Ron_L Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 As California fights, the same propaganda is being imported to Washington State via a small group of Elite Fly Fishing folks...I'm with a group, Resources Coalition and we decided it was time to address the hypocrisy, so I wrote an article posted it on our website! Our Response Statement To Fish Not GoldResources Coalition has been behind the PLP all along, and it is our hope that we start seeing some wins for our side soon...Suction Dredging is not destructive, lets make a comparison to something bigger, that wasn't either:Making mountains out of mole hills! (Mt. St. Helens versus Suction Dredging)We're not asking for anything, we just want everyone to know that it's still spreading!Ron in WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micro Nugget Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Ron: During the May 1st court hearing in California the Center for Biological Diversity (one of the parties in that consolidated action) played the methyl mercury card, trying to invoke this now well-worn scare ju-ju tactic. Judge Ochoa moved the discussion back to the real issues at the bottom of the summary judgment arguments. I mention this because there is yet another hypocrisy the fish folks often overlook. EPA, the Water Boards, just about everyone is in agreement that ALL FISH carry various amounts (from trace to significant) of mercury in their tissues. Thus, the act of catching any fish constitutes the removal of Hg from the waterway. The release of said fish back into the waterway is therefore a "discharge" of a toxic material. This is the mirror image of the argument constantly drummed against suction dredging -- that the act of pulling material from the stream bed with a dredge and then releasing the same material back into the waterway constitutes a "discharge" containing toxic materials (even though studies have demonstrated that the vast percentage of heavy metals are retained in the sluice of the dredge).I can hear and feel your pain. But I (and I think most all of us) appreciate your example of standing up to the anti-dredging hypocrites when an opportunity arises. Thanks for sharing and best wishes in your State of Washington battles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold Nuggets Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 We have been and still are fighting the same concerns here in Oregon too Ron. The envirotypes that buy politicians to make bad laws from twisted facts contained in scientific studies that show dredging does not harm the aquatic environment, have a head start on us. So it is going to take a change in political representatives to get the laws rescinded and things back to the way they used to be. It's sad but true that you can buy whatever politician or judge you need if you got enough money.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Dorado Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 RonI know you have been in this fight a very long time and I applaud you for continuing that fight. It is hard to fight junk science with common sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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