Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - View Single Post

dsafety · 10-21-2010, 07:18 PM

I am surprised that this thread has not gotten much play. The question and more importantly the answer could be very important to us.

I think I may have some answers... maybe.

First let me restate the question. Will the funding that Prop 21 provides to the DFG, (if it passes), enable them to fund enforcement of future MLPA closures?

I asked several DFG guys at the meeting this question. No one even knew that Prop 21 included funding for their agency. That response deserves a big WOW!, but I suspect that only a fraction of our citizens have taken the time to read the voter's guide. I am sure that the DFG wardens are no different than the rest of us.

I made friends with the senior DFG guy, Mike, who was at the meeting with about a dozen of his guys. When I asked him this question he told me that the Chief of the DFG would be attending this meeting and that he would ask her. Near the end of the meeting Mike searched me out and told me that he had an answer... sort of.

The Chief was, in fact, aware of the potential future funding. She said that as things stand now, much of the new funding will be offset by reductions in agency funding from the state's general fund. The agency is lobbying to keep some of the new funding that will be used to pay off debts owed to local governments from which they have borrowed money to stay afloat recently.

I read this to mean that there will be little or no new funding for the DFG in the immediate future. Mike did say that once they paid off their loans, the new funding would be used to enhance their agency's operations but not specifically for ocean enforcement since that is only a small part of their mission.

I am not sure if anything I was told is true or if things will play out as Mike told me but it does give us some insight into what may happen.

On a related subject, I spent quite a bit of time talking to the DFG guys at this meeting. They are all, without exception, smart and reasonable people. They have a job to do and do not think that the MLPA closures will be very useful in the long run. These guys deserve our respect and support.

Bob

10-21-2010, 07:18 PM	#4
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,121	I am surprised that this thread has not gotten much play. The question and more importantly the answer could be very important to us. I think I may have some answers... maybe. First let me restate the question. Will the funding that Prop 21 provides to the DFG, (if it passes), enable them to fund enforcement of future MLPA closures? I asked several DFG guys at the meeting this question. No one even knew that Prop 21 included funding for their agency. That response deserves a big WOW!, but I suspect that only a fraction of our citizens have taken the time to read the voter's guide. I am sure that the DFG wardens are no different than the rest of us. I made friends with the senior DFG guy, Mike, who was at the meeting with about a dozen of his guys. When I asked him this question he told me that the Chief of the DFG would be attending this meeting and that he would ask her. Near the end of the meeting Mike searched me out and told me that he had an answer... sort of. The Chief was, in fact, aware of the potential future funding. She said that as things stand now, much of the new funding will be offset by reductions in agency funding from the state's general fund. The agency is lobbying to keep some of the new funding that will be used to pay off debts owed to local governments from which they have borrowed money to stay afloat recently. I read this to mean that there will be little or no new funding for the DFG in the immediate future. Mike did say that once they paid off their loans, the new funding would be used to enhance their agency's operations but not specifically for ocean enforcement since that is only a small part of their mission. I am not sure if anything I was told is true or if things will play out as Mike told me but it does give us some insight into what may happen. On a related subject, I spent quite a bit of time talking to the DFG guys at this meeting. They are all, without exception, smart and reasonable people. They have a job to do and do not think that the MLPA closures will be very useful in the long run. These guys deserve our respect and support. Bob