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We must have really put the scare into them as
now they are posting on a certain bulletin board, that they are going to kill
wild steelhead anyways.
Ryan
----- Original Message -----
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.
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