It's Official- Sierra Club is a member of ASA/ICAST

[Lane]

At this years ICAST show, we noticed that Sierra Club was listed as a member of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), which hosts ICAST and is the most influential organization that our industry has. Now the wolf is in the hen house. We received our ASA newletter yesterday listing Sierra Club as a new member. Tony also received a envelope from Sierra Club asking him to join and sign a petition to spend more tax payer money on endangered species. You would not believe the garbage and venom in their propaganda!

Their agenda to to fracture the American Sportfishing Association
with their membership. They DO NOT support recreational sportfishing as a whole. They only support Trout Unlimited, and
are opposed to other fishing organizations. In particular, they
are against tournament fishing, live bait fishing, off shore fishing,
etc. They are against ALL hunting on public lands.

This folks, is a major setback for recreational sportfishing and the
sportfishing industry!

[Darkman]

WTF!!!

[Nozmo King]

You're going to have to backup those claims with some facts if you expect many people to believe you. I don't much follow the Sierra Club, but I've never heard any of those positions put forward by the organization. BTW, I'm talking about links from their website, not some crackpot, 3rd-hand editions of "what they said."

Truth is, the Sierra Club has done more to preserve beautiful public places & protect water quality than most environmental organizations, including BASS & FLW. I'm not knocking BASS & FLW - just pointing out that many of the right-wing claims re: the Sierra Club are completely bogus.

[Lane]

I not right wing, neither am I left wing. While I do agree with some
of the environmental issues, I do not agree with their position on
sportfishing and hunting, endangered species, etc.

Just what did Sierra Club do to stop the dumping of ballast water
into the Great Lakes? How many fishery stocking programs have
they FUNDED? How many native aquatic vegetation programs
have they FUNDED? They have bought a butt load of land for RESTRICTED ACCESS! Both BASS and FLW have funded clean water, stricter ballast water laws, curtailed dumping of mercury, stocking programs, native aquatic habitat restoration.

Here is their policy on sporthunting and fishing
www.sierraclub.org/sierrasportsmen/
Go to the left of the page and click on, "Policy on sporthunting and
fishing".

Maybe you agree, but I don't and I am a member of ASA and have
a right to voice my opinion. Also, we don't like the fact that Sierra
Club used their membership to ASA to gain access to our private
mailing address. SNEAKY and UNDERHANDED just like the organization!

Here is the petitons that they sent us in the mail.

Petition to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi
Petition to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Having failed to outright destroy the Endangered Species Act during
their more than seven years in office, officials within the Bush Administration are now attempting to greatly weaken this important protective measure by cutting funding for the Act and
delisting threatened species like the WOLF.

For the benefit of their special interest friends in the oil industry, the logging industry and commercial development, they are making it more difficult to protect species, while making it easier for these
special interests to exploit the habitat of endangered species.

I urge you to act, and do everything in your power to thwart efforts
by the Bush Administration to weaken and destroy the Endangered
Species Act.

Thank You,
My husbands name and address.

I call that LEFT WING PROPAGANDA!

But, hey for the introductory price of only $15 for membership they will send us a free backpack so that we can tip toe through the tulips in the forest! NO THANKS!

I guess this means that Douche Baggerly will be at ICAST, so all
is not lost. He can tell us all about his flyfishing experience, just like
he did after he voted to close Casitas. I might need a few cold beers first!

[Ray L.]

This is insane. The sierra club is a group of left wing nuts with there policies. I have had way to many run in's with 1 member since he lives down the street. He tells me how I am harming the outdoors by useing my boat. I tell him I am doing more for it than him. I purchase my licenses as well as tackle and gear. He still does not understand because he tells me how I am intruding on nature. I explain how we all should be able to enjoy the outdoors in our own way.I end up telling him he is nuts and is wacked out beyond belief.

[ash]

This is insane. The sierra club is a group of left wing nuts with there policies. I have had way to many run in's with 1 member since he lives down the street. He tells me how I am harming the outdoors by useing my boat. I tell him I am doing more for it than him. I purchase my licenses as well as tackle and gear. He still does not understand because he tells me how I am intruding on nature. I explain how we all should be able to enjoy the outdoors in our own way.I end up telling him he is nuts and is wacked out beyond belief.

Yes, these were the same guys that go hiking in Glamis Dunes and were advocates for shutting down 3/4 of the open land in the Imperial Valley. I agree the Fox is in the Hen House with this orginization!

[Nozmo King]

Thanks for posting the link; however, it said they’re opposed to sport hunting in national parks, not public lands. That’s a huge difference! Sport hunting is currently prohibited in national parks anyway.

Also, your other claims about their opposition to tournament fishing, offshore fishing & live bait fishing are nowhere to be found, at least on that link. And, the Sierra Club is not known to be shy about its stances on issues that affect public resources, so… Anything else? Or is that it?

I also don’t see how opposing de-listing the wolf constitutes LEFT WING PROPAGANDA, but, whatever…

Truth is, a lot of anglers like clean water, protecting endangered species, & other similar, radical views. So, I say let them sign up for the ASA & use its mailing list. All kinds of companies & organizations do similar things every day. It’s the American way.

It appears to me that some people confuse the Sierra Club with PETA or ALF or Earth First or all kinds of truly radical environmental groups. Are there radical environmentalists in the Sierra Club? Probably, although in general, it’s too middle-of-the-road to suit real extremists.

[Lane]

I don't know if the entire link will print out, but this is an official
statement of position on hunting from The Sierra Club in San Francisco on the Animal Liberation Front website. I will post the
condensed version of the statement, and bass anglers can form
their own opinions.

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/AR ... unting.htm

Condensed version.

"....We should respect the moral right of all creatures to exist, to maintain basic and successful breeding stock, to have essential habitat protecte, to be free of uneccessary predation, persecution,
and unduly confining captivity...regulated sports hunting many have a place for hose who choose to pursue it, but there are more
pressing concerns...."

My guess is that ENDANGERED SPECIES are the MORE PRESSING CONCERNS! Sierra Club states that they FOLLOW VALID BIOLOGICAL DATA. Well the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists
presented that data when the wolf was recommended for removal
from the threatened species list.

"Unduly confining captivity", just how do you think that statement relates to tournament bass fishing????????????

I have talked with Gordon Robertson today, who is the head of the
ASA Governmental Affairs. I have worked with him on the past on
several issues, including Casitas. He did not know that Sierra Club
was listed as a member. After he did some checking he found out that Sierra Club had applied for membership in May of this year. Their application for approval HAS NOT BEEN ACCEPTED by the ASA
at this time, and he assured me that it WOULD NOT BE APPROVED!
He was surprised that they had been listed as new members in both the Addendum to the 2008 ICAST Buyer's Guide and the ASA
newsletter. He was very shocked that they somehow got ahold of
our names and mailing address. We assume that they were somehow able to obtain a badge for entry into ICAST, even though
they were not officially registered, giving them access to the ICAST
Buyer's Guide. They are investigating this matter.

Gordan also stated that the ASA considers Sierra Club positions and actions in DIRECT OPPOSITION to the sportfishing industry and
ASA mission. Sierra Club is in favor of the closure of marine areas
in the pacific northwest to sportfishing, and they have lobbied to
close access roads on federal lands to fishing and other recreational activities which would require a motorized vehicle.

IMO, this organization is more dangerous than PETA, and definately
more sneaky!

I am waiting for an official written statement from ASA, and several
members have been notified of these recent developments. Until I
see it in writing, it is just hersay, although I trust Gordon and his
statements! He did state in writing that Sierra Club is NOT a member at this time.

[Nozmo King]

Dude! Are you even bothering to read anything you’re posting? This is a direct quote from the ALF website:

Tons of animal-loving anti-hunting donors' hard-earned money and heart-given donations are pumped into pro-hunting and downright hunting organizations with names like the Audubon Society, the National Wildlife Federation, the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club, the World Wildlife Foundation, to name just a few.

ALF is a nutty group. They’re not the Sierra Club! They don’t have anything to do with the Sierra Club! That’s like someone confusing the NRA & KKK. Like I said, to ALF– which by the way is a very murky group – Sierra Clubbers are wimpy sell-outs.

And, get real. If the Sierra Club actually put out that statement, which is questionable, since your source of the quote is the ALF website, not the Sierra Club’s, they’re not referring to tournament fishing. A lot of Sierra Clubbers are catch & release trout anglers.

I understand you don’t like the Sierra Club, but for crap’s sake, get your facts straight! If those are your opinions of what you think the Sierra Club stands for, that’s fine. At least say they’re your opinions & don’t try to pass them off as facts.

[Ringer]

One of the more prominent positions advocated by the Sierra Club has been to open the lower chutes of the Glen Canyon dam and let the river go back to free flow. No more Lake Powell. Many lawsuits and position statements on record. Do you think that is a sensible proposition that will help fishermen or humanity in general? Wonder how Southern California would do without water to drink and how much produce would go up with no irrigation water? Any of your lakes fed from the Colorado river impoundments? Bunch of dumba$$es tilting at windmills. They are NOT a friend of the sportsman.

[kazk]

I need to correct ypur use of DUDE in realtion to Lane. Lane is a lady and a marine biologist who works with some of our government agencies in protecting our fisheries. I don't think she is one to exaggerate or post any untruths as they relate to the Sierra Club.

Chris Koda

[Lane]

First off, I am a dudess, NOT a dude!

Second off, the positions stated were taken from printed material
BELONGING to The Shooting Sports Foundations. You are right
Sierra Club's position is NOT RADICAL ENOUGH for the Animal Liberation Front, but radical non the less. There several degrees of radical extremists!

Third off, A few years ago, Sierra Club sued the Army Corp of
Engineers over the flow of water into Canyon Lake, which is
a Corp dam and lake. They wanted them to release several CSF
of water which could have flooded and killed people downstream.
Sierra Club LOST the suit in the Texas Supreme Court. After the
suit, the corp was doing some work on the dam in conjunction with
the Guadalupe River Valley Authority and there were 4 work trailers
near the dam. One night those trailers were set on fire, and to
this day Sierra Club is the number one SUSPECT in the case, which has not been solved!

I consider any group of organization activities and or agendas that could endanger HUMAN life and welfare a RADICAL organization!

[John Barron]

You will find that the Sierra Club has cut off access to private land. Land that people paid for and can no longer get to. How do you think they feel about the Sierra Club and do you think that's fair?

I think you will find people like Baggerly of the Board of Directors for Casitas Water is a member of the Sierra Club and has publically denounced competitive fishing and has said this is their stance.

You will easily find State AB's that have tried small print riders banning certain things that would ban tournament fishing and I would venture to guess there are several people reading this thread that will argue with you all day and night.

Beyond the fact that Lane is a lady, she is a very knowledgeable lady and is very much up to speed on the Sierra Club and PETA. Her business depends on it. Her credentials are hard to challenge as she is a Biologist in the industry and has been for a long time.
John Barron

[kazk]

John

Me thinks I smell as Sierra Club Member. He protestet too much.


Chris Koda

[Ray L.]

The Sierra Club is a bunch of Left Wing nutcases who would love to see most of the coastline closed to fishing, boating or any type of recreation. They also do close access to roads as much as possible. Fact not fiction. They would also like to see some of the dams that give all of us in the entire state drinking water and great fishing blown up and natural flows started again. Eventhough this may cause millions in damage for people living down stream.

[John Barron]

To quote me

Amazing.................Simply Amazing

[John Barron]

*NM*

[John Barron]

A few years ago there was a Senate bill about a bunch of nothing important. No one was payng much attention to it and at the bottom was a rider that wanted to outlaw the use of "lead" weights for fishing. This was at the time just before Tungsten and still no one really paid much attention but someone read the whole thing and at the very bottom it was outlawing the taking of game fish for competitive purposes. It was backed by the Sierra Club and PETA, People Eat Tasty Animals I think is what it stands for. Again fortunately some one was paying attention.

[mark poulson]

Lane is a woman???? Boy, I'm glad I didn't have my usual potty mouth when I emailed her. Whew!
Tearing down dams, instead of building them, in this time of global warming and drought, is just plane dumb.
Protecting wilderness is important, but keeping people from enjoying that protected wilderness kind of misses the point.
And trying to outlaw fishing, and tournaments, is just wrong headed. They're picking the wrong fight.
They need to lean on our government to stop foreign long liners and trawlers from raping the oceans. The marine sanctuaries are a drop in the bucket. The rising CO2 is making the oceans more acidic, dissolving both coral reefs and the shells of the zoo plankton that are the basis of the food chain for the entire ocean. And half the world's population (of humans) gets it food, one way or another, from the sea.
They need to come down off their high horses, and use some common sense.
Saving the world's wildlife won't mean much if it doesn't include us.

[John Barron]

Are so bad it borders insanity. I do promise you one thing though if they were in the position of getting killed by a bear or killing the bear............guess which one dies............but if it were you in that position well then that's just the natural order of things.
jb

[CN]

Dam's are designed to either control flood's or storage and hydro electric.

What bother's me about Dam's on River's is they do have an affect on the Aquaphur's(sp).Some of the Dam's in Northern California and the lower Colorado do feed Southern Cal,no hijacking this,so how can it not affect ground water.Most of us do draw our own ground water and that's what scare's me.

And to stay on topic yes these radical group's do more harm than good.They are TO cought up in there OWN interest's.

Mike

[Ringer]

Well, just about everything man has done has some impact so what is the answer? Blow the dams up and we can all move out of California, Arizona and Nevada? People are more important than animals and growth has it's costs.

[Nozmo King]

Well, if nothing else, this thread has reminded me of the pointlessness of arguing on the Internet.

Back to the original topic - bottom line is the Sierra Club has never opposed sport fishing & no one, at least on this thread, has been able to produce even a shred of credible evidence to the contrary. Please, assertions from ALF or some fruitloop gun organization as to what the Sierra Club supports are bogus. Go to their website & get some facts.

And, no, I'm not a Sierra Club member, although after reading this thread, I might join or at least send them a big donation.

You know what they say: "Relax in the comfort of your delusions."

Fire away. I'm out.

[mark poulson]

"The trouble with extremists is not that they are extreme, it's that they are intolerant". Nuts are just that, nuts. You can't reason with nuts.

I don't know if people are more important than anything else in the grand scheme of things, but, if there is to be a world worth living in for my kids and grand kids, we the people are the only ones who can make it happen. Not the bears, the fish, or the spotted owls. We may have screwed up the world we live in, but no one else is going to save our bacon but us.

[kb]

You guys care to ask around about the efforts of the Sierra Club in "taking back" Lake Berryessa and returning to it's natural state. Forcing the closure of all but two marina's on the lake and throwing out homes and mobile homes and boat docks throughout the lake...

As left wing as it gets and with our goofy Arnold not what we need in the ASA. Let's hope ASA realized this before they have one member.

kb

[Ringer]

Nozmo-you been drinking the KoolAid. How can we continue to fish in Lake Powell if there is no Lake Powell? Not exactly supporting sportfishing then are they?

[kazk]

I don's know how old you are or what your experiences are but a few years back the Sierra Club closed of a portion of a high sierra lake to " clean up the trash that the public had left behind on their visit there" They did clean up the trash but the area they used to park their vehicles in was where an endangered butterfly used fir a nesting site. The area was left so damaged by their vehicles that the butterflies are no longer in existence there. That the Sierra Club for you. As for spending their own dollars on projects they like to use public funds and not their own as per one of their members said to me "They contribute thir time which is far more valuable than their own personal funds" . Funny but we fisherman contribute approxi,ately 1.5 billion dollars per year through different self imposed taxes on tackle and accessories than the entire Sierra Club organization. Have you ever tried to feed a deer herd with hours and not feed? They tend to die of starvation.

Chris Koda