06-29-2013, 03:09 AM
Spoiler alert!!!!!! I still am opposed to the poisoning of my precious millcreek river.
But I did attend the meeting last night. I showed up 45 mins early as I was missing my students test in martial arts for this.
They were all there huddled in the cafeteria. They nudged the rookie to approach me and quickly I was identified as "not in my backyard" type of guy. I threw my facts his way and then asked "where is mike?"
Well mike slater came in a we spoke for about an hour. I presented my information. (Most of which was collected by the stocking records from 2002 to 2012 in a binder at Fish Tech.)
Here was my points.....
We have 15 dedicated bonnie cutty waters in Salt Lake County alone. Why should MillCreek be the 16th?
There are over 337,777 cutts stocked in Salt Lake County, why do we need anymore in SL county?
Why can't we stock somewhere else out of SL county?
How close are we to fed intervention due to listing Bonnie Cutts as an endangered species?
Why are the resources not going towards Parley's Creek to eliminate the Koi to help the Bonnies they stocked in Parley's Creek?
Will it be Artificial Flies and lures only with Catch and Release only, and closing and opening dates?
Well I got the whole story. They were sued by a conservation agency that was full of money and an agenda to restore all sorts of species across the country. They targeted our Fish Management for the bonnies. Sure enough the courts were in favor of restoring the species.
After that they took all sorts of new steps. They made Little Dell dedicated to Bonnies. That was not good enough as you cannot put all your eggs in one basket. What if there was a dam failure, etc. So they went with Red Butte Res as a safety net.
Then they thought of where to put these fish. Well everywhere has a management plan. Every river and creek I listed was defended by whatever management plans (which are very detailed) that they have been doing and are trying to do.
For SL County Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood rivers were in their cross hairs.
Well the "public perception" on Rotetone is bad. No matter what you say most folks are convinced that even though we are not gill breathers, we will suddenly die like the fish. So water sheds "drinking sources" are off limits due to the lack of education of the public.
This is where MillCreek was targeted. In the new Master Plan (which has not been completed yet) MillCreek will be a watershed drinking source. So it is now or never on getting Retnatone in the river.
For parley's I was told there were rainbows introduced and therefore it is not a pure strain of Bonnies anymore. It was a mistake on the DNR's part for introducing rainbows to that creek. The Koi have always been there just not like this year.
When it came to how many bonnie cutts there were in SL County I was told 337,777 cutts was actually low. I was told that we are no where close to having the bonnie cutts listed. But if that day comes MillCreek will be off limits due to the master plan watershed drinking water/public misconception issue.
I was told that there will be no such regulations regarding AFL, C&R, and closure dates. The public hates such regs and therefore it will not be implemented. Most of the fisherman in Utah want to be able to take fish home.
The sections of Mill Creek that run after the canyon will not be poisoned. There are barriers that will keep them from coming into the canyon.
My Personal Conclusion - In the end I was and I still am opposed to the project. But I now feel better about it.
Bascially the best way I can describe it to you guys is this. When I blew out my knee I was in pain and shock. I knew there was a long road to recovery and my knee would never be the same. I received pain meds for my knee.
The meeting was the same way. My is millcreek forever changed, and it is something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life. The DNR's answers were the pain meds to the situation. It doesn't change anything, but somehow it numbs the pain for now.
Mike Slater and I have met before where he dedicated a great deal of time to me at the Strawberry party last winter. He is a great guy and after I left (as friends) there was a hint that one day we will even fish together this winter. For him to dedicate his time to one angler who is more stubborn than a jackass sometimes makes me retract my orginal statement of "Shame on Utah Fisheries Managment". It takes a hell of a lot to get me to retract something I have said.
P.S.
If anyone can think of something I didn't cover please add it to this thread and I will try to remeber if they covered that while I was there.
[signature]
But I did attend the meeting last night. I showed up 45 mins early as I was missing my students test in martial arts for this.
They were all there huddled in the cafeteria. They nudged the rookie to approach me and quickly I was identified as "not in my backyard" type of guy. I threw my facts his way and then asked "where is mike?"
Well mike slater came in a we spoke for about an hour. I presented my information. (Most of which was collected by the stocking records from 2002 to 2012 in a binder at Fish Tech.)
Here was my points.....
We have 15 dedicated bonnie cutty waters in Salt Lake County alone. Why should MillCreek be the 16th?
There are over 337,777 cutts stocked in Salt Lake County, why do we need anymore in SL county?
Why can't we stock somewhere else out of SL county?
How close are we to fed intervention due to listing Bonnie Cutts as an endangered species?
Why are the resources not going towards Parley's Creek to eliminate the Koi to help the Bonnies they stocked in Parley's Creek?
Will it be Artificial Flies and lures only with Catch and Release only, and closing and opening dates?
Well I got the whole story. They were sued by a conservation agency that was full of money and an agenda to restore all sorts of species across the country. They targeted our Fish Management for the bonnies. Sure enough the courts were in favor of restoring the species.
After that they took all sorts of new steps. They made Little Dell dedicated to Bonnies. That was not good enough as you cannot put all your eggs in one basket. What if there was a dam failure, etc. So they went with Red Butte Res as a safety net.
Then they thought of where to put these fish. Well everywhere has a management plan. Every river and creek I listed was defended by whatever management plans (which are very detailed) that they have been doing and are trying to do.
For SL County Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood rivers were in their cross hairs.
Well the "public perception" on Rotetone is bad. No matter what you say most folks are convinced that even though we are not gill breathers, we will suddenly die like the fish. So water sheds "drinking sources" are off limits due to the lack of education of the public.
This is where MillCreek was targeted. In the new Master Plan (which has not been completed yet) MillCreek will be a watershed drinking source. So it is now or never on getting Retnatone in the river.
For parley's I was told there were rainbows introduced and therefore it is not a pure strain of Bonnies anymore. It was a mistake on the DNR's part for introducing rainbows to that creek. The Koi have always been there just not like this year.
When it came to how many bonnie cutts there were in SL County I was told 337,777 cutts was actually low. I was told that we are no where close to having the bonnie cutts listed. But if that day comes MillCreek will be off limits due to the master plan watershed drinking water/public misconception issue.
I was told that there will be no such regulations regarding AFL, C&R, and closure dates. The public hates such regs and therefore it will not be implemented. Most of the fisherman in Utah want to be able to take fish home.
The sections of Mill Creek that run after the canyon will not be poisoned. There are barriers that will keep them from coming into the canyon.
My Personal Conclusion - In the end I was and I still am opposed to the project. But I now feel better about it.
Bascially the best way I can describe it to you guys is this. When I blew out my knee I was in pain and shock. I knew there was a long road to recovery and my knee would never be the same. I received pain meds for my knee.
The meeting was the same way. My is millcreek forever changed, and it is something I will have to deal with for the rest of my life. The DNR's answers were the pain meds to the situation. It doesn't change anything, but somehow it numbs the pain for now.
Mike Slater and I have met before where he dedicated a great deal of time to me at the Strawberry party last winter. He is a great guy and after I left (as friends) there was a hint that one day we will even fish together this winter. For him to dedicate his time to one angler who is more stubborn than a jackass sometimes makes me retract my orginal statement of "Shame on Utah Fisheries Managment". It takes a hell of a lot to get me to retract something I have said.
P.S.
If anyone can think of something I didn't cover please add it to this thread and I will try to remeber if they covered that while I was there.
[signature]