I'm sure most everyone has heard the phrase: walk a mile in my shoes.

Well a volunteer organization has to put up with volunteers and as such puts up with alot of change. The WSC is no exception I'm sure. It is a volunteer group and not a corporation with paid lobbyists like Washington Trout. It is a small group with a very narrow agenda. Small volunteer groups with very narrow agendas will not always please the volunteers and certainly won't necessarily please the majority of people but they can further their agenda with hard work and persistence. If someone disagrees with their agenda they can form their own volunteer group and oppose them with a different narrow agenda.

AuntyM....All one has to do is express an opinion and there will be a malcontent at the ready to blast that opinion out of the water. I guess that is what debate is all about. The trouble is that each side will always site the "facts" that support their opinions. Both sides always have the "facts" and when those fail the personal attacks and name calling begin.

Grandpa, You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I invite you to read the WSC mission statement before accusing the organization of a narrow agenda. Please read on-

THE WILD STEELHEAD COALITION
MISSION STATEMENT

The Wild Steelhead Coalition (WSC) is an organization dedicated to increasing the return of wild steelhead to the waters and rivers of the Pacific Northwest.

Beliefs of the WSC

Wild steelhead are an important legacy to the Pacific Northwest and have
undeniably been reduced to a fraction of their once historical capacity.
Over harvest, habitat degradation, poor hatchery practices, construction
of impassable barriers to migration, and misguided management strategies
have all contributed significantly to the decline, and in some cases extinction, of wild fish runs.

Without a change in policies and attitudes, these same factors will continue to reduce and extirpate wild steelhead.

Composition of the WSC

The WSC is comprised of concerned citizens determined to reverse the factors that have negatively impacted wild steelhead, and in so doing, restore healthy and viable populations of wild steelhead to the Pacific Northwest. In so doing, wild salmon and other salmonids will also benefit. The WSC represents conservationists, recreational fishermen, businesses that depend upon wild steelhead for their livelihoods, and citizens who seek to preserve the future of the Pacific Northwest's greatest resource.

Policies and Actions of the WSC

To increase fish runs, more wild fish must return to their rivers and spawn. To that end, the WSC promotes year round, catch and release of all wild steelhead in the Pacific Northwest.

The WSC promotes and encourages the development and utilization of fishing practices that result in decreased mortality of wild steelhead and salmon.

Barriers to migration and the degradation and removal of productive habitat have reduced the capacity of rivers to support wild steelhead. In order for fish runs to be restored, the WSC promotes the return of existing damaged habitat to its productive state, and that miles of productive spawning grounds that are no longer accessible to fish be made accessible again.

Hatchery programs must be closely examined and be carried out in such a
manner that the negative impacts on wild fish are removed or minimized.
The WSC stands for the mass marking of all hatchery steelhead, and for science, not politics, to be the basis for the re-tooling of hatchery practices.

The models and policies that drive fisheries management must significantly change. Maximum Sustained Harvest and Maximum Sustained Yield have failed to protect and perpetuate our wild fish, and in many cases have been the driving force behind their decline. New models that are based on factors other than the greatest possible harvest of wild fish are necessary to return fish runs to safe levels.

In promotion of these goals, the Wild Steelhead Coalition is an organization which provides a voice that unites the public, private, and other interests that desire and depend on wild steelhead. The WSC provides a voice for recreational fishermen, businesses whose livelihoods depend on recreational fishing, recreational fishing clubs and conservation groups, united in common goals, through consultation, association, and collaboration with those clubs and groups.

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That goes both ways G2. It doesnt matter to me if your TU, WSC, PSA, BFD, or CYA. If the legal process says _ _ _ _, that's what you do.

If WSC is feeling picked on, they might consider what the reaction to thier actions will be, before they act. If thier position wont stand up to public scrutiny, it will never be accepted by the public. So if you're willing to wade into the water, you better know what your doing. You could be swept away.


That sounds like democracy to me. The whole point of which is to do what the majority want. An educated, informed majority because of a process called public disclosure. How would the majority accomplish that in this case?


My point is, as long as discriminating decisions are being made, the courts will continue to strike them down. If policies are created without following the rules, they will be rejected also.

How is that helping anyone?

As much as I love this Board, to both read and post on, I believe that Bob has said that he only has about 4000 active members. I do not know if that is still true, so I would yield to his knowledge on that issue. There are hundreds of thousands of sport fishermen in Washington State, and I am pretty sure that even Bob would agree that just because a issue is brought up on his board, that it does no mean that any "public notice" has been given to the hundreds of thousands who don't even know that it exists!

You say
On that issue we are 100% in agreement. That is the public "process". But that does not authorize the Commission to break the rule of law at there end.

I couldn't agree with you more! That is exactly why we must follow the rule of law.

To me, it's not about being able to kill a wild fish as much as it is that "the Commission" did not follow the rule of law. And if law can not be applied equally to all, the fish will never stand any chance for making a recovery.

Double Haul....you just kind of proved my point again....a narrow agenda in the case of WSC is the "wild steelhead" component. I never implied that to be a bad thing, just narrow. The crab convoy was a narrow agenda event too. I was in it. The commercial crabbers have their own narrow agenda (besides spitting on the other side).

The WSR rule was not a decision based on the will of the majority but a rule decided upon based on testimony and a little bit of data from WDFW. That means to me that a small minority with a special agenda can make a difference. I do not fault the vocal minority....after all I am part of one of those at times.

And by the way....I have walked many miles in those shoes.....no need to lecture grandpa

This would be a great time for some kind of Summit, or the like on fisheries. With full disclosure of every aspect of all meetings. Print an understandable, to the point, report of those minutes in the 10 largest newspapers in the state. Send a copy to every post office. If a forum for public input does not exist, create one. Dont have closed or secret anything! Dont exclude someone because you cant come to an agrrement with them. Keep everyone involved. Win a negotiation because your ideas stood up to public scrutiny, and thiers did'nt.

It may cost some $, but it's money well spent. The alternative is one step foreward ,two back. That's what we have now.