Fight you say? Yes...the fight for their survival.
It's taken me a while to get into this. Not for a lack of passion or caring, but I want to have my shit straight when I start spouting off on issues.
I want to correct and concise.
I want to have facts, and coupled with the emotion that we all have for Salmon and Steelhead...I want to sound like I've got my head screwed on correctly
In short, I've needed to become educated.
So I've begun the process, and working now to learn more about the lower 4 Snake River Damns and their impact on our inland fishery, and their impact on the fishery as a whole
Lending a hand in my education is Jerry White, a big dog from Save our Wild Salmon and director of the Working Snake River Project. Lots more to come about these linked orgaizations later.
We Sportsmen and Women are a powerful bunch. I dont care if you have a spinning reel, a click pawl or a disc drag to hold your line....it's time to join the fight.
I have erred in the past...as shown here . But it's about moving forward in a combined effort, realizing we have a gift and we better link up to keep it available for future little boys and girls who get to experience the show a hot steelhead can put on.
If you have other conservation groups I should know about, please let me know.
I am ready for the knowledge
I like your proactive stance and willingness to learn. I went through a similar realization and I wasn't sure how to get involved. I realized very quickly that my knowledge of fish was limited to a fishing perspective. Which, while a passionate view, is not the most empirical. I have ended up taking a biology class, final is today, and really getting a more nuanced/scientific view. In someways if you have time to do this it is the best way to get educated. Also, shadowing a fisheries biologists while they doe counts or something related is also very useful. Anyway, best in your endeavors. I enjoy reading your blog, I have my own at www.reddheadflyfishing.com
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to kudos your proactive approach. I had the same realization that I needed to get involved and better understand the issues. I realized quickly that I only had a 'fisherman's' perspective and not a scientific perspective. So, I ended up taking a biology class, final is today!, and it has really helped me to better understand the issues surrounding fisheries. Additionally, I have found shadowing a fisheries biologists when they count fish or something of the like can really help to better understand fisheries and the environment in which they exist. Anyway, like reading the blog.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nativefishsociety.org/
ReplyDeletehttp://wildsteelheadcoalition.org/
http://www.westernrivers.org/pages/main5.html
http://wildfishconservancy.org/
http://www.hohrivertrust.org/
Thanks for Joining the fight! It's like Tom McGuane says in his oft repeated quote:
ReplyDelete“We have reached the time in the life of the planet, and humanity’s demand upon it, when every fisherman will have to be a river-keeper, a steward of marine shallows, a watchman on the high seas. We are beyond having to put back what we have taken out. We must put back more than we take out.”
The Longest Silence – Thomas McGuane