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Post by Eugene on Feb 18, 2008 12:03:38 GMT -5
As Mike said, these tend to be non-profits, and communication from within can be pretty variable given the relatively high rate of turnover, so some of the contact info on this page will be decidedly out of date: ohiowatersheds.osu.edu/groups/wgp_all.php...still, it's a good start.
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Post by Eugene on Apr 4, 2008 14:30:22 GMT -5
I don't know if any of you have kept abreast of this. Feel free to read and act upon this if it concerns you: ALL BOATERS BEWARE! ACT NOW TO PREVENT MANDATORY EPA PERMITS IN SEPTEMBER! FOR EVERYONE WHO OWNS A BOAT, ROWBOAT, CANOE, JET SKI, DUCK BOAT, INFLATABLE RUBBERIZED BOAT-----ANYTHING THAT FLOATS WHICH WOULD REQUIRE A STATE WATERCRAFT REGISTRATION NUMBER TO OPERATE----YOU NEED TO READ AN ACT UPON THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE FROM BOAT US REGARDING THE CLEAN BOATING ACT OF 2008----------- The time is drawing near where our United States Congress needs to ACT on SENATE BILL S. 2766, THE CLEAN BOATING ACT OF 2008. Otherwise, by September 30, 2008, every boat owner in the United States will have to obtain an EPA discharge permit in order to legally operate their boat---canoe---rowboat---jet ski----and anything float-able which requires a state watercraft registration number. It is HIGHLY LIKELY that you will also need separate permits from EACH STATE where you plan to use your boat. Go to the BOAT US website for more detailed information www.boatus.com/gov ( Federal Alerts March 19, 2008 EPA Discharge Permit Requirement for Recreational Boats) Also, OPEN THE ATTACHED PDF FILE to read an April 3, 2008 urgent message from BOAT US Vice President of Government Affairs, Margaret Podlich regarding this issue, including how to contact your United States Senators to request them to support and vote for S. 2766, The Clean Boating Act of 2008------immediately. This is a ridiculous, costly and unnecessary permit which will have a HUGE negative impact on boaters and boating nationwide, not to mention another costly addition to our already overburdened bureaucracy. It will also be very costly to YOU, the boater; especially if you own multiple boats and venture to other states. Congress only has a short time to act prior to going on summer recess-----ACT NOW!!!!!!!!!! (The pdf is too big to attach. PM me if you want it.)
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Post by Eugene on Jan 15, 2008 9:27:24 GMT -5
There was a recent decision in Lake Co. to move public trust land along Lake Erie back from "the ordinary high-water mark" to where the water meets the land at any given moment. In essence, you can't be along the lake along private property in Lake Co. unless you're actually in the water. See this press release:
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Post by Eugene on Mar 28, 2008 8:49:48 GMT -5
I'd intended to bring this up at the last meeting, but I've been traveling so much and away from my office computer for so long, that it slipped my mind. Here is a letter I received from a very cordial Mr. Lipps: Eugene, Thank you for your time on the phone today.
I am hoping that I can recruit some anglers from Ohio to submit a Verified Complaint to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency concerning the recent coal slurry discharge into Captina Creek. The current investigation into this discharge seems to be stalled and will probably not go much further without such complaints. Ohio law requires that the complainant has been or will be directly "aggrieved or adversely affected" by the violation. This includes anglers who might fish on Captina Creek and are therefore affected by the loss of habitat that may have resulted from the increased siltation and general degradation of the habitat.
We have started a Captina Creek group and had our first meeting this past Friday. Over 30 people representing 12 agencies and local individuals participated. You can read more about this incredible creek at: groups.google.com/group/Captina_Creek
Be sure to look at the page "facts and figures." Captina is a jewel! You can also read media reports about the slurry spill on the "in the news" page. Of course, this creek has a great crayfish population, and the predators to go along with them (Smallmouth Bass and Hellbenders).
Information on submitting a verified complaint can be found at the Ohio Environmental Council's website: [url=http://www.theoec.org/PDFs/water/Formal%20Complaint%20fact%20sheetII.pdf ]http://www.theoec.org/PDFs/water/Formal%20Complaint%20fact%20sheetII.pdf
[/url] I've also attached a template for submitting a complaint (also from the OEC). Note that the OEC is more than willing to help with this process, including help putting the letter together. Thanks for your time and let me know if there is anything else I can do. Note that the Captina Creek google group is open to all, so if you or any of the members of the Smallmouth Bass Alliance would like to join we would love to have your involvement. Greg Gregory Lipps, LLC GregLipps@aol.comCoordinator Ohio Salamander Monitoring Program www.ohioamphibians.comCo-chair, Midwest Regional Working Group Partners in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation http://www.parcplace.org[/blockquote] I don't fish Captina, and won't involve myself directly because of my job. However, feel free to drop Greg a line if you'd like a copy of his draft letter.
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Post by Eugene on Apr 4, 2008 13:36:51 GMT -5
An interesting spin on the debate surrounding ballast water in the Great Lakes: that eliminating the entry of ocean freighters (aka "salties") might provide an economic stimulus for the region. Enjoy:
CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER Study says banning 'salties' from lakes might create jobs Friday, April 04, 2008 Jeff Alexander Newhouse News Service
Banning ocean freighters from the Great Lakes and requiring those ships to transfer cargo in Montreal would create more than 1,000 jobs for domestic-shipping employees, truckers and rail employees, according to a study.
The study could fuel the debate about whether the time has come to ban transcontinental ships from the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Built in 1959 by the U.S. and Canadian governments, the Seaway is a series of locks and canals that link the Great Lakes to the global shipping industry. It has become controversial in recent years because the ocean ships the Seaway allows into the lakes inadvertently imported foreign species, including zebra and quagga mussels, that have caused billions of dollars in damage.
Critics have suggested closing the Seaway until shipping companies can prove ocean freighters are not importing more harmful foreign species into the lakes. Now, the new study suggests there might be an economic incentive to keeping ocean ships out.
"We knew there were a fairly small number of jobs directly related to ocean shipping in the Great Lakes. We were surprised how few jobs there were, given the comments of the St. Lawrence Seaway administration," said John Taylor, an economics professor at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich. Taylor is co-author of the study with transportation consultant James Roach.
The study did not advocate banning ocean ships from the Great Lakes. It analyzed whether such a move made economic sense.
The study comes on the 20th anniversary of scientists discovering zebra mussels in Lake St. Clair, which lies between Michigan and Ontario, Canada. Scientists have said zebra and quagga mussels, which spread to all five Great Lakes and surface waters in at least 23 states, have caused some of the most profound ecological changes ever recorded in the lakes - the largest source of fresh surface water on the planet. Despite the myriad problems that invasive species imported by ocean freighters have caused in the lakes, the notion of barring them from the Seaway is "absurd," said Terry Johnson Jr., administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp.
"The premise is that we would somehow abrogate a 100-year-old treaty with one of our largest trading partners and neighbor to the north, and that's just not going to happen," Johnson said. "This [study] is a paper exercise."
Jennifer Nalbone, campaign director for Great Lakes United, said U.S. and Canadian officials who operate the Seaway should give the Taylor-Roach study an objective review.
"These experts are putting forth potential solutions for the trans-shipment of goods [from ocean freighters onto trucks and trains] and we would like to see the shipping industry respond with research instead of rhetoric," Nalbone said.
According to the Taylor-Roach study, 1,001 jobs in the United States and Canada, and 891 foreign jobs, are linked to ocean ships that haul cargo in and out of the Great Lakes. Banning those ships from the lakes, and forcing them to transfer cargo in Montreal to domestic ships, trucks and trains, would generate 2,320 jobs in the United States and Canada.
The bottom line: Keeping ocean freighters, so-called salties, out of the lakes would create a net gain of 1,319 domestic jobs. Even with the loss of foreign shipping jobs, a ban on salties still results in an increase of 428 jobs, according to the study.
About one-third of the new domestic jobs would be created along the East Coast, Gulf Coast and river ports capable of transferring cargo from ocean ships to trucks and trains, the study said.
Steve Fisher, executive director of the American Great Lakes Ports Association, said the notion of closing the Seaway to ocean ships is a "false idea."
"No one except these two professors are even talking about it," Fisher said. Several environmental groups and a handful of lawmakers in the region have suggested closing the Seaway until ocean ships can prove their ballast water tanks are not carrying more foreign species into the lakes.
A 2005 study by Taylor and Roach suggested the environmental costs of ocean ships entering the Great Lakes far outweighed the economic benefits.
Ocean ships, which haul about 5 percent of all cargo on the Great Lakes, have imported at least 60 of the 185 invasive species into the lakes.
To reach this Muskegon (Mich.) Chronicle reporter: jalexander@muskegonchronicle.com.
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Post by Eugene on Mar 6, 2008 13:31:09 GMT -5
This is shaping up to be much more contentious than it should be. I'll try to find time to post links to some editorials soon. Feel free to prod me if I am distracted by other issues for too long.
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