Fat Albert
Well-known member
<font size="4">Thanks Richard for the very informative piece in the Sunday's paper.....the problems for the TWRA.....everyone needs to read this....FA</font>
Rsimms article in Sunday paper
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rsimms
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Here you go:
It's been a bad month for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and sportsmen. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission, the governing body of TWRA, voted to cut nearly $5 million from the TWRA budget, including 47 positions, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in wildlife improvement and public relations efforts. The final tally was 7.8 percent of the Agency's annual budget.
At the same time the TWRC passed a unanimous resolution that it would not raise hunting & fishing license fees in 2009.
TWRC Chairman Gary Kimsey from Sweetwater said, "It's hard times on everybody these days. Private individuals can't simply go out and charge more when they're low on money. They have to suck it up and so are we."
Matt Johnson, TWRA Asst. Director over Staff Operations said the budget cuts are due primarily to declining hunting and fishing license sales, TWRA's primary source of revenue.
He said personnel cuts include 5 full-time positions, 10 part-time jobs and 27 intern positions. Additional cuts to the TWRA budget include the elimination of an annual $200,000 payment to Ducks Unlimited, $50,000 to Delta Waterfowl, and a $20,000 cut to Quail Unlimited. They eliminated multiple university research contracts for a total of $71,000 and cut $100,000 from the marketing budget -- a 50% reduction.
The Agency will also reduce its Tennessee Wildlife Magazine from six issues per year to only four issues per year saving $150,000. They also cut $200,000 from the Tennessee Wild Side TV program budget, but Johnson says they hope to find sponsors that will pick up the slack.
With a commitment to maintain current license fees, in 2010 TWRA will have gone at least five years without a license increase. The TWRC has the authority to raise fees at will, equivalent with the cost-of-living index.
On top of the budget cuts, the Tennessee Commercial Roe Fishermen’s Association and Tennessee Commercial Fishermen’s Association are suing TWRA. The complaint was filed in chancery court in Davidson County and alleges that new rules governing commercial fishermen are arbitrary and not supported by sound scientific data. The commercial fishermen are represented by Chattanooga attorney Jim McKoon.
McKoon has not returned phone calls, however in a written news release issued by Waterhouse Public Relations he said, “The (commercial fishing) Proclamation itself is void because it is unconstitutional and invalid under the law. Not only did TWRA pass procedures with rules that are not supported, they deprived citizens of due process… These rules greatly impact commercial fishers’ livelihoods.”
There are about 275 commercial fishing licenses issued in Tennessee each year. Less than half of those fishermen are believed to be fulltime. Many of those make much of their money pursuing paddlefish, primarily for the eggs which like sturgeon, are used to make caviar.
With severe restrictions on the international trade of sturgeon from overseas, biologists say there has been serious pressure placed on paddlefish and they are considered endangered in some states.
A large female paddlefish might carry 10-15 pounds of eggs which, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, can bring a commercial fisherman up to $90 per pound. That means one large female can be worth up to $1,000. That is a serious payoff for those willing to endure the rigors of commercial fishing.
Among many new provisions in recently revised commercial fishing regulations, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission completely closed Watts Bar Lake to commercial fishing. The total ban was based largely upon the advice of the Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) which says there are dangerous levels of PCB contamination in many fish species in Watts Bar.
The commercial fishermen's lawsuit says that TDEC's health advisory is outdated.
“We would never sell fish that are harmful to the public,” said Allen Fine of Leisure Caviar in the written statement. “But we feel the provisions should be based on scientific fact, and they are not.”
The lawsuit also argues that TWRA has not closed Watts Bar Lake to sport or recreational fishermen, violating commercial fishers’ equal protection guarantees.
Attorneys have advised TWRA personnel to make no comments, however one unnamed TWRA source said, "We don't tell fishermen they can't fish, but we do tell them certain species should not be eaten. Of course many people like to catch-and-release fish. It's their choice to eat them or not. Obviously that's not the case for commercial fisherman."
Kimsey said, "I've been instructed to not discuss (the lawsuit) and to direct any questions to the state attorney general's office."
Leigh Ann Jones, spokesperson for the state attorney general's office declined to make any comments except to say their response would be filed with the court. They have 30 days to do that from June 10th when they were served with the civil lawsuit.
When advised that the commercial fishermen had solicited the aid of a professional public relations firm, Kimsey said, "I don't like the sound of that. I'll pass that back and see what we can do about it. On the other hand, when our attorneys say we shouldn't be discussing it, we don't really have any choice but to abide by that."
Meanwhile he does say that with the TWRC's commitment to hold the line on license fees, sportsmen should expect additional budget cuts next year.
It's been a bad month for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and sportsmen. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission, the governing body of TWRA, voted to cut nearly $5 million from the TWRA budget, including 47 positions, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in wildlife improvement and public relations efforts. The final tally was 7.8 percent of the Agency's annual budget.
At the same time the TWRC passed a unanimous resolution that it would not raise hunting & fishing license fees in 2009.
TWRC Chairman Gary Kimsey from Sweetwater said, "It's hard times on everybody these days. Private individuals can't simply go out and charge more when they're low on money. They have to suck it up and so are we."
Matt Johnson, TWRA Asst. Director over Staff Operations said the budget cuts are due primarily to declining hunting and fishing license sales, TWRA's primary source of revenue.
He said personnel cuts include 5 full-time positions, 10 part-time jobs and 27 intern positions. Additional cuts to the TWRA budget include the elimination of an annual $200,000 payment to Ducks Unlimited, $50,000 to Delta Waterfowl, and a $20,000 cut to Quail Unlimited. They eliminated multiple university research contracts for a total of $71,000 and cut $100,000 from the marketing budget -- a 50% reduction.
The Agency will also reduce its Tennessee Wildlife Magazine from six issues per year to only four issues per year saving $150,000. They also cut $200,000 from the Tennessee Wild Side TV program budget, but Johnson says they hope to find sponsors that will pick up the slack.
With a commitment to maintain current license fees, in 2010 TWRA will have gone at least five years without a license increase. The TWRC has the authority to raise fees at will, equivalent with the cost-of-living index.
On top of the budget cuts, the Tennessee Commercial Roe Fishermen’s Association and Tennessee Commercial Fishermen’s Association are suing TWRA. The complaint was filed in chancery court in Davidson County and alleges that new rules governing commercial fishermen are arbitrary and not supported by sound scientific data. The commercial fishermen are represented by Chattanooga attorney Jim McKoon.
McKoon has not returned phone calls, however in a written news release issued by Waterhouse Public Relations he said, “The (commercial fishing) Proclamation itself is void because it is unconstitutional and invalid under the law. Not only did TWRA pass procedures with rules that are not supported, they deprived citizens of due process… These rules greatly impact commercial fishers’ livelihoods.”
There are about 275 commercial fishing licenses issued in Tennessee each year. Less than half of those fishermen are believed to be fulltime. Many of those make much of their money pursuing paddlefish, primarily for the eggs which like sturgeon, are used to make caviar.
With severe restrictions on the international trade of sturgeon from overseas, biologists say there has been serious pressure placed on paddlefish and they are considered endangered in some states.
A large female paddlefish might carry 10-15 pounds of eggs which, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, can bring a commercial fisherman up to $90 per pound. That means one large female can be worth up to $1,000. That is a serious payoff for those willing to endure the rigors of commercial fishing.
Among many new provisions in recently revised commercial fishing regulations, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission completely closed Watts Bar Lake to commercial fishing. The total ban was based largely upon the advice of the Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) which says there are dangerous levels of PCB contamination in many fish species in Watts Bar.
The commercial fishermen's lawsuit says that TDEC's health advisory is outdated.
“We would never sell fish that are harmful to the public,” said Allen Fine of Leisure Caviar in the written statement. “But we feel the provisions should be based on scientific fact, and they are not.”
The lawsuit also argues that TWRA has not closed Watts Bar Lake to sport or recreational fishermen, violating commercial fishers’ equal protection guarantees.
Attorneys have advised TWRA personnel to make no comments, however one unnamed TWRA source said, "We don't tell fishermen they can't fish, but we do tell them certain species should not be eaten. Of course many people like to catch-and-release fish. It's their choice to eat them or not. Obviously that's not the case for commercial fisherman."
Kimsey said, "I've been instructed to not discuss (the lawsuit) and to direct any questions to the state attorney general's office."
Leigh Ann Jones, spokesperson for the state attorney general's office declined to make any comments except to say their response would be filed with the court. They have 30 days to do that from June 10th when they were served with the civil lawsuit.
When advised that the commercial fishermen had solicited the aid of a professional public relations firm, Kimsey said, "I don't like the sound of that. I'll pass that back and see what we can do about it. On the other hand, when our attorneys say we shouldn't be discussing it, we don't really have any choice but to abide by that."
Meanwhile he does say that with the TWRC's commitment to hold the line on license fees, sportsmen should expect additional budget cuts next year.
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