AWESOME! A note from ODFW

OceanBlue · 10-22-2002, 07:27 AM

Patty Burke, Marine Resources Program Manager, ODFW asked me to post the following letter. I do so with a great deal of pride!

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"I want to sincerely thank the fishers, processors and concerned citizens who took the time to drive to Sandy October 11th in order to participate in the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting. As many folks know, we had our nearshore moratorium proposal on the agenda. This was the result of many coastal meetings and reflected a strong desire by both the regulated fishing community and ODFW to cap the level of effort (both harvest and number of boats permitted) in the nearshore, absent good information/data to establish more permanent management strategies. It was impressive to listen to the thoughtful comments, constructive suggestions and informed recommendations from each and every speaker. Sixteen of your colleagues had a significant influence that night, on the details and passage of this important first step in nearshore fishery management for Oregon. Not everyone who spoke agreed with every detail of the plan, but to a person, each individual passionately requested Commission action to protect the nearshore. Those who identified problems did so in a way that allowed the commission, in some cases, to immediately respond and adjust the proposal (for example to change the cabezon minimum length from 15” to 16”, or to lower the incidental nearshore species take from 25 pounds to 15 pounds). The meeting went long and into the early evening. People docked their boats/businesses, left work early, and did the detailed work on their own time to prepare their presentations. As a state agency, we sometimes get too focused on our work and our view of how things should get done. In the case of this nearshore process, we benefited greatly from a significant contribution of time from a lot of people. We don’t take time to thank you enough. We don’t remind you enough of how you increase the quality of how we manage our resources. Thank you.

Patty Burke and the ODFW Marine Resources Team in Newport."

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A great big thanks right back to Patty and team! And, of course, to the Commission.

Paddlefish · 10-22-2002, 07:44 AM

Great job, Salty dogs!

You guys did tons o' work and it's great that the positive input was acknowledged, used, and acted upon. Beats the heck out of just complaining all the time.

wak'm&stak'm · 10-22-2002, 07:47 AM

My hat is off to you... :smile:

Pilar · 10-22-2002, 08:37 AM

Hey wait a minute!

Some of the thanks should go to the Marine Resources folks and all the hard work they did. All I know is that they were there when we showed up for meetings and they were still there when we left after speaking our piece. The names of some or all of that group of concerned citizens appears on every report, proposal and draft I get a chance to read.

Having said that we can go to meetings till we're blue in the face and unless we are speaking to folks that value our input we are wasting our time.

For the record the time invested by concerned fishers was not a waste. Patty, Don, Jim and others too numerous to list listened and applied what they heard. As informed and concerned public what we said and did gave them support and reinforced the points they were making to the decision makers.

We are so lucky because we can interact with the folks that manage our fishery and have a hope that we can make a difference.

Thank you Patty for your leadership and your dedicated staff for their hard work.

10-22-2002, 08:49 AM

After years of dealing with the ADF&G (a past director and the current Assistant Deputy Director are good friends) it was nice to see the staff and commissioners respond favorably to "sport fishermen". It seemed like Com Fish or other commercial interests (Charter/Guide) always got what they wanted.

I would like to see more protection for cabazon and ling cod and a 3 mile commercial exclusion zone for bottom fish, but we did gain here. And there is the problem with nets in the Columbia River

.

Deepslayer · 10-22-2002, 10:20 AM

thank you all!!

I have a feeling this year is round one. :shocked: The next couple of years will see a better organized and defined group of participants. When there is evidence that we can make a difference, it encourages fishers to try harder.

Mark Mc · 10-24-2002, 09:11 AM

Good morning y'all........yes, it is great to see the acknowledgement from Patty. Thank you again to all who have been supporting this effort in so many ways.

To piggy-back on Pilar's comment about app-reciation for the Marine Resources Program (staff): This program is just one more group that is being threatened by our state budget "crisis". Whether it is implementing a nearshore plan, or doing marine research that supports our goals, they too need funding. So when you are speaking or writing to the ODFW Commission, or communicating with the Legislature, please be sure to put in a plug for their program. It can be as simple as "I believe the Marine Resources Program should be a high priority to maintain adequate funding."
Thanks...........MMc

OceanBlue · 10-24-2002, 10:14 AM

Thanks Mark. Great lead-in to the next topic coming to an Ifish post near you - NMFS is threatening to take away $220,000 of Oregon's funds and giving it California to make up for their (CA's) short-sighted lack of planning in the past. [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

How about that!?

I have some info on the subject that I haven't digested yet, but when I do, I'll gladly regurgitate it - er - Share it with y'all. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

10-24-2002, 10:18 AM

California should hit Gray Davis's graft fund for the money and leave Oregon funding alone!