[loligo]

I don't know what to make of this...but it doesn't sound too good

" This bill would increase the membership, change the composition, and revise the authority of the Fish and Game Council. Current law provides for 11 members on the council as follows: three farmers, recommended to the Governor for appointment by the agricultural convention held pursuant to statute; six sportsmen, recommended to the Governor for appointment by the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs; one member "knowledgeable in land use management and soil conservation practices"; and the chairperson of the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee established pursuant to "The Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act."

This bill would change the composition and increase the membership of the council from 11 members to 13 members. The new membership is as follows: the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, ex officio, or a designated representative; the chairperson, ex officio, of the committee established pursuant to "The Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act"; two farmers; two sportsmen; two individuals with experience in environmental protection, recommended to the Governor for appointment to the council by the New Jersey Environmental Federation; and five individuals with experience in environmental protection or other fields relevant to animal welfare and with a background in the preservation of wildlife, recommended to the Governor for appointment to the council by the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance, The Bear Education and Resource Group, and the Humane Society of the United States. "

 

[NilsS]

This is why I was referring to "strategy" in a previous post. This and several other legislative initiatives are underway which could seriously screw with recreational fishing and hunting (the animal rights people have been walking softly around commercial fishing because of the growing populartary of fish in U.S. diets), and the rec fishing groups are squandering their (and our) political capital on this artificial reef silliness. Another bill would name a "ecosystem management" panel in NJ DEP enviro reps outnumbering each of the other user groups.

With New Jersey's increasingly suburbanized, increasingly yuppified population solidly with the right political persuasion, the antis see the state as fertile ground. The sports are looking at some rough times, I'm afraid.

 

[loligo]

This just caught my eyes Nils, I figured some of you NJ guys knew a little more about it.....

 

[loligo]

NilsS wrote:
The sports are looking at some rough times, I'm afraid.

Thats right. Great time for swingin' olive branches, eh?

The reefs bill? Do you think that little piece o' legis. is gonna make some new friends between the recs and comm's anytime soon?

 

[MakoMike]

Nils,
I had heard about this before from some of my POMA contacts, but I was under the impression that the Dept of fish & game had no authority over salt water fishing. Is that wrong?

 

[NilsS]

Mike -

The Marine Fisheries Council in essence makes the rules. It gets administrative support from the Marine Fisheries Administration that is located in the Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife in the Department of Environmental Protection. The Fish and Game Council "runs" the Division, through appointing the person in charge - the Director.

The Marine Fisheries Council has a lot of power. Among other things it is "empowered to disapprove, within 60 days of the proposal, any rule or regulation or any amendment thereto proposed by the commissioner." The Fish and Game Council has similar powers.

These have been a burr under the blanket of the antis and enviros in New Jersey for years, because they have been largely politically untouchable (that's "political" outside of hunters and fishermen politics, which tend to control the system). Noe the antis andenviros evidently think they have the political push to change things.

 

[MakoMike]

Nils,
Thanks for the explanation. I had heard from my contacts that this push by the antis was really all about the black bear hunt. It appears that they were correct.

 

[NilsS]

I think the black bear hunt has afforded them the opportunity to act, and they're taking advantage of it. Unlike fishermen, they are very capable of carrying out a sophisticated, long-term strategy. As the artificial reef nonsense exemplifies (for this month), we'd much rather try to pick each others' pockets.