Senate File 1798 Bow fishing regulations establishment (PLEASE READ EN

[carpshooter]

As of today we had a bowfishing bill introduced in the Senate, SF1798, and we are working on a bill for the House that would open up the state to night bowfishing from May 1st until the last Sunday in February. Also in this bill is to allow bowfishing on the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers in the metro area (exempting local firearm discharge ordinances).

Now with that said in order to get to this point we needed to put provisions in this bill that would help protect property owners from lights and generators. I will be the first to say that I fully agree with these restrictions! We as a group must be considerate of those who could possibly be affected and in order to have any chance at getting these bills passed and signed into law.......This was a must!

A lot of effort has been put into getting to this point over the past year! Now it is up to you, members and non-members, to contact your local legislatures by email and phone to seek support for these bills. I have been able to make that even easier by working with Gary Leaf from Sportsman’s for Change. They will have a system set up for us to send a form letter to your legislatures very soon and once it is up and running I will provide a link to them. It is as easy as filling in some info and BAM it does the rest for you. I have personally used this system for other petitions and I can tell you it works very well! I would also encourage you to contact as many friends and family to do the same. Even if they don’t bowfish they can support these bills to help increase the harvesting of carp. The only way this will have a chance is we get the support through contacting legislatures and people attending hearings at the capital! The MN DNR most likely will not support these bills and will testify against us even though we all know this makes sense for MN. We have done as promised in the past and now it is up to MN bowfishermen/women. Take and make the time to do this! Remember the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Are you willing to step up for what you believe in? Please copy and post this on any other forums that you can to reach out to as many as we can. We can make this a reality for Minnesota sportsmen/women and those who would like to see additional carp harvested from MN’s waters!

The next step is these bills will need to have hearings in the senate and the house next week. They must be approved by the committees before next Friday to be able to continue through the process. I know this is short notice but we will need as many as we can get to testify in support for this bill. THIS IS A MUST FOR US TO HAVE A CHANCE!

I cannot thank enough Senator Chaudhary, the Minnesota Outdoor Heritage Alliance (Especially Don McMillian), and Sportsman’s for Change for their efforts to help us with trying to get equal privileges that our fellow friends have across the US! Back in 1998 MN’s asked to have their right to legally hunt and fish put into our state constitution and we deserve the same opportunities as others across the country here in MN.

Thanks,

Brian Petschl

LLBA President

[carpshooter]

S.F. No. 1798, as introduced - 86th Legislative Session (2009-2010) Posted on Mar 20, 2009

1.1A bill for an act

1.2relating to game and fish; modifying restrictions on bow fishing to take rough

1.3fish;amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, sections 97A.015, by adding a

1.4subdivision; 97C.335; 97C.345, subdivision 2; 97C.375; proposing coding for

1.5new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 97C.

1.6BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.7 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 97A.015, is amended by adding a

1.8subdivision to read:

1.9 Subd. 3b. Bow fishing. "Bow fishing" means taking rough fish by archery where

1.10the arrows are tethered or controlled by an attached line.

1.11 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 97C.335, is amended to read:

1.1297C.335 USE OF ARTIFICIAL LIGHTS TO TAKE FISH PROHIBITED.

1.13 (a) A person may not use artificial lights to lure or attract fish or to see fish in the

1.14water while spearing, except that while angling or spearing, a person may:

1.15 (1) affix a lighted artificial bait with hooks attached to the end of a fishing line; or

1.16 (2) use a lighted decoy for spearing.

1.17 ( Any battery that is used in lighted fishing lures cannot contain any intentionally

1.18introduced mercury.

1.19© The restrictions in paragraph (a) do not apply to bow fishing.

1.20 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 97C.345, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

2.1 Subd. 2. Possession. (a) Except as specifically authorized, a person may not possess

2.2a spear, fish trap, net, dip net, seine, or other device capable of taking fish on or near any

2.3waters. Possession includes personal possession and in a vehicle.

2.4( A person may possess spears, dip nets, bows and arrows, and spear guns allowed

2.5under section 97C.381 on or near waters between sunrise and sunset from May 1 to the

2.6last Sunday in February, or as otherwise prescribed by the commissioner.

2.7 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 97C.375, is amended to read:

2.897C.375 TAKING ROUGH FISH BY SPEARING OR ARCHERY.

2.9A resident or nonresident may take rough fish by spearing or archery during the

2.10times, in waters, and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner.

2.11 Sec. 5. [97C.376] BOW FISHING.

2.12 Subdivision 1. Season. The bow fishing season is from May 1 to the last Sunday in

2.13February at any time of the day.

2.14 Subd. 2. Possession of bows and arrows. A person may possess bows and arrows

2.15on or near waters at any time from May 1 to the last Sunday in February.

2.16 Subd. 3. Nighttime restrictions on motors. From sunset to sunrise, a person bow

2.17fishing with a gasoline-powered motor must use a four-stroke engine. The noise limits

2.18for total noise while bow fishing from sunset to sunrise shall not exceed a noise level

2.19of 65 decibels on the A scale measured at a distance of 50 feet from the motorboat or

2.20equivalent noise levels at other distances as specified by the commissioner in a pass-by

2.21test or 67 decibels on the A scale measured at idle in a stationary test at least four feet

2.22above the water and at least four feet behind the transom of the motorboat being tested.

2.23The noise levels under section 86B.321 apply to persons traveling to and from bow fishing

2.24sites from sunset to sunrise.

2.25 Subd. 4. Discharge ordinances; Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers.

2.26Notwithstanding any law, rule, or local ordinance to the contrary, a person may discharge

2.27an arrow while bow fishing in the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers.

2.28 Subd. 5. Nighttime structure and campground setback requirements. A person

2.29shall not discharge an arrow while bow fishing within 150 feet of an occupied structure

2.30or within 300 feet of a campsite from sunset to sunrise.

2.31 Subd. 6. Prohibition on returning rough fish to waters. Rough fish taken by bow

2.32fishing shall not be returned to the water and rough fish may not be left on the banks

2.33of any water of the state.

[Mclovin]

wow, im in

[carpshooter]

Everyone please visit Sportsmen for Change's HSOforum (link below) and utilize their petition system. As I have said in the past all you need to do is fill in the info and then the system will send it out to around 25-27 legislatures, including your's. It only take 30 seconds of your time, so it works very well. Thanks.

http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=mnsc

[Archerysniper]

E-Mail Sent

[Muskiefool]

If there's anything I can do to help you guys aside from the e-mail let me know.

John

[carpshooter]

thanks for taking the time you guys.

Maybe forward the link to everyone you know.

[Shawn Kellett]

Good to see you guys yesterday at the capital. How did the hearing go?

[carpshooter]

Good to see you guys yesterday at the capital. How did the hearing go?

I was unable to attend the hearing at the state capital. For those that don't know, Wednesday night the LLBA had a meeting with the Senate hearing committee and it went very well. Next the LLBA will have a meeting with the House hearing committee on Monday, the 6th. Things are looking positive for the chance to continue in the process. Keep getting additional people to send the petition. We were asked to stop the emails and that the committees have very much heard the support! It is working so keep'em coming.

[OTBASSER]

email sent