Post by JoeOverlock on Nov 25, 2005 13:50:59 GMT -5
Published: Thursday, November 17, 2005
The Daily Herald - Everett, Washington
State loses its Trout Unlimited charter
In what is seen by many angler/conservationist volunteers throughout the state as an arrogant and unjustified slap in the face, Arlington, Va.-based Trout Unlimited has suspended the charter of its Washington state council.
The move has angered and disappointed many of the estimated 660 members in 20-plus chapters statewide, and a substantial percentage are expected to quit the organization.
The charter suspension eliminates volunteer control of the organization in-state, but not of the chapters themselves, including the Sky Valley, Northshore and Edmonds-Laebugten chapters. A North Carolina Trout Unlimited staff member, Kirkwood Otey, has been appointed by the Trout Unlimited board of trustees to "run" the collective Washington chapters.
Whether there will be any chapters left to run remains to be seen, said Gary Bee, founding member and past president of the Sky Valley Chapter in Monroe.
"Roughly 10 percent of any club's members accomplish most of the programs," Bee said, "and of the 'doers' in the Sky Valley Chapter I've talked to, we'll be losing at least half."
Bee said he personally will give the organization a year to see how it shakes down, and he hopes to have enough of the Sky Valley Chapter's 130 members left to host the popular kids' fishing derby on Lake Tye next spring.
Steve Moyer, Trout Unlimited's national vice president for governmental affairs and volunteer operations, said "We plan to have the (Washington) council reorganized and back in operation sometime next year. We have no idea how many members we will lose over this, but we will be sending out a letter to every member, outlining our position and asking them to stay."
There apparently are a number of reasons for the split, but the basic fault line is between the traditional Northwest recreational fishing lifestyle and the conservation of anadromous steelhead and salmon resources. Are the Trout Unlimited chapters in Washington going to be fishing clubs, Sierra Club-type conservation groups or a mix?
Trout Unlimited apparently felt the Washington Council was too preoccupied with hatcheries, harvest stats, allocations, state and federal regulations, and the other issues important to putting a hook successfully in the water, and not enough with habitat enhancement and other aspects of hard-core conservation. Moyer said the trustees also thought the Washington Council was too heavily dominated by Puget Sound-area chapters, and hadn't made enough effort to involve new members in habitat conservation.
Local members dispute that, saying all chapters have been heavily involved for years in habitat preservation and restoration work, and that the eastern establishment is out of touch with the unique problems inherent in enhancing species that travel over huge distances and are affected by a double handful of government entities and user groups.
Bee said many members also thought the national organization should have provided more guidance, more positive interim communication, before bringing the hammer irrevocably down.
So where will members come from to replace those who have been told their years of volunteer effort for the Northwest resource have been, if not wasted, then at least misguided?
"They apparently feel there are a lot of conservationists out there waiting for the focus of the Washington chapters to change," Bee said.
Get rid of the sport fishermen and the conservationists will come out of the woodwork?
Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Meanwhile, here are a few alternatives, with addresses and monthly meeting dates:
* Everett Steelhead & Salmon Club, Puget Sound Anglers; P.O. Box 1646, Everett, Wash., 98206; jbrauch@comcast.net.
* Sno-King Chapter, Puget Sound Anglers; P.O. Box 55158, Shoreline, Wash., 98155; second Thursday of each month at the South County Senior Center, 220 Railroad Ave., Edmonds.
* Snohomish County Sportsmen's Association; 6410 99th Ave. S.E., Snohomish, Wash., 98290; fourth Thursday, old library building, Snohomish; Mark Spada, 425-210-0833.
* Wild Steelhead Coalition, 218 Main St., Box 264, Kirkland, Wash.; first Wednesday, Bothell American Legion.
* Wildcat Steelhead Club, P.O. Box 435, Sedro-Woolley, Wash., 98284; last Thursday, Sedro-Woolley Senior Center; call Holiday Market Sports, 360-757-4361.
Blackmouth: The local winter blackmouth season continues to be unimpressive, although there are a few fish around for those willing to put in the time. Fishing is expected to pick up in December and January, those in the know say.
Bob Ferber at Holiday Market Sports in Burlington said Saratoga Passage has been fair at times, including the areas off Greenbank, Onamac, and Elger Bay. Flasher/green hoochie setups have probably been the most productive.
Other decent checks have come from the south Sound, where, on Saturday, four boats at the Point Defiance Boathouse had three blackmouth.
Guide and radio personality Tom Nelson likes the idea of looking for sand lance, right on a sandy bottom, in 60 to 120 feet of water this time of year.
Chums: There's still good fishing for chums from the beach at the Hoodsport Salmon Hatchery on Hood Canal. State checks there on Sunday showed 58 anglers with 87 fish. Nelson said the Skagit is smokin' for a mix of chums and late coho. Snow and cold not seen in the high country for a long time have the big river in prime condition, even below the Sauk.
Steelhead: The trap on the Cowlitz yielded 11 winter steelhead last week (compared to 199 summer-runs) to Tacoma Power employees, plus a whole bunch of coho.
Over on the Peninsula, Bob Gooding at Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks said very few winter fish have been taken to date. Traditionally, he said, local steelheaders don't start getting serious until Thanksgiving. The Hoh and Calawah rivers have both produced a fish or two, Gooding said.
Wildfire losses: Sadly, almost half the elk and bighorn sheep, and nearly a third of the deer in the Tucannon Game Management Unit (166) of the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area in the southeast corner of the state were killed by the big "School" wildfire in August. According to the state, carcasses of 200 elk, 150 deer and eight bighorn sheep were discovered recently as foresters and biologists surveyed the burn.
The unit normally winters 400 to 500 elk, about 500 deer, and 17 sheep. The entire Blue Mountains area, including a dozen management units, supports more than 10,000 deer, 4,500 elk, and 250 bighorns.
The Daily Herald - Everett, Washington
State loses its Trout Unlimited charter
In what is seen by many angler/conservationist volunteers throughout the state as an arrogant and unjustified slap in the face, Arlington, Va.-based Trout Unlimited has suspended the charter of its Washington state council.
The move has angered and disappointed many of the estimated 660 members in 20-plus chapters statewide, and a substantial percentage are expected to quit the organization.
The charter suspension eliminates volunteer control of the organization in-state, but not of the chapters themselves, including the Sky Valley, Northshore and Edmonds-Laebugten chapters. A North Carolina Trout Unlimited staff member, Kirkwood Otey, has been appointed by the Trout Unlimited board of trustees to "run" the collective Washington chapters.
Whether there will be any chapters left to run remains to be seen, said Gary Bee, founding member and past president of the Sky Valley Chapter in Monroe.
"Roughly 10 percent of any club's members accomplish most of the programs," Bee said, "and of the 'doers' in the Sky Valley Chapter I've talked to, we'll be losing at least half."
Bee said he personally will give the organization a year to see how it shakes down, and he hopes to have enough of the Sky Valley Chapter's 130 members left to host the popular kids' fishing derby on Lake Tye next spring.
Steve Moyer, Trout Unlimited's national vice president for governmental affairs and volunteer operations, said "We plan to have the (Washington) council reorganized and back in operation sometime next year. We have no idea how many members we will lose over this, but we will be sending out a letter to every member, outlining our position and asking them to stay."
There apparently are a number of reasons for the split, but the basic fault line is between the traditional Northwest recreational fishing lifestyle and the conservation of anadromous steelhead and salmon resources. Are the Trout Unlimited chapters in Washington going to be fishing clubs, Sierra Club-type conservation groups or a mix?
Trout Unlimited apparently felt the Washington Council was too preoccupied with hatcheries, harvest stats, allocations, state and federal regulations, and the other issues important to putting a hook successfully in the water, and not enough with habitat enhancement and other aspects of hard-core conservation. Moyer said the trustees also thought the Washington Council was too heavily dominated by Puget Sound-area chapters, and hadn't made enough effort to involve new members in habitat conservation.
Local members dispute that, saying all chapters have been heavily involved for years in habitat preservation and restoration work, and that the eastern establishment is out of touch with the unique problems inherent in enhancing species that travel over huge distances and are affected by a double handful of government entities and user groups.
Bee said many members also thought the national organization should have provided more guidance, more positive interim communication, before bringing the hammer irrevocably down.
So where will members come from to replace those who have been told their years of volunteer effort for the Northwest resource have been, if not wasted, then at least misguided?
"They apparently feel there are a lot of conservationists out there waiting for the focus of the Washington chapters to change," Bee said.
Get rid of the sport fishermen and the conservationists will come out of the woodwork?
Perhaps. Perhaps not.
Meanwhile, here are a few alternatives, with addresses and monthly meeting dates:
* Everett Steelhead & Salmon Club, Puget Sound Anglers; P.O. Box 1646, Everett, Wash., 98206; jbrauch@comcast.net.
* Sno-King Chapter, Puget Sound Anglers; P.O. Box 55158, Shoreline, Wash., 98155; second Thursday of each month at the South County Senior Center, 220 Railroad Ave., Edmonds.
* Snohomish County Sportsmen's Association; 6410 99th Ave. S.E., Snohomish, Wash., 98290; fourth Thursday, old library building, Snohomish; Mark Spada, 425-210-0833.
* Wild Steelhead Coalition, 218 Main St., Box 264, Kirkland, Wash.; first Wednesday, Bothell American Legion.
* Wildcat Steelhead Club, P.O. Box 435, Sedro-Woolley, Wash., 98284; last Thursday, Sedro-Woolley Senior Center; call Holiday Market Sports, 360-757-4361.
Blackmouth: The local winter blackmouth season continues to be unimpressive, although there are a few fish around for those willing to put in the time. Fishing is expected to pick up in December and January, those in the know say.
Bob Ferber at Holiday Market Sports in Burlington said Saratoga Passage has been fair at times, including the areas off Greenbank, Onamac, and Elger Bay. Flasher/green hoochie setups have probably been the most productive.
Other decent checks have come from the south Sound, where, on Saturday, four boats at the Point Defiance Boathouse had three blackmouth.
Guide and radio personality Tom Nelson likes the idea of looking for sand lance, right on a sandy bottom, in 60 to 120 feet of water this time of year.
Chums: There's still good fishing for chums from the beach at the Hoodsport Salmon Hatchery on Hood Canal. State checks there on Sunday showed 58 anglers with 87 fish. Nelson said the Skagit is smokin' for a mix of chums and late coho. Snow and cold not seen in the high country for a long time have the big river in prime condition, even below the Sauk.
Steelhead: The trap on the Cowlitz yielded 11 winter steelhead last week (compared to 199 summer-runs) to Tacoma Power employees, plus a whole bunch of coho.
Over on the Peninsula, Bob Gooding at Olympic Sporting Goods in Forks said very few winter fish have been taken to date. Traditionally, he said, local steelheaders don't start getting serious until Thanksgiving. The Hoh and Calawah rivers have both produced a fish or two, Gooding said.
Wildfire losses: Sadly, almost half the elk and bighorn sheep, and nearly a third of the deer in the Tucannon Game Management Unit (166) of the W.T. Wooten Wildlife Area in the southeast corner of the state were killed by the big "School" wildfire in August. According to the state, carcasses of 200 elk, 150 deer and eight bighorn sheep were discovered recently as foresters and biologists surveyed the burn.
The unit normally winters 400 to 500 elk, about 500 deer, and 17 sheep. The entire Blue Mountains area, including a dozen management units, supports more than 10,000 deer, 4,500 elk, and 250 bighorns.
