Stop The Closure Petition

[Quillback]

I'm signing the petition, first I see no reason to let the feds walk away from their obligation to mitigate the impact of the dams and secondly because I enjoy the White river trout fishery.

[flytyer57]

I find it sad that we must face gettign rid a few of the good government services that we all pay for so we can continue to fund two entitlement programs (social security and medicare) that are bankrupting our country. The preident said that these account for .94 out of every goverment dollar spent and until these two out of control programs are restructured we will have no funding for anything else.

Social Security and Medicare are not bankrupting this country. They are operating in the black. The problem with SS and Medicare is that since they have such a surplus, congress keeps raiding the SS money set aside for their pork-barrel projects. That is taking away the money that we have paid in so that when we retire, there will be no money for us to retire on. If congress paid back every dollar they stole from SS, it will not be in the news every month as to how to fund the reitiring baby boomers.

[Tim Smith]

I find it sad that we must face gettign rid a few of the good government services that we all pay for so we can continue to fund two entitlement programs (social security and medicare) that are bankrupting our country. The preident said that these account for .94 out of every goverment dollar spent and until these two out of control programs are restructured we will have no funding for anything else.

As stated here, this is incorrect. Maybe you mean non-military entitlement funds? If the larger point is that the government has to decide what to fund and you consider that hatcheries to be more important than social security or medicade that would be a constructive addition to the discussion (I don't agree with it, but it would make your point accurately)...

...but this kind of thing is probably at the limits of what's constructive before we head into the political ditch.

I'm enjoying the exchange and I think it's interesting that there are people on both sides of this issue from both sides of the political spectrum. If we can refrain from making cartoon characters of ourselves or each other we'll probably learn something before we're done plus avoid having the topic shut down.

[Danoinark]

Went to far fellows. Ya'll know better.

Dano

[Trav]

Went to far fellows. Ya'll know better.

Dano

Some things never change....or grow up...

[Iliketoflyfish]

I've enjoyed reading all of the political and scientific banter from everyone, and I think I learned a couple of things while reading through everyone's comments. My opinion on the matter is this simple: You don't feel the need to sign the petition or don't believe in what it stands for or it doesn't fit your political views, then don't sign it. I signed it. I feel strongly about my justifications for signing it. I appreciate the initial poster for giving people a chance to sign the petition, and I appreciate those of you that chose to voice your lack of support for signing and for the hatchery program in general. It's good to be American so we can all voice our opinion freely without ramifications, but let's take this debate to the next level,though. If you voiced an opinion on this subject, I challenge you to spend the same time and effort that you put into this post toward a phone call, email or letter to your Congressmen to tell them how you feel on this and every other proposal that's on the table. We can all post on this and any other forum that we choose all day long, but unless we take the time and make the effort to let our Congressmen know how we feel and how we believe they should vote, then we have really done ourselves no justice. We gave these "decision makers" their jobs, so they are supposed to work for us. Tell them how you want them to vote. Don't tell me what I should or should not believe on the Ozark Anglers forum. I appreciate that you all have an opinion on this issue, but I urge you to direct your opinions to the people that can make your opinion matter.

Okay, let the bashing begin. Honestly, I didn't intend to step on anyone's toes or to come across all "high and mighty". I just think that it's time for us to wake up those in Washington, and remind them that they work for us. Thanks for taking the time to read my opinion.

[Flysmallie]

Nicely said Iliketoflyfish.

[Gavin]

I'm in favor of keeping them open even though I dont see much impact to Missouri's fisheries and I rarely fish tailwaters. Closures and/or significant budget cuts could have a significant impact to Arkansas's trout fisheries and several other tailwater fisheries in the South and that is not a good thing. Cheers.

[Outside Bend]

Aside from the fact that COE ought to be funding the hatcheries, privatization of public resources always makes me nervous. A private entity will be looking to maximize profits, and could easily price lots of anglers out of their sport. Plus it calls into question whether the state would continue managing the fisheries, or whether they too would be privatized.

The hatcheries aren't ideal, but there's no doubt they produce a huge economic benefit to an area of the country that isn't that economically prosperous, and they do it with little cost to anglers on the whole. If you take the hatcheries out of the equation, all that disappears.

There are other things to look at- spawning habitat/recruitment, reducing harvest levels, even eliminating stocking of brookies and cutthroat. But there's a lot riding on quality trout fisheries in the MO and Arkansas tailwaters, and it may be that those fisheries can't be maintained without the hatcheries.

[Idylwilde]

Aside from the fact that COE ought to be funding the hatcheries, privatization of public resources always makes me nervous. A private entity will be looking to maximize profits, and could easily price lots of anglers out of their sport. Plus it calls into question whether the state would continue managing the fisheries, or whether they too would be privatized.

The hatcheries aren't ideal, but there's no doubt they produce a huge economic benefit to an area of the country that isn't that economically prosperous, and they do it with little cost to anglers on the whole. If you take the hatcheries out of the equation, all that disappears.

There are other things to look at- spawning habitat/recruitment, reducing harvest levels, even eliminating stocking of brookies and cutthroat. But there's a lot riding on quality trout fisheries in the MO and Arkansas tailwaters, and it may be that those fisheries can't be maintained without the hatcheries.

I was reading through this and the thought crossed my weak little mind: What if it was State owned hatchery's that were in question here? Do we close the warm water or cold to bring State Budgets back? All kinds of species are in both State & Federal hatchery's , What Species would we cut?

Could we turn all the hatcheries over to private investors along with licensing the anglers? Do we have a crystal ball to see where this could all lead? Just a few things that entered my weak little mind while I looked at this issue.