An AIS movement I can get behind!

[DTro]

New Awareness Can Be Solution

To Minnesota’s Invasives By Tom Zenanko

Any time the word “crisis” is in a headline, prepare for the Minnesota Legislature to over-react and try to solve the crisis of the day by passing laws with unintended consequences.

Remember in politics, it is never a good idea to waste a crisis to gain the favor of the general public. This is not good government, it is a bad way to respond to long-term issues and this article is written to make you think about options and solutions in our current battle with invasive species that are now making a new home for themselves here in Minnesota. There is little doubt non-native species of plants and animals are slowly transforming the ecosystem of our state and have been for over a hundred years. When the information in this article is exposed to the right people and groups, Minnesota may be the first state in the nation to develop a blueprint of successfully taking on the invasive challenge.

Right now Sportsmen of Minnesota who hunt and fish make-up only 34% of the total population of our state. This minority of the population is in a pot of water getting hotter and hotter. Because we “love our state” the Legislature passes new laws we must comply with because we of course “love our state” like lambs to the slaughter, we willingly give away our rights to hunt and fish in Minnesota.

Don’t think for a moment the Minnesota DNR is not aware of this, but why are they silent? For sure they are here to help, but the layers and layers of new employees they have hired to enforce unenforceable laws, all work hard to keep their jobs. We can’t blame them for that... They are unintentionally supporting the goals of the anti-fishing and anti-hunting groups.

This story is written, to try to expose the facts and to give solid solutions to a problem that shows no signs of abating if we continue on our current path. The rights of sportsman to enjoy our state is being limited by bad laws made under the false belief if Sportsmen change their habits or we can find ways to get them to fish or hunt less, the problem of spreading invasives will end..

In writing this story I was shocked with the lack of knowledge our legislature and even our DNR has for problem solving. I write this story to help expose the problems AND to explore possible solutions to those problems. Maybe we can ultimately get someone in the Legislature to author a bill to revoke the Invasives Species laws we have now and replace them with new, long-term action plan for invasives that will not restrict sportsmen from enjoying the great outdoors.

Who is to blame for this mess? The answer is not easy to put a finger on. Sure it was the Fish and Wildlife officials on the national and state levels who were aware and did nothing to stop ships from bringing in a wide variety of invasives into our ecosystem via the great lakes, but we can’t blame all of them on just one act. While the press focuses on the crisis with Zebra Mussels and Eurasian Milfoil, it isthe common carp that has done more damage to our sport fisheries and water quality in this state than any invasive to date. Slowly they have spread to every part of our state, without the help of those heartless sportsmen. Where is the press on one of our oldest and biggest threats to our lakes? Most people today don’t even realize the carp is a bad fish when introduced into our lakes; The Media seems to have another agenda to sell to the general public. The common carp has become just another resident fish in Minnesota.

We cannot point fingers at the lack of regulations to prevent such problems, the regulations exist. In many ways it is the landscape of the modern world we live in… When invasives come, they are here to stay. Remember, not all invasives have the image of death and destruction like carp. Pheasants, turkeys and salmon are not native to this state, but they are a few we enjoy.

To keep things simple, the bullet has left the gun by the time we hear about a new invasive. Did you know there are 180 lesser known invasives in the great lakes today? The key fact and one I will keep repeating over and over again to anyone who will listen, we CANNOT stop the spread of invasives when the ecosystem can support them.

No one has EVER stopped them.

We cannot put the genie back in the bottle, over time, like the common carp, they take their place in our new Minnesota landscape.

This is the important thing to remember about this CRISIS or WAR as it is sometimes called. They want you to believe that increased restrictions on human activity now will magically put that genie back in the bottle… Far too many people believe this misguided fact, but as I have already stated, in politics, you never want to waste a good crisis to legitimize a growth in government.

Here is a chart (edit: Graphs will be posted later) done by Dr. Chris Weeks, a regional Aquaculture Extension Specialist for this part of the country. It shows the rapid increase in federal laws to limit the spread by focusing on changing human behavior around our resources.

I think everyone will agree these increased laws have not yielded the success they wanted. It is only natural for law makers to make even more laws as they have in Minnesota and expect different results.

Groups around the state have been trying for years to restrict lake and property access for their own selfish needs of protecting “their lake”.

It begins with lake associations who for years have tried and failed to find a way to keep non-home owners off their lakes. For years they have struggled to get the government behind them to limit lake access. They start by limiting parking, or how or when you can use a lake to discourage people from coming there. These “concerned associations “ are now jumping for joy because they have been given the legal right to control their lake access by the Minnesota State Legislature… The unintended consequences of this law passed during a manufactured crisis is a dream come true to cities and communities wanting to close- off access to their local lakes and it began only weeks after the law was passed!

In Minneapolis, The boat ramps on the inner city lakes were chained within a month and anyone wanting to launch their boat or even canoe needed to be there when the chains were lowered for a few hours in the morning and again in the afternoon. You were not allowed to access or leave the lake via boat if you did not use this controlled ramp.

Anglers wishing to fish for a few hours in the morning could no longer fish half a day, they had to stay until the ramp re-opened or not fish at all.

There is no doubt the Sportsmen lost the PR battle with invasives. If you asked non-sportsmen what a zebra mussel is, they couldn’t tell you, but if the DNR says in their weekly press releases it is bad and fisherman are responsible the only thing the non-fisherman will remember is that fisherman are purposely hurting our state’s resources.

When a popular lake is discovered to be infested, it makes headlines…. And it is the fishermen who are labeled as the ones who knowingly and purposely brought these lake killing invasives into the ecosystem. The press and the Home Owners Associations are working hand in hand to keep this myth going and the DNR sits on the sidelines and says: Tell us what you want us to do about it! The answer from the Legislature is PLEASE save us from the destruction of our resource, so if you look at the challenge from only one point of view, limiting access is the only way they see the problem being addressed…

Now when this happens, the DNR starts to dance. By law, they cannot limit access to the lakes, but if you give them a new law, they can find ways for the local cities to limit those who trailer a boat to those lakes. They hire vast teams of Invasive Species Prevention Coordinators and more staff who obviously want to keep their job, so they write press releases using words like WAR, CRISIS and it is your responsibility to STOP invasives. Meanwhile with all the road block boat inspections conducted in 2012 only one boat was found to have a piece of weed with a Zebra Mussel on it, but no mention if it was alive or dead when found.

Don’t be surprised by all the “crisis” talk. These folks were hired to make noise. Some may actually believe they are making an impact by inspecting boats for Zebra Mussels with their eyes that actually require a magnifying glass to see. Now the inspectors have dogs inspecting boats for zebra mussels you cannot see! The senior management at the DNR know they have zero chance of stopping anything, and the word “prevention” in their job title actually gives the impression to the general public they are actually working to prevent something.

After reading this article, I ask you to please forward it to your family and friends so they understand why sportsman are about to lose-out big as the DNR sits on the sidelines asking: ”what do you want us to do?”

If the DNR was looking out for the sportsmen and women of this state, they would be trying to slow down the runaway PR blitz against sportsmen and tell the public and our legislators the truth about invasives… They would re-name their “Prevention” coordinator titles to ones of that say it like it is… they are: “Invasive Management Coordinators”

Case in point, ask anyone at the DNR if ANY invasive species has EVER been stopped from finding their place in our ecosystem once introduced? Then ask if ANY state has been able to wipe-out any invasive species once rooted in an ecosystem? I hate to tell everyone this news, but they have NEVER been stopped! Even Jay Rendall, the Minnesota Invasive Species “Prevention” Coordinator, stated at a conference last fall about invasives: “These are not reversible actions.”

So if the “experts” in our state or others cannot find a way to stop the spread of invasives, why is this story being ignored? This is not some conspiracy theory, just an unfortunate fact of politics.

State of Ohio’s Sea Grant Zebra Mussel control program back in the early 90’s was armed with decontamination systems at boat ramps just like they are trying to do here… but that effort failed and millions of dollars were wasted… The Minnesota DNR knows this, they know we cannot stop the spread, but it does mean more money and more staff. Take for example the recently proposed 20 million dollar fish barrier on the Mississippi River to prevent the migration of the Asian carp and the $250,000 dollar a year cost to maintain it. These barriers have proven not to work 100% of the time, and in high water years, the fish will just swim over the dam! It is time we ask ourselves what would that 20 million dollars do to support innovative programs that actually make a difference? Imagine if we subsidized commercial fishermen like we do dairy farmers to net more carp. What would give us a lot more bang for the buck don’t you think? At this point I can only assume the DNR is doing exactly what the public wants them to do. TRY to protect the resources of our great state. A noble goal, but why didn’t anyone ask the one key question BEFORE the laws were passed or the money is spent? What do we do if this does not work? Has increased regulations and restrictions on sportsmen helped in any state? The answer again is no.

This leaves me with only two logical reasons the DNR does it. It is to either make people feel good, or to prevent legal action. From the outside looking in, it appears the DNR is blaming Sportsmen for invasives, and this makes the non-sportsmen “feel good” about their resource management.

By lowering human activity in the woods and waters, we are saving our resource. If they don’t do a thing, law suits follow and some have already been filed against the DNR for failure to act. It may seem hard to believe if you are sportsmen, but there are groups that would be glad to see an end of hunting and fishing as we know it.

The DNR often does what they are told by public pressure even if the facts don’t support the action.

For example: Every season the DNR stocks walleye in lakes that don’t support natural walleye reproduction. Why? Well it is the public that demands walleye, so the DNR is told to give us walleye. The DNR then plants non-native fish fry and fingerlings in lakes to keep the public happy.

Many of these demands we make on our DNR are not logical or practical, it is purely their desire to keep the public happy, so they can get more funds to spend. Don’t think for a moment the DNR is not a political animal.

You have to ask yourself who is running the show when the DNR will ticket you for having a drain plug in your boat or live well at a road checkpoint with no water in your boat?

The answer is US!

The DNR enforcement team does exactly what they are told… The poorly written law requires them to write the ticket. I understand this completely, but what many people fail to grasp, is that it was sportsmen who let these senseless laws get passed because: “we all want to protect our natural resources.” The good news is we wrote the laws, so we can also repeal them.

Just ask yourself, what happens in a few years when it will become an even bigger crisis and we must….for the good of our lakes and resources, take even bolder steps to stop sportsmen from spreading invasives. Stop and think about what I just said. And remember, I’m telling you now there is NOTHING we can do to stop the spread of invasives, but to the mainstream public, sportsmen are the cause of the “Crisis” so even stricter laws MUST be the outcome. Once you start down this road, it is a scary scenario for sportsmen’s rights.

I bet the big question was never asked when the bill was passed: “What if this does not work?”

Please contact your state legislator and tell him or her to wake-up and help our state address this issue the right way, before all our rights are taken away. We must get the word out on invasives and tell our legislators to look in a different direction for solutions, not pass more restrictive laws with no proven benefits. Please ask them to sit back and try to better understand what we are up against to create a long-term action plan to take-on these challenges the good old American Way…

There are solutions to this challenge, although they seem simple on the front side, they are not. This is going to be a long-term, ongoing struggle to protect what we love so much here in Minnesota.

Let me explain. We need to re-think and become pro-active. Like a team of forest fighters who are trying to gain control of a fire, they know hitting it head-on will have little impact, it is best to try to control the fire.

Let’s again look at the PR nightmare we are up against with educating the general public. As I have mentioned, there are over 180 invasives in the great lakes alone and hundreds more spreading on land!

Name an invasive or non-native species we have been able to eliminate once established in our ecosystem. Lamprey? Carp? Rusty Crawfish? Curley Pond weed? Purple Loosestrife? Smallmouth bass? Muskie? Spiny water flea? Zebra Mussel ? English sparrow – Emerald Ash Bore? And the list goes on and on.

The answer again is NONE! So where do we start if we know the battle has never been won? The answer first starts with knowing our limitations and this means the best we can hope for at this time is a tie. I mean the best we can hope for is to control the situation not eliminate it.

Stopping invasives is impossible. Stopping the spread of invasives is also impossible. Sure, if you spend millions and restrict all outdoor activities, you will slow it down, but like with the forest fire, the invasives are coming in ever increasing numbers and we cannot spend enough or restrict enough human activity to have any lasting effect in the outcome. Taking on the flames head-on is not logical, practical or a long-term action plan. The public must be told these facts and they must be told the action plan is to stay ahead of these ongoing issues. We need to start an aggressive PR campaign with the DNR to support this story and to push for the agenda of “CONTROLLING “ not “STOPPING” invasives. Can you imagine the disbelief with the public when a forester told them the best way to fight a fire is to start another?

Throwing a bucket of water on a forest fire might make you feel you are doing something, it is a total waste of time. So while it feels and sounds good to pick a weed off your trailer, it does NOT prevent the spread of weeds while two million geese are moving from lake to lake every day without a care in the world. All is NOT lost already.

Sportsmen should not give up the battle, we do love our state. We need to help the general public understand what is really going on in nature. We need to do everything possible to not stop invasives, but to simply control them… that is a huge victory…

I’m sure many Twin Cities Residents remember the Auto Emission Tests for your vehicles back in the 90’s. Again, it was a air pollution “crisis” and we must act now to reduce carbon monoxide for cleaner air… everyone wants cleaner air, so we quickly passed a law that required everyone take their cars to testing sites around the metro area. It had a noble goal: “This program means we are all doing our part to protect the quality of the air we breathe.” The law was passed during a “crisis” to make people feel good.

As we know now, it cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and the inspection program ended with little fanfare when it was discovered it had no effect on air quality.

History is a great teacher, but time and time again we fall into the trap of knee jerk reactions to solve long-term problems. If we fail to learn from our mistakes, we are indeed going to repeat them just as we are doing now in our fight against invasives.

Today the challenge is not stopping but controlling the infestations.

Here is some information I found in the annual reports from the DNR on what is going on with invasives around the state. In the report they are also worried about an aquatic plant call Purple Loosestrife. How it got here is not important, what is important is seeing how it spreads naturally with little human influence. In the graphic on the left, you see the DNR’s report on Purple Loosestrife infestations around the state. Although Purple Loosestrife has been in our ecosystem for many more years than Eurasian Milfoil, I noticed something very interesting developing.

When you look at the graphic on the right, you see the Eurasian Milfoil infestations. The pattern is surprisingly similar especially if you project another 40 years of Eurasian Milfoil expansion to this graphic. To me, I saw a nearly complete duplication of the plant infestation.

According to the DNR, Purple Loosestrife is spread with little human support, while Eurasian Milfoil has been blamed almost exclusively on boaters. So how accurate can a statement be to say we can stop invasives when nature has her own way of spreading these plants? In my mind, I see this as simply a fact of nature itself.

How else could you explain how one aquatic plant spread by humans and the other with nearly zero human influence both end up with nearly the same result?

The answer is one many people may not want to hear, but it only confirms a fact that we already know about invasives, Nature finds a way… Vegetation growing on remote islands lands in the Pacific Ocean were never touched by man but were seeded by traveling seabirds. How could anyone honestly say millions of migrating birds traveling through our state each year are not moving invasives? In fact, it would be silly to make the assumption that they are not. The old moss back snapping turtle you see crossing the road moves to a new lake in search of new feeding or nesting grounds and takes with it the invasives living on its back… The point is, once they are introduced, don’t think stopping all human activity will make the problem go away or suddenly stop spreading.

So what is the action plan?

History has also shown that sportsmen fight hard to protect their resource so, I suggest instead of blaming sportsmen as the cause, sportsmen should be challenged to find solutions. It is vast human resource of manpower ready and willing to help the resource…

Remember, it was the sportsmen who started the “catch and release” craze to improve our fisheries. It was not some government ad campaign who demanded it; it was the sportsmen who realized it made good sense to protect their resource.

Look at how the Minnesota DNR is funded. The money they spend is generated from licenses, user fees, and excise taxes on very piece of fishing and hunting gear. This money comes back to fund the DNR to improve our resource.

Sportsmen of this state contribute 90 million dollars a year to the DNR budget and with this fund over 90% of all the fish and wildlife projects around the state, so it is upsetting to see the sportsmen targeted as the bad guys in this invasive battle scenario.

One suggestion is for the DNR to develop a strike force to allow local sportsmen’s groups the ability to cut through red tape to get chemicals or purchase machines on a 50/50 basis so the local groups can help invest their time and money even more and supply the manpower to use the equipment or to spread the chemicals. Allow the local groups to take an active part to raise money to keep invasives in their community under control. There is an ARMY of free workers eager to support our state, IF the state can find a way around their political games to let this happen. It is amazing to me we cannot mobilized local Sportsmen’s clubs to buy more beetles that eat only Purple Loosestrife for example, or to buy and operate a weed cutter?

This brings me to the next big step in possible invasive species management.

Most sportsmen or legislators are not even aware that over 90% of the Zebra Mussels have died off by some natural cause in the Mississippi River and experts cannot agree on why …. And it has been 10 years since the first die-offs!

When researching answers from the DNR as to what was causing the die offs, I got very generalized responses like: “We think” and “it could be” but no answers. Where is the outcry from the public or press for real answers? For ten years this has been going on, if Zebra Mussels are such a crisis, why don’t we know exactly what killed them? Clearly the system is broke.

Letting the Minnesota DNR do more research or pay the University of Minnesota 3.8 million dollars to do more “research” is simply a waste of time and money. I can predict the U of M will request millions more over time as well, all for sake of “feel good” research. I can bet you the money was given to the U with nothing more than the hope of finding something useful “somewhere down the line”.

This is the wrong approach…

We need to motivate people to get results in a time sensitive way. One idea might be to have funds set aside from our State Lottery proceeds for funding a series of million dollar contests to challenge Universities nation-wide and also open it up to private companies and individuals to find control methods for our various invasive problems. Unleashing the creative resources of our own concerned population would let a solution come about far faster and in the end, we pay only for results… trust me on this, research on Zebra Mussels has been going on around the world for over 50 years!

Like the prize for the first to fly across the Atlantic or the first car to drive across America. Many said at the time it was impossible. It was not the government who made the impossible…. possible, but motivated people. We need motivated people, groups and companies to look outside the box to find real, practical solutions and give them a million dollar reward if they succeed! This concept of asking for help and offering a reward has been used before with amazing results.

Repealing the current invasives species laws and inspections and replacing it with a long-term management budget is just common sense. For example, it might cost America five million dollars annually to control the lamprey in the Great Lakes, but it protects a BILLION dollar fishing industry. I ask you is this a wise investment of money? It has proven to be a huge success story… and again, in this battle with the lamprey, this is just a draw… not a win, but it protects us from the total collapse of the Great Lakes Fishery. In 2012 the Minnesota DNR spent about 7.2 million on invasive issues state-wide and only 25% of that goes to the management /control of invasives.

We do have some containment and control options now that could be more cost effectively deployed if local sportsman’s groups are brought in to supply free labor. Remember, it is unrealistic to say the words “stop” or “eliminate” when we are talking invasives… the best we can hope for is long term is control…

So in conclusion, we need to keep it simple, let’s call it the three R’s on invasives.

Return the respect to Sportsmen of this state who love it so dearly

Repeal, a critical first step is to re-write the invasive laws we have on the books so nothing will limit sportsman’s access to our resources.

Rethink the current way we confront invasives to find new creative ways to control the infestations with the support of the Sportsmen.

Make no mistake, invasives in our ecosystem are a real problem and one we have had for over 100 years. We simply will not stop their spread or eliminate their existence. Together we must find ways to control their spread. This is a challenge we will be facing for many generations to come.

Finding a path to proper resource management need not be rocket science. It was not the sportsmen who caused this problem, but it could very well be the Sportsmen of this great state who rise-up to get this issue under control.

Tom Zenanko is a life-long resident of Minnesota. He has made his living as an outdoor communicator for 40 years. The author of four books on fishing and past Publisher of a weekly magazine forsportsmen: the Sportsman’s Press. You may recognize the Zenanko name from his many sport show seminar appearances, or watched him years ago as the Outdoor Editor for KARE TV. Tom is currently the host of the television series: Ice Fishing Today.

[LMITOUT]

#occupyDNR

[harvey lee]

Good luck changing anything with AIS.

[20lbSloughShark]

I'm glad at least some agree with me. I have been complaining since day 1 how ridiculous the AIS laws are. I always cleaned my trailer of all weeds, and everyone I know did too before the AIS laws. Carrying live invasive species I can understand (although it was always against the law), but being pulled over for forgetting to pull your boats plug, or getting fined for using bait you caught yourself is not alright with me. And switching bait water before you leave... Its never going to happen. I refuse to carry gallons of water to waste on fish meant to be eaten by other fish, and I'm not scared of being caught. All these rules, and NOTHING has improved.

[Alagnak]

Good luck changing anything with AIS.

I thought sheep said 'baaaaah'?

[mallardnwalleye]

I believe that the above op Ed expresses the majority opinion of sportsman. I agree wholeheartedly with 99% of what it states.

I have to disagree with the part that expresses a willingness to aggressively treat invasives, as much of the treatment is overdone just as the measures to control their spread are now.

I agree that areas that are made unusable by invasives should be treated.

BUT, I have seen many large patches of invasives treated on White Bear Lake that are healthy weed beds that provide cover for fish until they are treated with chemicals turning them into aquatic wastelands. I have also heard this reiterated by other fishermen on here and on the Lake.

I believe we should be as prudent about over treatment of invasives as we are about over stepping regulations preventing their spread.

[MinDak Hunter]

Alagnak said, "I thought sheep said 'baaaaah'?"

Real classy, a guy makes a comment and you start with the name calling.

I agree with Zenanko assesments of the lake home owners groups and he's also right about the sportsmen not being the ONLY cause of AIS in MN but he acts like we have zero role in the spread.

[fishnowworknever]

Good luck changing anything with AIS.

[fishnowworknever]

Alagnak said, "I thought sheep said 'baaaaah'?"

Real classy, a guy makes a comment and you start with the name calling.

I agree with Zenanko assesments of the lake home owners groups and he's also right about the sportsmen not being the ONLY cause of AIS in MN but he acts like we have zero role in the spread.

I disagree with that. He's making the point from the opposite end of the spectrum instead of the end where sportsmen are the 1 and only contributing factor in the spread of AIS...the latter is the side everyone hears as of today.

[Alagnak]

I'm not trying to me mean. I'm dead serious. So many people just have this roll over and take it mentality even though we've been presented nothing but bee S as to why they are wasting the dollars they are and will continue to do so because they can- and nobody cares to call them out on it. AIS stickers anyone? Little by little many of the things we've come to love and enjoy our whole lives in regards to acquiring bait, going to the lake/river to go fishing, saving left over bait (because it's always been expensive) is being taken away right from under our noses. Making perfectly fine law abiding fishing dudes criminals overnight- all for what? The only thing gained is more funding for the DNR to hire more people to enforce it. It's nice to hear a reputable outdoors writer call it for what it is instead of us all just complaining about it in the boat while we're 'breaking the law' here and there. Where do we go from here? I'm not satisfied with just bending over and taking it like so many are.

[SalmonSlayer]

^^Hear, Hear, +1

[fishnowworknever]

I think if we could get a good chunk of people on this board to email, call, or write their representatives...that would be a good start. Share this post on Facebook if you have an account, and/or email it to friends and family like the author said.

Talking about it on here does nothing but "get the fire going". To make a difference our voices need to be heard.

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/districtfinder.aspx

[Alagnak]

A couple thousand people unannounced showing up to some important meetings wouldn't hurt either.

[20lbSloughShark]

I think if we could get a good chunk of people on this board to email, call, or write their representatives...that would be a good start. Share this post on Facebook if you have an account, and/or email it to friends and family like the author said.

Talking about it on here does nothing but "get the fire going". To make a difference our voices need to be heard.

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/districtfinder.aspx

I will write, but we are not arguing against the DNR. Conservation clubs, lake committee's, and the people who know nothing about it are sure to support AIS laws. Then there are the "rich guys on the lake"; I hate these types. They think owning lake shore makes it "their lake". They sue local groups for camping on the lake (1st hand experience) because of the damage it supposedly does, then they go out on weekends and lake rake all the weeds in front of their house. Its the same with the 2nd amendment. I don't have a good chance of changing the laws with with the powers that be, but I still write to the reps.

[Slabasaurus]

As for writing people... I write my congressional rep (bachmann) weekly on Pebble Mine, as well as other issues I don't think she's going to listen to me on.

But, it's all I got until I run for office (which takes too much time away from fly fishing and fly tying that, well... I'll stick to letters and attending hearings/meetings)

Topical: the fact that you can be pulled over now just because you're trailering a boat is complete poppycock. I write reps that too but I don't see anything changing there. Too much doom n gloom with these AIS.

[mallardnwalleye]

I have and will write my reps about AIS over management.

I believe "fishing" needs a stronger advocacy in our government as Lakeshore Property Owners tend to have a disproportionate voice (less than 1 % of population) in comparison to the "fishing public" (over 33% of the population).

Perhaps Tom Zenanko could organize a powerful fishing group that could take on issues like AIS.

It could be made up of primarily members of the general fishing public and reps from specific species groups like Muskies inc, Bass groups, TU and such. I have been to public meetings as an individual to fight for fishing related issues and its mighty lonely and discouraging.

Maybe this could be the start of something?

[20lbSloughShark]

I have been pulled over before because the officer claimed he saw my plug in. He looked, no plug in, took 15 minutes out of my day to check my licence and I went on my way. It does happen.

[harvey lee]

I agree whole heartedly in regards to what Zenanko says but I really do not see the State allowing much for changes at all to thier crazy AIS program.

Didn't say I agreed with the state, just said I do not see them allowing much for changes unless they come up with the idea.

The AIS issiue is alot like Obama's Healthcare program.

Most all agree something needs to be done with both, the difference is how we get there. The best route is yet to be know but we have to start somewhere or nothing will ever get done.

Some want this and some want it there way but no matter what route we take, some will be upset with how we get there.

[20lbSloughShark]

Heh. Technically I did quote an entire sentence...

we have a basement here FULL of whinings about owe bama...

As for writing people... I write my congressional rep (bachmann) weekly on Pebble Mine, as well as other issues I don't think she's going to listen to me on.

But, it's all I got until I run for office (which takes too much time away from fly fishing and fly tying that, well... I'll stick to letters and attending hearings/meetings)

Topical: the fact that you can be pulled over now just because you're trailering a boat is complete poppycock. I write reps that too but I don't see anything changing there. Too much doom n gloom with these AIS.

My fault, I meant to type read my sentences, not sentence. I'm only against Obama because he stands for everything I hate, and is trying to, and has taken some of my right away. Good luck with that health insurance in 3 months...

[harvey lee]

I think if we could get a good chunk of people on this board to email, call, or write their representatives...that would be a good start. Share this post on Facebook if you have an account, and/or email it to friends and family like the author said.

Talking about it on here does nothing but "get the fire going". To make a difference our voices need to be heard.

http://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/districtfinder.aspx

I agree 100% as I write or call my reps alot.

With that said, enough will not do what they can and that is why I see nothing in the future for change.

If every outdoor fishing group, sportsmen clubs and fisherman would write or call, then yes, we could make a difference but as with all issues, a few do the work for the majority.

The squeeky wheel gets the grease and a few cannot sqeek loud enough.

[Alagnak]

With this AIS dump we've basically got a captive audience here in MN with everyone involved some way shape or form yet we have no unified voice. We're also against a ton of money (DNR, lake shore owners, politicians).

[anyfishanytime]

I also agree that these species cannot be stopped but we must try to control them in a thoughtful manner that will not also destroy habitat.

[20lbSloughShark]

Dtro is right, these new rules have not improved lakes. It's simply too late, these laws are meant to prevent the spread. Well the fact is Eurasian mil foil is in nearly all lakes in Minnesota whether it is officially yet or not. Zebra muscles could never be transported, it was always against the law. In the case of other invasive species, I have doubts that boaters have any effect.

[raymondk]

how come most of the first lakes with milfoil are poplar bass lakes which I have seen first hand big bass boats load up there boats on bunk trailers with weeds hanging down leaving the parking lots .even if they took the time they still could miss some with the wide bunks some of these trailers have.(this was when the milfoil started) so to tell me fisherman are not responsiable would be a lie.

[20lbSloughShark]

I have no doubts transporting weeds on trailer is the cause for the spread of Eurasian mil foil. Thing is, the AIS laws would be perfect... 15 years ago. They do nothing now. I can't name a lake I know for sure isn't infected with Eurasian mil foil.