And, Leland, your presentation was eloquent and on target! (Leland's presentation was one of only two or three that drew a well deserved round of applause.) -Bob
----- Original Message ----- From: "Leland Miyawaki" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Waflyfishers" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2001 9:17 AM Subject: WDFW Hearings Report > I believe we accomplished our goal yesterday of showing support for > the statewide release of wild steelhead with no exceptions. > > In a packed room at the Cascade Park Inn, the commission began taking > public testimony at 1:30pm. It was scheduled to go until 3:30, but > due to the number of speakers, it lasted to 4:30. The people for wild > steelhead release far outnumbered those for killing. I don't think > there were more than a dozen of them. > > One by one, fishing clubs from Bellingham to Vancouver, fishing > guides from Puget Sound and Forks, Trout Unlimited, and the Wild > Steelhead Coalition stepped up to voice their support - gear fishers > and flyfishers, people wearing flannel, people wearing fleece, > elitist-liberal-flyfishers and gearchuckers, radical-right-flyfishers > and gearchuckers, Orvis types, Loomis types, St. Croix types, Cabela > types, Sage types, along with cityfolk, countryfolk, suburbanfolk. > The parking lot was filled with new SUV's, pickups, small cars, and > big cars in various colors and shades. And sitting behind the > speakers, I believe I saw just as many red necks as white necks. We > were all united behind this single issue. It was great to see and > hear. > > Additionally, the commission received hundreds, if not thousands, of > letters, email and written testimony from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, > California, British Columbia, and the east coast as well as numerous > position papers, including the 100-page paper from the Wild Steelhead > Coalition. This should provide a lot of late-night reading for the > commission members. > > The commission will vote on the 2002-2003 sportfish rule proposals > February 8-9. Keep your fingers crossed. We're gonna win a biggie. > > Leland. > >
