Felt-Soled Waders and Wading Shoes Are On the Way Out - Effective March 21 | Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service News

 

Felt-Soled Waders and Wading Shoes Are On the Way Out - Effective March 21

Didymo, also known as Rock Snot, is an invasive, non-native alga of cold flowing waters.

Individual didymo organisms are microscopic, but infestations include enormous numbers. Each individual produces a long stalk from the stream bottom resulting in a yellow-brown slime layer, which can dominate a once beautiful cold water stream.

Didymo is gross, and it can obstruct fishing to the point of being insufferable.

Didymo has also caused destructive changes in stream biology in some of the finest cold fishing waters on the planet.

Resource managers in North America and New Zealand suspected early on that the felt-soled waders and boots of traveling fly fishermen were the pathway for its spread. Subsequent field and laboratory research has confirmed that the felt used for waders is an ideal medium for collecting and transporting microscopic organisms.

DNR scientists and anglers have found seasonal infestations of Didymo in the Gunpowder River and traces of the organism in the Savage River.

Other diseases and injurious species such as Whirling Disease, which is fatal to trout, may be carried on felt soles.

Felt has been banned from New Zealand streams since 2008.

Alaska and Vermont have moved to prohibit felt soles.

Maryland is doing the same.

Maryland’s proposed regulation to prohibit felt soles in all waters is scheduled to become effective in March 2011. DNR welcomes public comment until February 28 via email, fisheriespubliccomment@dnr.state.md.us or mail, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service, ATTN: Felt-Soled Wader Ban Regulation, 580 Taylor Ave., B-2, Annapolis, MD 21401.

Felt-Soled Waders and Wading Shoes Are On the Way Out - Effective March 21 | Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service News

New DRBC Hearings on Drilling - Catskill Flies Forum

 

DRBC ANNOUNCES PUBLIC HEARINGS ON DRAFT NATURAL GAS REGULATIONS
WEST TRENTON, N.J. (Jan. 24) – Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) Executive Director Carol R. Collier today announced the public hearing schedule to receive oral testimony on the proposed natural gas development rulemaking.
The public hearings will be held 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the following locations:
Feb. 22 – Honesdale High School Auditorium, 459 Terrace Street, Honesdale, Pa.
Feb. 22 – Liberty High School Auditorium, 125 Buckley Street, Liberty, N.Y.
Feb. 24 – Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive, Trenton, N.J.
Registration for those who wish to testify will begin one hour prior to the beginning of each hearing session (12:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.). Please note that the registration process will be on a first-come basis and it is estimated that approximately 75 persons will have the opportunity to present oral testimony within the allotted time period for each hearing session. Oral testimony will be limited to two minutes per person, but can be supplemented with written comments submitted at the hearing or prior to the written comments deadline. Oral testimony and written comments will receive the same consideration by the Commissioners prior to any action on the proposed regulations. Elected government officials will be afforded the opportunity to present their two-minute oral testimony at the beginning of the hearing if they contact Paula Schmitt at (609) 883-9500 x224 prior to the date of the hearing.
The DRBC will strictly adhere to the maximum capacity numbers established by local officials for each hearing location (990 Honesdale H.S., 750 Liberty H.S., and 1,833 Patriots Theater).
Written comments will be accepted through the close of business March 16, 2011 by two methods only:
1) Electronic submission using a web-based form available on the DRBC web site (preferred method); or
2) Paper submission mailed or delivered to: Commission Secretary, DRBC, P.O. Box 7360, 25 State Police Drive, West Trenton, NJ 08628-0360. Please include the name, address, and affiliation (if any) of the commenter. As previously noted, paper submissions also will be accepted at the public hearings.
Due to the expected volume, comments that are faxed, telephoned, or emailed to individual DRBC Commissioners and staff will not be accepted for the rulemaking record.
All written comments submitted via the two methods described above that are received prior to 5 p.m. on March 16, 2011 along with the transcript of the oral testimony presented at the hearings will become a part of the rulemaking record and be considered by the Commissioners prior to any action on the proposed regulations. Such action will be taken at a duly noticed public meeting of the Commission at a future date.
The purpose of the proposed regulations is to protect the water resources of the Delaware River Basin during the construction and operation of natural gas development projects. The draft regulations establish requirements to prevent, reduce, or mitigate depletion and degradation of surface and groundwater resources and to promote sound practices of watershed management.
The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for managing the water resources within the 13,539 square-mile Delaware River Basin. The five Commission members are the Governors of the basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and the Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government.
Additional information, including a fact sheet and the text of the proposed regulations, can be found on the Commission’s web site at www.drbc.net.

 

Connecticut Anglers Face $500 Fine for Using Lead Jigs and Sinkers – Make Your Voice Heard

Send a message to your state legislators opposing burdensome and unwarranted fishing tackle regulations today

A bill has been introduced in the Connecticut General Assembly to prohibit the sale and use of the most commonly used lead sinkers and jigs in state waters. This comes on the heels of a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that a federal ban on lead fishing tackle is unwarranted. Further, anyone found in violation of this proposed ban will be fined $500 per incident. That is six times more severe than the penalty for fishing without a license! A ban on lead fishing tackle in Connecticut will have a significant negative impact on the state's recreational anglers and fisheries resources, but a negligible impact on the waterfowl populations that it seeks to protect. There is no scientific data to support such a ban.

How You Can Help

KeepAmericaFishing™ needs your help to protect your right to fish in Connecticut. By sending thousands of letters to the EPA and Members of Congress, anglers like you helped ensure that the federal lead ban petition was rejected. You can do the same to defeat the lead ban bill in the Connecticut General Assembly.

Please take action now to ensure that this lead ban legislation will not be adopted. There will be a public hearing on this bill on January 31, so please send a message to Connecticut state legislators today!  Connecticut residents are also encouraged to attend the hearing to voice your opposition.

The Situation

In an attempt to ban the sale and use of the most commonly used lead fishing sinkers and jigs in Connecticut, S.B. 59 was introduced in the General Assembly on January 10. Connecticut anglers generate over $268 million in retail sales with a $445 million impact on the nation's economy. A ban of lead sinkers and jigs in Connecticut is not reasonable or warranted without the scientific data to support such a ban. Fishing tackle made from alternatives to lead can be much more expensive and do not perform as well. Adding to this, S.B. 59 proposes a $500 fine per violation, while the penalty for fishing without a license in Connecticut is only $77. If anglers don't act soon, the cost of fishing in Connecticut may significantly increase.

The ban proposed by S.B. 59 is unjustified. The impact on loons and other waterfowl is the most often cited reason for bans on lead fishing tackle, yet Connecticut does not support a breeding loon population and wintering grebe populations are isolated to a few select waterways. Waterfowl populations in Connecticut are subject to much more substantial threats such as habitat loss, water acidification and mercury poisoning. Any lead restrictions need to be based on scientific data that supports the appropriate action for a particular water body or species. The bottom line is that this proposed ban on lead sinkers and jigs is not supported by science or an identified need.

Act Now!

Please follow this link to send a message to a Connecticut state legislator to express your opposition to this scientifically and biologically unjustified fishing tackle ban. Please take action now to ensure that the Connecticut General Assembly does not adopt this unwarranted legislation. Send your message today!

http://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/6394/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=92299

American Rivers: Email - Thank EPA for taking a stand on mountaintop removal!

 

Dear River Advocate,

Recently the people and rivers of Appalachia scored a tremendous victory. After receiving more than 50,000 comments from concerned citizens like you, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) struck down a permit for what would have been the largest mountaintop removal coal mining operation in West Virginia’s history. Please thank EPA for their bold action.

As highlighted in American Rivers’ America’s Most Endangered Rivers™ of 2010 report, mountaintop removal mining buries streams and is incredibly harmful to clean water, fish and wildlife, and public health. West Virginia’s Spruce No. 1 Mine would have destroyed 2,200 acres of mountains and forest and six miles of high-quality streams.

EPA’s decision sends a strong statement against mountaintop removal mining across the region, and Administrator Lisa Jackson deserves our thanks. Please send a note to Administrator Jackson today, thanking EPA for its bold action to protect clean water.

 

2011 fly tying and fly fishing symposium in Utica, NY

2011 fly tying and fly fishing symposium in Utica, NY Saturday March 19th we will be having our 3rd annual Fly Tying Symposium. It will be held at the Hotel Utica and will begin at 9:00am. There will be no price for admission. Come enjoy the fun with bucket raffles and seminars all day. We hope to have at least 25 exhibition tyers at the event and we also will have side by side fly tying all day long for kids of all ages.

Fly Fishing Life Magazine

Fly Fishing Life Magazine – One of the flip-book online fly fishing magazines. This one has some great articles (New Zealand, guide interviews, etc.) and photography (Louis Cahill).

A Real Good Site

I just found a real neat site with a lot of good info on it. Go take a look.

http://www.flyfishingtechniques.co/