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+--- Thread: HB 187 Summer Update from Utah Water Guardians (/showthread.php?tid=513587)
HB 187 Summer Update from Utah Water Guardians - TS30 - 07-01-2009
I'm copying and pasting this from information I received from the Utah Water Guardians. If you have any questions, let me know and I'll try and answer them. If I can't, I'll put you directly in contact with someone who can. This issue in regards to OUR water is by no means dead. And we need to be ready this time and not blind sided by what is going on. Read the info and let me know if you have any questions.
2009 Summer Awareness Update
Round one is complete and over, things have settled down some BUT the fight is not over, actually far from it. The next step is going to be the toughest and we need to stick together once again! Round two will take place this fall….. NOT next year.
A few things you need to be aware of.
• Currently meetings are being held with Representatives once a month. They include landowners/anglers/water users/etc. The purposes of these meetings are as follows; to hear all sides of the issues and allow open discussion with feedback for the intent on writing a new Bill that works for all interests. These meetings will continue through out the summer. So far [2] meetings have been held. Both outcomes were similar; it was an emotional session of arguments from both sides of the fence.
o A few landowners’ issues that were brought to the table. Such as, but not limited to, water rights, trespassing, over harvest, fish stress [water temp], property value decrease, loitering, privacy, loss of property including damage.
o Each case was soundly met with rebuttal. In most cases, it was clearly uneducated issues that needed to be brought to rest. Such as, but not limited to, property value has not decreased with recent data, water temps have not dropped below DWR standards for managing a fishery, land (streambed) is not being “taken” away by the government as it has always been the peoples, current laws already include trespass and property damage, under current law all citizens are able to use and/or recreate in and upon the water, etc. BUT I assure you, no minds were changed, even with facts.
• Currently there are angler meetings being held once month. This purpose is to build open discussion created by current issues that arise during representative meetings. Also, to strategize a positive outcome with the current law by continuing education and raising awareness of sensitive stream access issues. Such as, but not limited to, easement use, recreational use, etiquette, property damage and trespass.
• Please be aware that Ben Ferry is bringing another Bill to the table… yes, that’s right, again!
LAND OWNER/WATER USER CONFRONTATION
• If you have had any problems regarding landowner harassment while obeying the law, please contact us immediately. Also, if you encounter any harassment please contact the police!!!
o There have been many confrontations; all need to be documented in order to protect all parties involved. Currently there have been documented instances of hostile landowners [discharged firearm] as well as trespassing anglers whose gear was confiscated. Be careful and be smart. DO NOT engage in a disrespectful tone, avoid confrontations and walk away. This is a sensitive issue to many, emotions and passion tends to flare. This will not help anyone but it could harm the good everyone is trying to accomplish.
• OBEY the LAW! Learn it, know it, live by it! There are NO excuses for trespassing or property damage! Please, please, please respect the landowners when recreating near their property line. If you think you’re too close to a dwelling, then perhaps you are. Don’t be afraid to move quickly pass and allow for a bit of solitude for everyone. Using the golden rule of “if you wouldn’t like it, then don’t do it” is always a good idea if faced with an access concern. Know before you go!
Lastly….
We need to hire a lobbyist….. A very well connected lobbyist (Hartley and Associates) will fight for the public's right to fish Utah's streams, but lobbyists don't come cheap. His fee is $30,000.00 for this year's legislative session. We only have about 14 days to raise the money and your money is NEEDED! Times are tight for all of us folks, but the Farm Bureau is stacked with cash and they will be spending a LOT! The other side has hired a lobbyist already!! If you can spare ANY AMOUNT, please send a check. If we fail to raise the needed amount, the money will be returned. Surely we can all skip a fast-food lunch or two and send in the savings. There are 400,000 fishermen in Utah, please pass this on to all you know. Just a few bucks from some of us would get the job done, please step up and help out.
Please note, the landowners have hired their guns and will not underestimate the people this next go-around. The legislature is not going to be giving us neither another sympathy vote nor the bad process vote. We need professional talent(s) AND a heavy backed grassroots effort to accomplish this enormous task we are all faced with. The ball is now rolling, we need to preserve our rights and stand-up against those those are trying to take them away! We learned in the first round not one single person is going to do it for us… it’s up to ALL of us, as a unified voice, to stand together to keep free water free.
Checks need to be made out to: Hartley & Associates.
Mail to:
Chris Barkey
14361 Lapis Drive
Draper, UT 84020
fishsnoop [at] gmail [dot] com
If you have any question regarding payment please contact Chris Barkey
Please take a moment to remember why our freedom and our waters are so important to us, to our families, our communities and our country! There will always be those that will try to take this away and privatize water, we as water users, as citizens, can never let this happen. The “blue gold” belongs to the people and it’s up to the people to defend it.
Our hope is for an agreed outcome for a well-thought out common sense Bill which both sides of the fence have discussed in length and can live with.
Keep up the good fight!
www.utahwaterguardians.org
utahwaterguardians@gmail.com
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Re: [TS30] HB 187 Summer Update from Utah Water Guardians - flygoddess - 07-01-2009
Thank you so much TS. I know this ain't over and sure appreciate the updated info.
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Re: [flygoddess] HB 187 Summer Update from Utah Water Guardians - TS30 - 07-13-2009
One more bump....figured I'd give it another shot.
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