Does a Rally for Fishing & Hunting Work?

[apmaurosr]

__________________________________

The simple answer is yes, but it needs to be well attended.

Here's proof:

The large turnout for the NJOA "Mullica Hill" rally and "Battle of Monmouth" rally, both in 2007, brought attention to two bills designed to ban freshwater fishing and hunting in NJ. The bills were also meant to alter the Fish and Game Council in order to weaken its conservation policy by injecting an animal rights agenda.

The rallies were well attended and are largely responsible for the defeat of the sponsors of the bills; Asm Panter Sen Karcher. Additionally, the bills did not proceed because our legislators realized that the rallies represented a grassroots movement of 650,000 anglers, hunters and conservationists expressing their dissatisfaction with the legislation. It was a classic example of our political system representing the will of the people.

The success of the rallies helped to stem a ban on hunting on the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers, turned back an attack on bow hunting in Wall Township, paved the way for the creation of New Jersey's first angling and hunting caucus by State Senator Stephen Sweeney and a federal fishing and hunting caucus created by Congressman John Adler. Ultimately, the rallies were the genesis that led to Governor Corzine signing Sunday Bow Hunting into law.

But we are now at crossroads. There are systemic issues that must be changed immediately if we are to ensure the quality of New Jersey's outdoor experience.

We need to eliminate a bear policy that is designed to appease animal rights activists and puts NJ residents in harms way. We have to reverse the raiding of funds to departments that provide for our ability to fish and hunt; a pillaging that is crippling productivity. We must overturn the neglect of the fish and game councils that determine our fishing and hunting opportunities. We have to allow our foresters the chance to practice forestry and prevent the potential of wildfires and restore species of birds and animals that are extirpating before our eyes. We must stop the nominations of people with "anti-fishing" sentiments to represent recreational and commercial fishing interests. All of this is happening NOW.

The above occurrences should be an outrage to all anglers, hunters and conservationists. It is OUR obligation to stop it before it is too late. That moment is now - we are at crossroads.

The R.O.O.R. Rally (Rescue Our Outdoors Rally) has been organized to send a message to Trenton that we will not tolerate the dismantling of our fishing, hunting and conservation policies and freedoms. It is a rally designed to exceed all others. It is YOUR chance to voice YOUR concerns and stop the erosion of YOUR outdoor interests.
`

Remember, the Mullica Hill and Battle of Monmouth rallies are proven successes. Join us in raising our voices again in the Rescue Our Outdoor Rally. Those that oppose us want us to remain silent...​

R.O.O.R. and be heard!
Saturday, October 24, 2009 * 2:00PM
New Egypt Speedway * Free Admission!720 Pinehurst Rd, Rt. 539 New Egypt, NJ 08533

Visit our link to learn more about the rally:
Rescue Our Outdoors Rally!

Visit our link to review the dismantling of our outdoor interests:
NJOA Endorses Christie for Governor!
​

Thank you,

We'll see you on the 24th!

​

Anthony P. Mauro, Sr.
Chairman,
New Jersey Outdoor Alliance: "We've got your back!"
JOIN NJOA: http://www.njoutdooralliance.org/support/njoa.html

 

[MR.MCR]

Yes and I for one hope to be there to show my support..........

 

[Pete]

Was Chris Daggett invited to participate?

 

[apmaurosr]

The list of speakers has not been finalized. This is not a "political rally," it is a rally to bring attention to the decaying state of New Jersey's outdoors.

Yes, the NJOA endorses Chris Christie - but it is NOT a Chris Christie rally, he will most likely speak for 10 minutes.

Here is what is happening to OUR outdoors while we find ourselves searching for to "find the forest for the trees:"

If people don't like what's occuring to our outdoors - attend the rally!

Overview:

The New Jersey Outdoor Alliance has reviewed the record of the Corzine Administration with respect to conservation and environmental stewardship compared to our mission statement.

Mr. Anthony Mauro, Chairman, and Mr. Ed Markowski, Vice President, NJOA, recently met with Governor Corzine and his Chief Counsel to discuss outdoor related issues. Mr. Mauro and Mr. Markowski agree that it would not be accurate for outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen to conclude that Governor Corzine is opposed to fishing or hunting. He has attended the Governor’s fishing tournament each year of his term and signed Sunday Bow Hunting into law. Governor Corzine has also been a champion for open space.

However, the NJOA is issue oriented and focused on measuring results. To this end, the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance finds the following systemic shortfalls with the current Administration’s conservation policy and procedures.

Wildlife Management:

Bears
The NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife is mandated to protect and manage all wildlife in the state. In fulfillment of this responsibility, the agency is charged with managing the growing black bear population not only to safeguard the public but also for the benefit of the black bear population in relation to available habitat and ecosystem balance.

The Corzine Administration replaced commonly accepted, science based bear management methodology with a policy that attempts to manage the behavior of people. The use of educational materials and secured trash, typically utilized to augment the use of a bear population management through hunting (to minimize bear/human conflicts) has instead been used to the exclusion of hunting.

As of August 2009, black bear vs. human incidents in New Jersey shows the number of serious encounters continues to rise and includes two incidents in which bears approached or chased children. Overall, there have been 2,153 calls about bears this year with several months of reporting still remaining.

A total of 1,306 bear-related incidents were reported to the DEP in 2006, compared to 1,407 in 2007 and 2,151 in 2008. The effect of growing bear populations, the nature of the animal to be very territorial with large home ranges, the localization of bear populations in the Northwest corner of the state and bear habituation appears to be a cause of increased bear/human conflicts.

Additionally, at the same time that bear activity was escalating the Corzine administration was preventing population control it reduced funding for Black Bear management from $850,000 in 2006 to $573,000 in the current year’s budget.


Councils:

The Fish and Game Council and Marine Fisheries Council play a vital role in the management of New Jersey’s fish and wildlife resources. The councils help to create and finalize each year's hunting and fishing regulations and enable the professional and scientific management of these resources. Members of the councils are appointed by the Governor.

The Corzine Administration has neglected to adequately maintain the integrity of the composition of the two councils. Vacant seats have been left unfilled and replacements are needed for those with expired terms. The eleven member Marine Fisheries Council presently has eight members serving in expired terms and one unfilled seat. The Fish and Game Council has only eight of its eleven seats filled and five of those members are serving in expired terms.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is responsible for management of fisheries in federal waters which occur predominantly off the mid-Atlantic coast. The Corzine Administration circumvented historical precedent by precluding the rightful involvement of recreational and commercial fishermen in the nomination process. The result was the replacement of a seated recreational representative member with a delegate supported by environmental activist groups. The selection appears to be a part of a federal trend to exclude certain stakeholders (recreational and commercial fishermen) from fishery management. This is clearly in opposition to the intent of the Magnuson/Stevens Act.

There is also a report from Sierra Club stating that Governor Corzine made a commitment to reform the Fish and Game Council. It should be noted that no changes have occurred as of the date of this report.

Division Fish and Wildlife:

Funding for the Division of Fish and Wildlife has for over 50 years been supported by the revenues from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. In 2005 these dedicated funds were supplemented by a general appropriation of $4.2 million because of significant increased public responsibilities. Under the Corzine administration this appropriation has been steadily decreased to $1.6 million this year. Although deer hunters contributed an additional $1 million to the dedicated fund in 2007 due to changes in deer permit fees this was offset by an equal reduction in the appropriation.

The status of the Fish and Wildlife staff is of even greater concern to the NJOA. Since 2006 the staff has lost 50 professional managers and conservation officers (25%) while the remainder of DEP has experienced only a 10% reduction and the upper administrative staff has actually increased. Also, Fish and Wildlife could loose an additional 25% of its staff due to retirements. This will create a large deficit in experience and institutional knowledge.
Marine Fisheries Administration
The Marine Fisheries Administration, responsible for managing the resources of a multi-million dollar industry with over 10,000 jobs, provides recreational opportunities for over one million anglers that contribute in excess of $100 million in state tax revenues – conversely, it is one of the most poorly funded and staffed on the Atlantic coast. This year the marine fisheries budget was reduced to an all time low of $1.8 million.

Not only has the Corzine administration failed to adequately fund and staff marine fisheries management, in 2009 the Secretary of the Treasure authorized the withdrawal of funds from four dedicated shellfish management accounts totaling $850,365. These dedicated accounts were specifically established by previously passed legislation. There is a history of overlooking the importance of adequately funding the state’s marine fisheries program for recreational anglers and future generations.

Legislation:

The New Jersey Outdoor Alliance has been attempting to advance legislation that has not proceeded to the Governor’s desk. This legislation includes:

Hooked On Fishing, Not on Drugs:

HOF-NOD is an award-winning, nationally recognized program developed by the nonprofit Future Fisherman Foundation (the educational arm of the American Sportfishing Association) that focuses on preventing drug use by school age children through an interdisciplinary program that includes sport fishing, aquatic resource education, and life skill development. One of the program’s primary purposes, besides increasing a youth’s angling skills, is to enhance the development of self-esteem, civic values, family and community relationships, and environmental awareness, all of which are life skills that hopefully will divert children from using drugs. The Division of Fish and Wildlife launched a pilot HOF-NOD program in Ocean County in 2000, which was continued with increasing success and participation through 2002.

Traps Off the Reef:
This bill would prohibit the use of inappropriate fishing gear, such as dredges, trawls and traps, on artificial reef sites within state waters. More specifically, the bill would prohibit, within the marine waters of the state, any person from using, leaving unattended, setting, or deploying fishing gear, other than rod-and-reel, hand line, spear, or recreational gig, within 100 feet of an artificial reef site created under the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Artificial Reef Program. The purpose is to reduce gear conflicts and the hazards associated with commercial fishing gear being used near artificial reefs. The DEP and Division of Fish and Wildlife have written to the NJOA to state that the reefs should be restricted to hook-and-line and spear only.

Bow Perimeter Bill:

The reason for the bill is to address the culling of deer in suburban areas. A 150’ perimeter will enhance deer management by providing access to currently unavailable deer habitat in areas unsuitable for gun hunting. The bill shifts some of the burdens for culling to productive use of downward pointing, short-range bow and arrow while bringing the perimeter to 150 feet from 450 feet in specified areas.

Forest Stewardship Bill:
This bill will direct the DEP to establish a forest stewardship program for the owners of forest land who develop conservation and forest sustainability plans that meet national forest stewardship guidelines, subject to approval by the Department. The program would offer financial incentives, including cost-sharing for stewardship activities listed under DEP-approved plans if funding is available, and property tax breaks similar to the current farmland assessment program established by the Farmland Assessment Act of 1964. As amended, the bill would also provide that revenue generated from the Regional Greenhouse.

NOTE: Sunday Bow Hunting: This bill was signed into law by Governor Corzine in 2009.


Forestry:The NJOA is currently working on forest initiatives at this time. However, our relatively recent entry into forestry conservation makes it unmerited to provide comment at this time.

 

[The Royal Coachman]

I can't make the rally. It's my wedding anniversary. 22 years! But I can't wait to vote against Corzine and for Christie. I normally am sympathetic to Democrats......but not this year! :give-the-finger: