thanks

[HngDvnDave]

What an incredible uprising of support, communication and action. I have been reading all the other posts and there is a tremendous amount of work being done already. Lawyers contacted, research being done into civil ordinances to see what the limits of the authorities really are. National organizations beyond any idea of who I thought might help. Reviews of the ridiculous pork laden budget of some of these departments.
Thanks to everyone, too numerous to mention, but a special thianks to all those from different states for their support. What happens in California usually trickles down to other states eventually.
Keep the fires stoked. Let's not allow our passion and anger to subside as the weeks draw on. I can't wait to hear the results of the meeting March 4th. Too bad we have to wait until then.
I hope there are some of you out there who can start holding the powers that be, feet to the fire right now.
Thanks from a SD fisherman, and all those that fish throughout the country. We have a local talk show host who regularly proclaims he wants to "Take his country back!"
We want to take our resource back!! It is not for sale to any politician! Not for sale to any private group!! It is ours and you can't have it!!
Dave