"This type of regulation ties the hands of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, in effect not allowing the Department to manage the resource based on science, blah, blah, blah."

Wasn't considered to be a problem, when PSA was proposing and promoting I-696, the net ban initiative.

"Tribal harvesters may take advantage of "Forgone Opportunity'."

This protest often came up while gathering signatures for the net ban initiative. I was "trained" by none other than PSA leaders to respond with statements such as,
"Not necessarily."
"Can you imagine how bad they're going to look if they do that!"
"We think we can work with the tribes."

What happened to the optimism that was so prevalent during PSA efforts to get a net ban passed?

"To deny citizens the opportunity to harvest a wild Steelhead, when harvestable numbers exist, is to cater to a minority, elitist view..."

But not so when PSA wanted to deny commercial fishers the opportunity to net salmon determined to be surplus by WDFW. Of course the commercials decried the effort as a fish grab by a minority of affluent recreationists (elitists).

"Are we to treat our natural environment as a museum (look but don't touch), or should we be able to interact and enjoy what nature provides?"

To suggest that wild steelhead release relates in anyway to the statement above requires more imagination than I possess. If the moratorium allowed you to merely drive to the river, peer into the deeper holes, and look for wild steelhead, you might have a point. Fishing for, hooking up, and bringing a wild steelhead close enough to release is about as interactive and enjoyable, as it gets.

"It is our belief that science based management should prevail, not emotional idealism."

Back to the beginning...

I've attended a number of PSA meetings, and have even considered joining a chapter. That plan has been put on hold. I can't believe a PSA leader would put his name on a letter this lame! This letter should be framed and hung in the Hall of Shame along side the Trout Unlimited letter that urged rank and file members to oppose the net ban.