FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE,
2/3/08
I hate spam and forwarded emails as much as all of you, but
please read what’s below, this one is important. You’re on this
distribution because you care about fishing in Wisconsin, and may have
fished in a tournament in Wisconsin or realize the positive economic
benefits that CATCH AND RELEASE tournaments bring to Wisconsin businesses,
towns, and counties.
The Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resource is seeking to severely curtail
catch and release tournament fishing in Wisconsin. This is not a
biological issue, but a social one being pushed by a small, select group
of individuals.
Jesse’s email below is well done, and gives a little more information
about why this is so critical.
So, I’m asking that you literally take just a couple of minutes and do
these couple of little things.
Forward this email to other fisherman, tournament anglers, and businesses
that benefit from catch and release fishing tournaments in Wisconsin.
Send a short email (best in your own words) to the email list of State
Senators and Representatives that are listed below.
They have to the power to stop this.
Thanks. I can’t overstate how important this is…..
Please help.
Steve Verduyn
Manager, Dealer Credit & Compliance
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
3700 W. Juneau Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53208
(414) 343-4712 Phone
(414) 343-8313 Fax
Subject: FW: I URGE YOU TO REJECT! Wisconsin DNR
Administrative Code part NR 20.40
I am coming to those of you on this email list on bended knee. Tournament
fishing in the state of Wisconsin is on the cusp of being regulated to a
point in which it will become nearly impossible to participate in. The DNR
is trying to take away inherent rights of ours that are paid for by our
regular fishing licenses and restrict when and where we hold our event as
well as adding pointless permit fees to tournament. Our lakes and rivers
have never sustained healthier populations of bass than they do today, and
much of that success is due to the popularity of catch and release a
practice promoted by all tournament fisherman. In addition, it is the
states Lake Associations that are driving the opinions of our elected
decision makers because it is their belief that they are entitled to
dictate who and when everyone else should be able to utilize the body of
water that they live on. Please contact our states legislation regarding
this issues... I beg you. First, lets make this viral... So please pass it
onto 5 people. Second, forward this email onto the Representatives below.
Cut this writing from the forward, cut the e-mails of the legislation from
the email and paste it into the TO: address box, and replace the signature
on the bottom with your own. It'll take 2 of your minutes, and could make
all the difference in the world. Thanks in advance.
'Sen.Miller@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Sen.Kedzie@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Sen.Schultz@legis.wisconsin.gov';
'Rep.Gunderson@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.OttJ@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.Bies@legis.wisconsin.gov';
'Rep.LeMahieu@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.WilliamsM@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.Moulton@legis.wisconsin.gov';
'Rep.Nerison@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.Mursau@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.Black@legis.wisconsin.gov';
'Rep.Molepske@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.Steinbrink@legis.wisconsin.gov';
'Rep.Hraychuck@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.Hebl@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.Mason@legis.wisconsin.gov';
'Rep.Albers@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.Gundrum@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Rep.VanRoy@legis.wisconsin.gov';
'Rep.Strachota@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Sen.Jauch@legis.wisconsin.gov'; 'Sen.Wirch@legis.wisconsin.gov';
'Sen.Breske@legis.wisconsin.gov'
Board Members,
As you are be aware, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has
completely revised the Wisconsin DNR Administrative Code part NR 20.40 as
it relates to regulation of and permitting of fishing tournaments in the
State of Wisconsin.
I am urging you to please get involved with this and reject this
legislation for multiple reasons including:
The proposed rules are discriminatory and applies only to tournament
fishermen/women and organizers of the events. Other fishermen using the
same waters at the same time are not subject to any of the proposed
changes. Clearly, these regulations affect one user group and not another.
The DNR in its wisdom has decided that the overcrowding of our state’s
lakes is due primarily to tournaments. This is very far from the truth.
There are many reasons why some lakes seem crowded, Jet-skiers, pleasure
boaters and even lake owners themselves use these same lakes. Instead of
trying to fix the real problem, they are attempting to find a scapegoat
and then they can say ”see, we did something”. Instead of doing the right
thing and making better lake access points, bigger boat ramps and parking
spaces, funding things that matter and can actually make a difference they
choose the easy way.
The DNR wants to limit tournaments on any given body of water. For
example, Lake Wausau in Marathon County is a 2000 acre lake. Under the
proposed new regulations it would only be allowed two (2) tournaments of
ANY species per month. The economic impact of the limitations proposed is
substantial, and tourism dollars would suffer greatly. Many resorts,
marinas, restaurants, gas stations, etc, rely heavily on tournaments. To
pass legislation limiting drastically tournaments will ensures those
tourist and visitor dollars will not be spent. I have an economic impact
study done by the DNR and the UW System showing how one small tournament
brought over $2,000,000.00 to one small Wisconsin community.
One could do some simple math using the approximately 400 open water and
ice fishing tournaments held in the state and by using the DNR’s own
numbers of total tournaments. I will use a small number of $100,000 per
event. This seems to be a reasonable number as some will bring in less and
many substantially more. This is new money brought into a community from
other states, counties and in some case countries. The tourist dollars
generated on the low end would be over $40,000,000.00 to
communities around Wisconsin.
User fees. A BIG part of the proposed changes call for user fees to fund
the program. (They hide this fee under an “organizer Permit Fee”) Again,
those fees would be levied against only tournament fishermen and
organizers. This includes charity events as well as small mom and pop
Tavern events or those run weeknights from local factories (factory
leagues). The implementation of these fees will KILL most of these types
of tournaments.
AND to be specific, there is no real difference for varying target fish
species. One of the reasons that the DNR claims this legislation is needed
is to help curb fish mortality yet there is no difference in how different
fish species are addressed. In other words, some fish species (like
walleyes) have higher mortality rates than bass or muskies, as they are
less hardy.
Yet, there is no accommodation for this…all species are treated the same.
Throughout these proposed regulations, tournaments are treated as a burden
to the state and the resource. In reality, tournament anglers are just
fishermen who want to compare their catch, then release them to be caught
another day. They aren't taking anything away from the resource, because
in reality, they could legally harvest every fish they catch within the
daily creel, just like the non-tournament anglers often do. But they don't
and wouldn't want to. So, I have a hard time with any agency that comes
down so hard on a group of anglers that do more for the resource and
support the agency more than any other angling group.
Again, I am asking for your support and involvement to get these proposed
changes stopped and reel in this overzealous and unchecked DNR and its
Board. Stop this legislation from being passed. Make the DNR tackle the
real, practical problems of too small boat landings, not enough public
access points. There are other ways to help our resource instead of
picking on one group.
Jesse L. Kind
Former President Beaver Dam Bass Anglers
