California Conservationist Unfairly Attacked for Legal Hunting Activities
KeepAmericaFishing 02.24.12
Dan Richards, president of the California Fish and Game Commission and an avid angler, hunter and friend to sportsmen and women, is being unfairly attacked by extreme environmental and animal rights organizations for taking part in a legal hunt in Idaho. While hunting cougars may not be licensed in California, it is both legal and well-managed in Idaho.
But what is the real issue here? The organizations leading the charge against Richards have a much broader agenda. Richards has consistently been a voice of reason throughout the flawed Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) initiative, a controversial program that threatens sportfishing in California, and the businesses and 20,000 jobs that depend on it, by unnecessarily closing large areas of the ocean to recreational fishing. If successful in their efforts to remove Richards from the commission, these anti-fishing groups will be one step closer to shutting anglers out of more of California’s best fishing spots.
These anti-fishing and hunting organizations initially pressured Richards to resign from his post as Fish and Game Commissioner. Now that he had rightly refused to yield to this pressure, legislative action is being considered to forcibly remove him from the commission.
All that is needed to remove Richards from the commission is a simple majority vote by California’s state legislature – so your help is needed now!
KeepAmericaFishing encourages all California sportsmen and women to send a letter to their state senate and assembly members expressing support for Commissioner Dan Richards and urging legislators to oppose any measure that would remove Richards from the commission. Your message will also be copied to Governor Jerry Brown and the California Fish and Game Commission. Click here to send your message today.
KeepAmericaFishing is the fastest growing community of anglers united with one common goal -- to protect our right to sustainably fish on our nation's waterways. As the voice of the American angler, KeepAmericaFishing works to keep our public resources – our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams – open, clean and abundant with fish.
Across the country, preventing or limiting recreational anglers’ access to public waters fisheries is being touted as a new way to manage fish populations. This unprecedented shift undermines the achievements of proven fisheries management methods that focus on conservation and promote sustainable fishing. As a result, the past 10 years have seen a dramatic increase in bans on recreational fishing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Texas to Minnesota.
In an effort to combat access restrictions around the country, the American Sportfishing Association launched KeepAmericaFishing to unite the nation’s 60 million anglers under one voice. Through policy, science and conservation, KeepAmericaFishing works to minimize access restrictions, promote clean waters and restore fish populations. With its conservation partners, KeepAmericaFishing works to limit and provide for review and revision science-based closures to areas in which they are clearly beneficial to the health of the fishery.
At KeepAmericaFishing, we are working to give voice to the millions of American recreational anglers who share one thing in common - a passion for fishing.
