Don't fool yourself, fishermen are the minority and our enjoyment of tribal casinos won't even come close to hitting their bottom line. Don't waste your breath drawing a line in the sand between recreational fisheries and frequenting casinos. Focus your efforts on getting your elected officials to work towards an open dialogue between the tribes and the state.

Not that I spend even 5 minutes a year at any casino, tribal or not. But there is nothing gained from the never ending cop out of "not gonna give em a cent at their casinos" . When was the last time any of us were at a casino, looked around and thought, "damn! if all these sportfishermen knew what was going on they all wouldn't be here!"?

The Tribes receive 75% of the gas tax they take in, no audit required on the use of those funds. They also keep all of the liquor tax they receive, and they pay no tax on gambling receipts. Our State government receives no benefits from them at all as it relates to income.

Not income to the state coffers... but there have been certain government officials that received some healthy paychecks to help support their campaigns

Perhaps CCA should get involved

You are correct there. A $650,000 campaign donation had "absolutely nothing" to do with gambling laws in Washington State.

Perhaps the Attorney General should get involved, but it won't happen as the goose must be protected.

Why should the AG get involved? Corporations (just really big people, right?) make even larger donations and that seems OK with folks. The Tribes have simply learned how to play by the rules that the NI's put in place. Now we complain when they are better at it?

I did say "perhaps" and it would be to investigate the lawmakers for evidence of Quid pro quo, which would be illegal. And it would not matter if the bribers were corporations, Native tribes, foreign governments or an individual. I also don't see how the Tribes "are better at it" it is just that they are playing under a different set of rules in many circumstances.

far as I can tell they are abiding by the laws as written and interpreted by the Courts. If we (whoever we is) want to change it we can go to Congress.

This is a great point, IMO. The Tribes are only playing the hand they've been dealt, and I would agree that they're playing it like old pros. Of course, to Dogfish's point, they're not exactly competing on a level playing field, and it's not in the State's best interest to allow the deck to be stacked any longer. Tax them, so the windfall from casinos and gas benefits the public interest, as opposed to making politicians richer.

Blackmouth's right to refer to a golden goose, but I think the real golden goose is privately-funded elections. We take away casinos, someone else will pay to forward their own greedy agenda. Take away private funding and laws will begin to get made for the greater good, as there will be no incentive for legislators to vote against their constituents. Granted, without private funding, there would be little incentive for qualified lawmakers to run for office, since most of them earn a lot more than their state salary before being elected. I say you fix that by paying them more. We need to make legislative representation, for the right reasons, a more rewarding career.

Cop out? All we can do is our part and by not contributing even a penny, I feel I'm doing mine. Of course there's more to it than that, but I've also influenced family and friends who never gave it a second thought.

No I don't as long as they funnel money into campaings, But the Goose is getting rich and can afford to put up a fight at our expense. As long as they have thier cake and eat it to, they are going to come after yours

here is my response to the WDFW and NWIFC press releases about the area 10 closure this summer:

http://www.sportsradiokjr.com/media/podc...-5215-26018614/

Good stuff Ryley... Just the beginning if we're going to capitalize on this...

As a group, we need unreal levels of focus and clarity:

* What are we going to do this year to compel the Muks that this was a net (intended) negative for them -- we have to be active in this space.
* What ground rules must change for next year to this CANNOT happen again
* Getting ourselves aligned on those two things is itself challenging

B

Make any move you want the first card played will be angry rich white racists oppose native subsistence fishing. Continuing a 200 year tradition so stepping on Indian necks to get what you want. It's over , the resource is at a stage that the best you will achieve is a season or two of reprieve at most.

In 2010, Tribal casinos generated $1.745 billion in revenue.
The "subsistence" fishing argument no longer flies.



Good job representing Sky-Guy! Tough, but fair discussion.

In a PR or legal battle facts are irrelevant. It's about the process.

I don't see tribal anglers as an enemy, they want the same things we want... to carry on our heritage, and there has to be a middle ground where we find a way to meet every one's needs.

There needs to be smart management, and with two entities working at managing over the same resource, both must have the clout and strength to fight for truly equal shares. It just so happens that the folks advocating for our share don't have the teeth to win that battle.

Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is that the err will always be on the side of the tribes because of the treaty. This has been consistent since 1974 and will into the future due to the nature of law. Not seeing them as an enemy does little to change the fact that there is an un equal partnership that cannot be changed.

The smart management is already in place. There are plenty of smart people at every table, conference call, and meeting of every phase within the NOF process.The fair and unbiased management is not in place. We clearly have 'smart' bullys and wimps at the table, and those which evidently only care abut 'their' piece of the pie when they should care, and are paid to care, about others' piece of pie too(cough, Phil!)...

Dirk Diggler, I can't really tell where the hell you are coming from, and I dont really care.... but know this. This year we had *clear* data which showed everyone could get theirs, with robust seasons all around. The Mucklehsoots sabotaged the process for their own benefit because they are sick of people fishing ahead of them, and for other reasons I wont expound upon publicly. You can throw the race card, and cite tradition all you want, you can present any logical fallacy you wish to drive your narrative....but the fact remains that there are laws and rules which must be adhered to. They were not.

Where I coming from is simple. We have 41 years of history of the sportsman getting the short end of the stick. That's not going to change with a dwindling resource. Knock yourself out come back in five years and tell me how far you get. I think it's all talk an posturing because you are out gunned , out manned out ,organized, out funded and out represented and out lawyered.