A tempest in a teapot or a call to worms?
In my casual reading tonight I found something that might get some people excited. In a nutshell, Obama issued an executive order a while back that would create a federal organization with widely sweeping powers to regulate ocean, Great Lakes, and inland waters management. Some people in the fishing industry are saying that it could be the end of sport fishing, ocean, inland, and Great lakes. The folks at ESPN, BASS, the ASA and others are pretty excited about it.
I read through the interim report that the executive order discharged people with generating. It is an environmentalist and global warming advocate’s dream. There were a lot of enviro-centric generalities and some very broad and sweeping powers advocated, and they kept bringing up global warming.
What wasn’t in there was a direct reference to banning sport fishing. Apparently the pro-fishing groups that were in on the planning did not like where it was expected to go once generalities like ecosystem based management and marine spatial planning became more specific mandates in the hands of the environmentalist driven new agency. There have been some fishing area closures recently that they see as a beginning to more sweeping threats to anglers via this order.
Again specific environmental organizations were not mentioned in the report, but several blogs & articles suggest that that some of the more extreme ones like the WWF were very proactive in the planning and just under the surface.
I have issues with it with or without a direct threat to fishing. First of all, something this sweeping should be introduced as legislation and passed into law, not enacted by fiat via executive order. I know that sixty or eighty million fishermen will freak out and stop the law if you went the legislative route, and that might be unpleasant, but didn’t we used to be a representative republic?
Number two, don’t we already have like 6 federal agencies that dabble into ocean and waterways management above and beyond regional organizations and the DNR? What exactly is the crisis that requires another one, and how do you figure on paying for all of these wild fantasies?
If these folks really do intend on limiting or stopping sport fishing they are about to get their heads bit off by the biggest meanest grizzly bear in the land, the American fisherman. People are very passionate about their fishing, and there are a lot of us. A wise man wouldn’t tangle with that.
I don’t know if this is a direct threat to fishing or not, but I can do without it.
RJB
Here are links..
http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/09_17_09_Interim_Report_of_Task_Force_FINAL2.pdf
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/saltwater/news/story?id=4975762
http://www.asafishing.org/newsroom/news_pr100509.html
http://www.asafishing.org/newsroom/news_pr022310.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/news/story?id=4522316
Nice bass Ray. Went out ice fishing the other day with my son – nothing
RJ, I enjoy touching base with your site to get general information on the Silver Cliff area and the events there. Thank you so much for your energetic approach to keeping the rest of us who are not so fortunate to live in the Northwoods informed. Much appreciated. One thought, however: Not all of us are of the same political persuasion as you. If you are trying to maintain as broad an audience as possible, you may reconsider airing your political rants on your blog. How about starting another blog to do just that?
Thanks for your input and support.
I do try to stay apolitical here unless it has something directly to do with something we do around here for fun. I agree that landing on one side or the other needlessly alienates people that would otherwise be friends.
It’s all about transparency! The big statement was just that sorry but that did not happen . Now the underground is still sneeking around with their adganda against the American sportsman.