Thursday morning CDFG emergency meeting online

[ProfessorLongArms]

Originally Posted by Saba Slayer

IMHO... as I see it and after a few conversations with some people that have good relationships with the DGF Commission...
As I understand it the purpose of this emergency meeting is primarily to postpone the start of the Trout season in the Eastern Sierras.
The Sheriff in mono County is very worried along with the Hospital staff that their 17 bed facility could be overwhelmed very quickly with all the folks driving up from the South...to the extent that they have set up a checkpoint at the Mammoth offramp on Hwy 395 to check ID's for locals only access...no second home or visitor access is allowed.
A power grab...?...well I must say I'm not happy with granting Commissioner Bonnam total emergency power...I wish there was some public oversite...!
We'll see...hopefully Bonnam will act in a responsible way and just use laser focus to shut down only the areas that could pose logistic problems...but...as I said...We'll see...only time will tell.
If you are truly concerned about any shutdowns, a letter to the DFG Commission expressing your feelings might be in order...(it certainly will do more that just posting your opinion on a kayak fishing board)...let me remind you, that regardless of the State constitutionality that some may post about...we only have a right to fish recreationally and not for sustenance fishing and I've been reminded of that fact a few times in my many years of DFG Commission meeting's as well as the many DFW Marine Resource meetings.
SUBMITTING WRITTEN COMMENTS
The public is encouraged to comment on any agenda item. Submit written comments by one of the following methods: E-mail to fgc@fgc.ca.gov or delivery to California Fish and Game Commission, 1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1320, Sacramento, CA 95814. Materials provided to the Commission may be made available to the general public.
COMMENT DEADLINES
The Written Comment Deadline for this meeting is 5:00 p.m. on April 8, 2020. Written comments received at the Commission office by this deadline will be made available to Commissioners prior to the meeting.

Agreed on all fronts! I was just posting this to my spear board where things were getting a bit.... nervous

In case it's helpful, (or you're just as bored as I am) The binder for the meeting has a lot in it https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.a...umentID=178208...
My impression from it is a lot of the focus is on high traffic areas that get seasonal attention like Mono/Inyo county for trout(there's a letter from the Inyo county Board of Supervisors at the bottom) which are about to open. Part of the argument being that 1) there's inconsistent local regulation which creates confusion and 2) people are going to be more inclined to go looking for spots to fish as their local fisheries are shut down. 3) there's no infrastructure to handle tourism right now. Small towns are concerned about people traveling en masse, creating big problems for them.
It's hard to tell if they're looking at this as a blanket "shut it all down" or if they're taking a more prescriptive approach of just trying to mitigate by delaying the open of certain high interest seasonal fisheries.
At the bottom, they're showing a pretty and balanced good mix of input from the public. The voice I'm looking to _respectfully_ represent is one of a local who is practicing proper social distancing while hoping to maintain access to their own fishery.

[TheBentRod]

Originally Posted by ProfessorLongArms

The voice I'm looking to _respectfully_ represent is one of a local who is practicing proper social distancing while hoping to maintain access to their own fishery.

+1

[Saba Slayer]

"The voice I'm looking to _respectfully_ represent is one of a local who is practicing proper social distancing while hoping to maintain access to their own fishery."
That a very noble thought...but...from enforcement's POV... it seems to me that it would be a nightmare to quickly craft a law that enables locals to fish and keeps others out...and then there's enforcing it...how close do you have to be to your house to be allowed to fish as a local ?
Any suggestions on that...?

..."we only have a right to fish recreationally and not for sustenance fishing and I've been reminded of that fact a few times in my many years of DFG Commission meeting's as well as the many DFW Marine Resource meetings."...

Let's just wait it out a bit longer and see where we get...before the pitchforks come out...LOL...

I've got three different two week reservations in the Eastern Sierras starting in late May and ending in mid September...I'm just hoping to get to at least two of them

[ProfessorLongArms]

Originally Posted by Saba Slayer

That a very noble thought...but...from enforcement's POV... it seems to me that it would be a nightmare to quickly craft a law that enables locals to fish and keeps others out...and then there's enforcing it...how close do you have to be to your house to be allowed to fish as a local ?
Any suggestions on that...?

That comment was more in response to a bunch of people freaking out and shouting about the gov'mit, clutching thier state constitutions, swearing, spitting, and quoting Thomas Jefferson

I'm less seeing it as something they can actively implement and something they can passively refrain from implementing.

TBQH, I think it makes perfect sense to postpone the opening of the fisheries in Mono and Inyo counties. The letter written by the Board of Supervisors and Sheriff paints a pretty scary picture, and it seems like you'd want to eliminate the option for anyone crazy enough to try to travel out there right now.

While it doesn't sound likely, I'm more speaking to the concern that fishing would just be cancelled until this whole thing blows over. That said, it's kinda moot for me at this point, as there's no real access to PCH where I typically fish/dive right now based on local enforcement anyway.