Fly Rod & Reel Article On The Riverways

[Gavin]

My link

[Guest]

Thanks for the link Gavin.

[Nortrad]

Thanks Gavin, and kudos for your efforts to save the streams here.

[kevthebassman]

An excellent read. Our rivers are under constant assault, and being "loved to death" is a very good way of putting it. My fear is that before long all of our formerly pristine habitat and wild lands will be the domain of obnoxiously drunk a-holes, parking their campers on gravel bars, firing up the generator and christmas lights and stereos, and tossing their beer cans in the river as they pull out well over their legal limit in fish.

It WILL happen some day, if we say nothing.

[stlfisher]

Good article. Glad to see some attention brought to our area. It wouldn't bother me if they didn't allow drinking while floating on the streams...just allow it at the campsite. I know it would never happen, it wouldn't be popular, and we would be punishing those that drink in moderation, but it would keep the belligerent drunks away. So many issues to fight though...not even sure were to start.

[ozark trout fisher]

Good article. Glad to see some attention brought to our area. It wouldn't bother me if they didn't allow drinking while floating on the streams...just allow it at the campsite. I know it would never happen, it wouldn't be popular, and we would be punishing those that drink in moderation, but it would keep the belligerent drunks away. So many issues to fight though...not even sure were to start.

It does seem that would be a good place to start. I agree that it wouldn't be popular but I'd be in support. It would fix 90% of the problems on those rivers.

[Al Agnew]

Actually, "loved to death" isn't the right phrase. It should be "used to death". Most of these people show absolutely no indication that they love the river, and that includes a lot of locals, who are so blinded by their hatred for the "feds" and their cherished "freedom" to do whatever they d--- well please along the rivers that they refuse to see the problems. I don't know who I get the maddest at, the willfully ignorant locals, the locals who only care about the bucks the visitors bring in, the horse people who have that infinite capacity to rationalize and dismiss the damage they cause, the party idiot paddlers and jetboaters, the gutless wonders in the Park Service, or the illustrious Jo Ann Emerson, who never met an environmental issue that she didn't either fight against or ignore.

[Nortrad]

I second that about Rep. Emerson.

[Spincast]

It is also convenient that the owner of Harvey's canoe rental is now a State Representative. Guess we won't see any change in regards to amount of canoes. Can we say conflict of interest?

[exiledguide]

Thanks Gavin, keep up the good fight. I remember first camping on the Jack Fork at Alley Springs State Park in 1957 on my 16th birthday. Clean air, water and no trash. Then it became a federal riverway and it has become a federal cesspool in the ensuing years and I stopped taking my family there in the middle 70s. It was really sad to see the destruction of a really great watershed. It just amazes me that people who earn a living from the outdoors are the ones who condon the destruction of the outdoors. Actually my nephew interned on the current about 10 years ago measuring the water quality at the legal horse areas so I know they were aware of that problem back then. Nothing was ever done

On the subject of drunks, at some point in the 90s Ontario banned alcohol in boats. There was a lot of grumbling but they didn't seem to lose any buisness. You still have long lines at International Falls waiting to cross the border at least in 1999. The last time I went to Ontario. I don't know if that law is still in effect or not.