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“I just want to go fishing”
William Seymour-Conservation Director
Joan Blankenship-President
If we have heard it once we have heard it a thousand times. “I don’t want to be involved with the politics; I just want to go fishing.” That is great but unless we pay attention to our water resources which are diminishing we may not have that option. In addition, if we don’t start picking up after ourselves we may succeed in polluting every source that we have. One only need to look at history to learn that water can become a valuable commodity and is in short supply in many countries already.
If you follow the trends in the media these days it doesn’t seem like there is a lot of focus on Conservation for 2010. The focus seems to be on the economy, and healthcare, but behind the scenes many individuals are working hard for our environment. At the national and state level we have groups and many organizations working to protect our natural resources. As well as our elected representatives introducing legislation to preserve and protect our waterways and the people that enjoy them everyday.
First of all, at the national level the Obama administration is in the process of developing a structure for managing our oceans, coastal waterways, the Great Lakes, and many of our tidal rivers. The concern from the recreational fishing community is that recreational fishing, and access to fisheries, is a very low priority with the individuals developing this new policy. Secondly, it’s unclear as to how far inland these new regulations could go, even beyond the Great Lakes into isolated man made reservoirs. For this reason, bass anglers need to pay attention.
Unless we wake up and pay attention to what is going on around us we could wake up one day and boat ramps are closed to us. Access to our water resources is going to become a major issue sooner than we think. Personal property owners think it should be theirs and anglers who have used the lakes, rivers and streams for years feel that this right should be maintained. In addition it is the anglers who fund a lot of the conservation efforts as well as the agencies who police our waters.
Another major issue that has been brought to the table is National Fish Habitat Conservation Act. This bill would provide millions of dollars for building fish habitats. It is important that this bill be followed because it will need support from all anglers.
One bill that comes to mind that was introduced at the state level is HB 168. This bill would require all children 12 years of age or younger to wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device (life jacket) on recreational vessels. This is already a rule that has been set by our youth committee during state youth events. Unfortunately, this bill was sent to committee and died there. This bill was especially important because Federal regulations require a life jacket and if you are stopped by a member of the coast guard you can get a ticket while Virginia conservation officers cannot give you one. To be safe, it is best to have your children wear a life jacket. That way everyone is safe.
This year we hope to obtain a grant to promote the “Show your love, Keep Virginia Clean” that was suggested by Steve “Cheeseburger” Roberts. The focus will be on educating our middle school students and trying to see if we can get some interest in returning trash receptacles to boat ramps so that anglers and recreational fisherman can deposit trash in the bins instead of on the ground.
In addition we are taking the lead in trying to get a boat wash at a major ramp in order to wash down all boats before leaving the area in an attempt to stop the spread of noxious weeds and predatory mussels. This will take the effort of all of us.
The protection of our lakes, rivers and streams and the safety for the people that enjoy them should be a personal responsibility for everybody. While we all just want to go fishing, we need to pay close attention to our elected representatives, and be alert to potential threats to our right to fish. Leaving the politics to someone else is no longer an option. It’s all political these days.
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Conservation
