Mdc

[jdmidwest]

Actually, fishing has declined in my lifetime. Many of the streams I fished when I was younger are now drying up or the fishing quality has decreased.

More private land management and timber management would help alot of the watersheds. Gravel buildup by over harvest of timber and loss of forest near streams has really choked out alot of my old stomping grounds. Big River, Big Creek, Upper St Francois, Castor, Whitewater, Saline, Bear Creek, Hurricane Creek, Frederick Creek, Upper 11 pt, Warm Fork of the Spring River, Upper Current River, etc have all gotten shallower due to gravel and changes in the water tables or water shed. Fishing has declined in all of these streams in my lifetime of the last 40 years. One section of Frederick Creek and Hurricane Creek has disappeared completely from time to time due to droughts, gravel, and clear cuts.

I second the motion that more needs to be done for enforcement, but alot needs to be done about Private Land Management also. MDC needs to work with the private landowners to manage all of the private land also.