Gary Stinson, Conservation Chairperson
Conservation Tidbits — August 2010
First up, I would like to thank our Water Watch group for their continuing
efforts for monitoring some of our fishing waters in Arizona: David Mayl,
Craig Mernitz, Terry Loyer, Cliff DeVleig and John Jordan.
An update on Bristol Bay
This is quote from the report following a recent meeting with segment of Pebble
Mine owners (Mitsubishi) and NRDC Representatives (Natural Resources Defense
Council) (No agreements reached.)
NRDC’s Comment
“The facts remain: the massive Pebble Mine would be dug right at the headwaters
of the pristine watershed that feeds Bristol Bay. The mine would generate some
10 billion tons of waste, including toxic byproducts like arsenic and cyanide.
As all large mines do, it would leak, spilling copper -- which is toxic to
salmon -- right into Alaska’s biggest sockeye salmon fishery, on which wildlife,
Native communities and commercial fishermen all depend for their survival.”
My Comment
In the continuing effort to stop this mine, I would encourage you to contact
your Congressional Representatives and ask them to take action to curtail this project.
Information on the Canyon Creek restoration can be found at:
http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/CanyonCreekRiparianRestoration.shtml
Conservation Tidbits — June 2010
It has been a busy year so far for conservation issues and projects for AFC.
The Governor signed the Commissioner’s Recommendation Board Bill which will be effective in July. We are seeking to have someone from one of the fishing clubs fill one of the five spots on the board.
The Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish Bill will go to the citizenry for vote in the November general election. The AFC Board of Directors has endorsed this legislation.
Canyon Creek has been the poster child for several efforts going on this year including removal of the Elk fencing, Quality Water designation and signage, possibly gravel addition for spawning help and possibly Wild and Scenic designation. We particularly want to recognize ZGTU for their spearheading efforts on a lot of this.
Our own John Jordon has been put on the Glen Canyon AMWG Committee for area oversight as the FFF Representative. This is a very big deal.
AZSFW of which we are a member, got the Arizona Wildlife license plate “put on the public shelf”. This creates grant funding for educational and conservation efforts like AFC’s Youth Camp Days. A lot of our folks, that’s you, have stepped in to help on a lot of projects and have certainly worked individually to help clean up habitat areas where
we have fished. You have gone the extra mile to be sure we are not moving invasive plants and ani-mals like zebra snails, etc.
Don’t forget, our voice and your vote counts. Stay involved.
The following Reprint w/permission is from
John Cameron, Conservation Officer, Fresno Flyfishers Club.
Imagine that you have been running for your life, that the predator catches you to-tally out of breath, and then submerses your head in a bucket of water. How long do you think you would be able to survive under such circumstances? Of course, you wouldn’t be able to hold your breath as long as you could normally. The same is true of a trout that has been struggling against a line. By the time it is brought to hand, it is quite out of “breath”, if that’s the proper term for a creature with gills. The lesson to that is to keep the trout in the water as much as possible, lifting it out only briefly for pictures or to remove the hook.
Trout are covered with a coating of protective slime that most humans find less than pleasant, but that is important to the survival of the trout. Handling the fish removes some of that protective slime. Trout should be handled as little as possible, and only with wet hands. Always dip your hand in the water before handling the fish. Better yet, don’t take the fish out of the water at all, but pull the hook out with pliers or forceps, touching only the fly.
If the hook is deep in the throat, the only way to safely release the fish is to cut the line and sacrifice the fly. Pulling it out will injure the fish, and compromise its chances of survival. Using bait is a sure way to ensure that most fish will be hooked deeply, and will have little chance of survival. Using barbless hooks with no bait is the way to go.
Never squeeze or step on a fish that you intend to release, as that will cause internal injuries. Obviously, you should never allow a trout to flop on the ground before re-lease either.
Another consideration is water temperature. Trout are stressed when the water be-gins to warm up, because that makes oxygen levels go down. Struggling against a hook and line will stress them even more, making their survival less likely. Consider other waters or other pursuits when the water warms up.
Trout that have been played out, and are simply laying in the shallow water trying to breath, may appear to have a pretty small chance of survival, but they can come to life very quickly if allowed to stay in the water. If the fish is too tired to swim up-right, it can still be revived by holding its head in the current so that water flows over the gills. Played out trout can demonstrate a remarkable recovery, as I found out one time while going to get a camera to “keep” a fish that had been brought to hand and was laying on its side in shallow water. Imagine my surprise to return to find that the fish had not only come to life, but had the power to tow a rod and reel out into the middle of the lake! Had it not come unhooked on its own, that rig would still be on the bottom.
Updates on CURRENT Arizona Legislation Related to Outdoor Sports
There have been two bills introduced into the Arizona Legislature this past month which have an effect on Outdoor Sportsmens' Clubs in Arizona.
Both of these bills have cleared the committee process and been sent to the Floor with “DO PASS” recommendations.
The first piece of legislation is to place a referendum before Arizona citizens making hunting and fishing a right under the Arizona Constitution. Not much really changes in day to day practice and management of our hunting and fishing except that it makes it more difficult for anyone or any group to attack access to hunting and fishing down the road. Ten states have already adopted this type of legislation and four including Arizona are looking at putting it before their citizens this year. The Arizona Game and Fish Commission has endorsed this legislation.
The next bill institutes a five person board to manage the review and recommenda-tion of Commissioners for Game and Fish to the Governor when it is time to make an appointment. Currently all appointments are made by the Governor and the Gover-nor’s staff does the review and takes public input. The Commission does not cur-rently support this legislation, but the House Committee approved it with a Do Pass recommendation and sent it on to the Floor. There are a number of conditions in this bill that will be hotly debated and certainly could be altered from the present form if passed.
Thinking of New Wading Boots? It's Not a Bad Idea!
This is not news but we need to re-visit this stuff from time to time.
Orvis has a new perspective that promotes getting a pair of wader boots specific to each water you fish if you intend to stay with felt. A little expensive, but frankly a good idea.
A number of environmental and state wildlife organizations are now discouraging the use of felt bottom soles due to the porous soles allowing diseases and small organisms (such as whirling disease spores, and rock snot diatoms) to penetrate deeply into the felt. Thus it is hard to adequately kill the organism but at the same time, the organisms can come back out of the felt later on. Testing by the New Zealand Biosecurity has proved this. It also has proven that many cleaning agents are not able to penetrate deep into the material in a reasonable period of time.
It is also quite hard to completely rinse cleaners and disinfectants out of the sole which then can leach out in the stream.
This may or may not be a small issue, but it does give concern to government agencies and probably causes heart palpitations to extreme environmentalist. Certainly non-chemical options such as high heat drying and hot water would have no environmental impacts, so use them whenever possible.
The following is a direct reprint from the AZGFD website concerning the
HERITAGE FUND.
Arizona voters created the Heritage Fund in 1990, designating up to $10 million a year
from lottery ticket sales for the conservation and protection of the
state’s wildlife and natural areas.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department spends its Heritage
Fund dollars to recover threatened and endangered species, to help urban residents appreciate and coexist with our unique wildlife, to educate children about the environment, and to create new oppor-tunities for outdoor recreation.
Because the department receives no money from the state's General Fund like most other state agencies do to cover their operating budgets, income from the Heritage Fund is critical to recovering and sustaining Arizona’s unique native wildlife and to
managing more than 800 native species.
What we need to be aware of is that the Az State Legislature is likely to try and sweep these funds into the general fund leaving the GFD without means to fulfill their mission.
You need to make your opinion about any sweeping of Heritage Funds known to your local state legislature representatives. Your opinion counts. Call or write to them today. You can find your representative at
www.azleg.gov/memberroster.asp
White Mountains Lake Foundation (WMLF)
On November 21st, the White Mountain Lakes Foundation (WMLF) held its first meeting and approved its initial articles and elected Officers (John Rohner, President; Brian Boyer, Vice President; Mark Lucht, Treasurer; Gena Hall, Secretary), and Board Members (Bob Bowers, Brandon McDermott, Gary Stinson, Jeff Collins, Todd Rovelstad).
The WMLF is open to membership by individuals and organizations both. Membership is fee based. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3) corporation. The purpose of the organization is to improve fishing opportunities and quality in the White Mountain waters. That includes all lands within the White Mountain range. The latitude of
endeavor is not limited but certainly focused on Agencies rules issues, habitat, and
species management. Additionally, the beginning effort will be to look at a few lakes specifically and endeavor to begin the process of making a difference and then
growing the effort to additional waters within the range.
It is the intention of the organization to gather funds and invest them in the range
infrastructure and to influence public policy affecting the waters and fishing and to mount volunteer efforts to work on projects.
The WMLF sees itself as a focused group on a specific area and in that venue
seeks the support of and to support other organizations such as Trout Unlimited,
Federation of Fly Fishers, WCC, AZSFW, et. al.
Join Water Watch!
We still need folks to join Water Watch and be part of the monitoring program for
AFC. Assignments that are open are Oak Creek, Upper Verde River, Silver Creek, Tonto
Creek (all of it) White Mountain Coalition Waters, Payson Lakes, and Canyon Creek. Haigler and Fossil Creek are assigned.
As part of Water Watch, we need you to monitor what is going on with that water and to alert the Conservation Chair as to any needs or help we as a club might offer to help support the quality of the fishery and to keep the club posted on fishing conditions of interest on those waters. It is a pretty fun job actually and will help you get insights into the workings of AZGFD, The Forest Service, USF&W and the BLM. (The Alphabet Soup Group). As the conservation Chair of AFC, I will make sure that you receive all the help needed to take on one of these assignments. Please contact me at gary@t-fdn.net to learn more.The effort to restore
native trout, Apache and Gila, continues. The West Fork of Oak Creek project is beginning to achieve reality. The Haigler Creek area is under analysis and review and is looking positive. The Apache-Sitgreaves Forest Services, Anglers United, TU, FFF and AZGFD have drafted a co-operative agreement to work to that end. The White Mountain Apache Nation tribes have already made great gains and are continuing their
stewardship.
We and others have contributed time and money to these efforts and will do so in the
future. We are very proud and pleased that AFC members have played their part in this ongoing effort.
Items of Interest
HR 7151 the “Heritage Wildlife” Bill is now HR 2807, if you want to check on its progress.
See
HR 2807
Also, Representative Kind (D-Wisc) has introduced legislation specifically aimed at improving
fisheries management as well.
HR 2561.
Click here for more information on the
Canyon Creek Habitat Restoration Project.
For more information on Bristol Bay, you are invited to go to the website: The-Fisheries.Net
and view the article on the
“Along The Way Page”
for a recent interview with Dr. Carol Woody regarding fish surveys in the Bristol Bay area.
There is also a nice piece on the
White Mountains in the Arizona section.
The
Omnibus Public Lands Bill
(HR 146) was passed by Congress. The issue for us is that Fossil Creek will receive the Wild
and Scenic River designation which will serve to protect and conserve it.
HR 7151, the Heritage Lands Bill effort has gotten lots of good feedback and much of it from
Arizona through the WCC which we support. The result is increasing support in
congress and by Wildlife Organizations and thus an increased likelihood we will see
it become law. While we will be holding our Memorial Day outing in the White
Mountains, it is of note that Operation Game Thief will be creating a significant
presence in the Payson Rim Country that same week-end in co-operation with TU.
AZG&F is making an increased effort to communicate to the public about fishing and
environmental clean up rules as well as hunting issues. This report was sent to us
by AG&F regarding a recent fish count in the fishable section of fossil Creek.
"Just thought you all might be interested in the fruits of your labor, here are
the numbers of fish from our 60 net sets: Roundtail Chub-1,823, Longfin dace-10,
Speckled dace-64, Sonora sucker-243, Desert sucker-106. Thanks again for all
your help." The season will be open at Fossil Creek starting this next October
through April. Specifically Roger Cahoon, Dick Kennedy and Dick Brown of NAF
were instrumental in helping secure a fishing season there.
HR 7151, The Heritage Act is still stalled in Congress. Likewise, the Farm Bill was still pending in Congress as well. Among other things, this Bill contains funding that affects items like the Wild and Scenic program and many recreational projects. Like everything right now, there are lots of funding questions. One of the interesting aspects of the Global Warming issues has been an increase in interest in fly fishing for warm water species. Our Roosevelt outing is an example. More and more magazine articles have appeared in the past two years focusing on warm water species. And even Lefty Kreh in the last issue of Fly Fishing Magazine said his favorite fish to throw a line at is Smallmouth Bass. It is of note that Arizona has 19 species of warm water game fish and 9 species of cold water game fish. With the weather opening us up to more trips to more places, warm water and coldwater fisheries, everyone needs to remind themselves that it is importantto keep ourwaders, boots, and other equipment cleaned up and in somecases disinfected to avoid transporting harmful micro-organisms.
Clean Gear Means Clear Fishing
Much has been said about the need to clean your felt bottom wading shoes when leaving streams or rivers infested with whirling disease. Bright Water is a product you can purchase but one must go to the right store or online to acquire the item. Some have suggested a 5 percent bleach solution but
many see this as a very harmful solution especially for breathable waders. If you pay that much for waders, you don’t want to ruin them up with bleach.
Now here is something that shows great promise and can be purchased at your local grocery or hardware store. 409 Antibacterial (All Purpose or Kitchen—the Kitchen blend contains a lemon scent and is probably not desirable due to this agent) has the a chemical that has been shown effective in killing the whirling disease spores but in a lower concentration than some suggest and is generally sold and used by consumers. The chemical is dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. 409 Antibacterial has a 0.3% concentration of this chemical. Fantastic has the same chemical at a concentration of 0.11%. Regardless whether you make the choice to use any of these products, you should follow manufactures directions. You need to be extremely careful to avoid eye contact and never take it internally. You should also fully rinse your boots after using a chemical such as this. These products are designed to be an antibacterial and will kill organisms.
So here’s your order of business no matter what product you choose to disinfect your gear. First, clean off all the mud, old water, algae, etc. Next, disinfect using the product you selected, leave on for several minutes. Finally, rinse your equipment thoroughly with clear water after disinfecting so that you are not introducing a toxic chemical to your favorite fishing stream or lake.
Your Lands Your Wildlife" (HR 7151) report...
is now available at
http:// www.yourlandsyourwildlife.org/index.php
Go to READ THE REPORT.