Utah Needs Your Help!

[Raff]

As some of you may know, there is an epic battle going on in Utah over water recreation rights. We were dealt a blow when a balanced bill, HB80, was voted down in the House, and the next day HB141 was passed. HB141 is a scary bill that would set back Utah fishing 50+ years.

HB141 would make Utah one of the most fisherman-unfriendly states in the nations. It would accomplish 3 things:

1. Close off virtually all waters on private property to any sort of recreation, except in the case that you can float the water. There is a zero tolerance for wading.

2. Remove major consequences for mismanagement of water resources. Ranchers and landowners, to this point, have been largely responsible and checked for taking care of rivers within their property boundaries. They have been held accountable with stiff fines for taking care of the natural habitats around waterways. HB141 would remove many of these restrictions, giving landowners the right to abuse the waterways. (There are a lot of Utah trout rivers that used to be mudholes or had cars dumped into them before ranchers were held accountable)

3. Divert dollars from Wildlife to the agriculture industry. HB141 would take dollars from wildlife efforts in order to pay ranchers who decide to provide access easements. This really sucks.


What we need you to do is to email the Utah state senators and tell them that their actions are being watched nationally, and that if HB141 passes you will not take your tourism dollars to Utah, but to more angler-friendly states like Idaho and Montana. Tell them to vote "No" to HB141. Below are the email addresses of those senators we need to work on. Debate and vote should come up later this week. If we can put enough pressure on them, this bill could die in the senate committee, in which case that is a win for us.

lrobles@utahsenate.org; bmcadams@utahsenate.org; gdavis@utahsenate.org; pjones@utahsenate.org; kmayne@utahsenate.org; waddoups@utahsenate.org; rromero@utahsenate.org; kmorgan@utahsenate.org; wniederhauser@utahsenate.org; dcbuttars@utahsenate.org; hstephenson@utahsenate.org; bgoodfellow@utahsenate.org; mmadsen@utahsenate.org; jvalentine@utahsenate.org; mdayton@utahsenate.org; cbramble@utahsenate.org; pknudson@utahsenate.org; jgreiner@utahsenate.org; achristensen@utahsenate.org; sjenkins@utahsenate.org; jstevenson@utahsenate.org; sadams@utahsenate.org; dliljenquist@utahsenate.org; rokerlund@utahsenate.org; lhillyard@utahsenate.org; kvantassell@utahsenate.org; dhinkins@utahsenate.org; dstowell@utahsenate.org; surquhart@utahsenate.org

Please help us preserve angling access for all fishermen in Utah. Thanks for indulging me guys.

 

[RLeep2]

For whatever its worth, I sent an email out to the people you listed.

I spent a few days on the Provo a few years back. It's a wonderful river.

I wish you well in beating this back..

 

[Raff]

Thanks for sending an email. Every point of contact helps.

Yeah, I miss some of those rivers out west. Especially the Green!

 

[Raff]

HB141 passed this morning much to the dismay of the entire angling and waterfowl communities. There were some pretty dirty, underhanded things that went on, and the final bill approved was only available for 3 hours before the vote. I would highly doubt if anybody in the state senate actually read the bill. The bill closes off many section of the Provo, Weber, and parts of the Green. Here's the real kick in the balls, the bill still provides state funding for river maintenance and restocking. So here's the next step:

We need a blitz of emails to the governor's office from out of staters saying you won't take your tourism dollars to Utah if he signs the bill. Here's a list of the relevant people to email.

Spencer Eccles [executive director Gov office] Speccles@utah.gov,

Governor’s Office Economic Development

* Amy Hamblin
Assistant to Executive Director
801-538-8828
ahamblin@utah.gov

GOED (Governor’s Office of Economic Development)

http://goed.utah.gov/contact/

* Riley Cutler
Director of Outdoor Products Cluster
801-538-8873
crcutler@utah.gov

Utah Tourism Industry Coalition

* http://utahtourism.org/?page_id=13

* Danny Richardson, Executive Director
o Phone – (801) 505 – 52266
o Fax – (801) 534 – 4980
o info@utahtourism.org

Folks, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take 10 minutes and fire off an email. This bill that passed sets Utah back 50+ years in terms of angler access.

Thanks in advance,
Scott

 

[wgmiller]

Hopefully this isn't a national trend: http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/component/content/article/40-fishing/238-hb-141.html

:-(

 

[jayL]

My understanding is that Colorado is this way as well.

I would say this thread would be a good fit for the conservation forum, for more traffic.

 

[jayL]

bump

WGMiller found this link.

http://wildlife.utah.gov/dwr/component/content/article/40-fishing/238-hb-141.html

A clear step in the wrong direction.

 

[pcray1231]

Thanks for the links. I saw it too late for the senators, but e-mail sent to the newer links...