San Juan River Quality Waters Trout Stamp

[SJR Foundation]

This post is to solicit your support on a Annual Trout Stamp Bill benefiting the San Juan River Watershed currently in several committees within the New Mexico Legislative session. This Stamp and proceeds will benefit the San Juan River 100%. The funds raised by this Stamp will be utilized in 3 major categories, Trout Stocking, Stream Improvement and Enforcement. None of the funds will end up in a ? general fund ? and will be allocated solely for the benefit of the San Juan River.

Several prominent groups already support this initiative. New Mexico Trout, San Juan River Guide Association, San Juan River Foundation, Federation of Fly Fishers and the Tri-cities of Farmington, Bloomfield and Aztec support this fully. The impact to the consumer will be and annual fee of $ 5.00 for New Mexico residents and $10.00 for Non-residents. This will be charged when licenses are purchased or renewed and will be for fishing the San Juan River Quality Waters only.

We last week received a 100% positive response to this bill and are sending hard copies of this email campaign to Santa Fe so the committees will see the overwhelming opinion of the sportsmen who frequent the San Juan. I just received notice that the Concerned Citizen's Group has emailed their contingency to ask the State to table this bill. This stance continues to disappoint many of us in the community. It is apparent the only thing the Concerned Citizen's care about is to have a platform to lay blame and lobby against the Oil and Gas Industry. They are aligned with Oscar Simpson with NM Wildlife Federation and Trout Unlimited Nationally. If they cared about the river like they say the do, they would be behind this positive contribution for the river 100%.

In addition, the Concerned Citizens were part of the initial idea to sponsor such a bill. Now that want to change their mind. We have wanted to say this for a long time but is their agena about the river, or it is about ego ?

In closing, the current economic climate has prevented the State of New Mexico from funding improvements and projects on our beloved San Juan. This is a way for us sportsmen who love the outdoors and the San Juan to make a difference. In the grand scheme of things, this is a nominal way for us all to contribute to the continued improvement of our watershed for generations to come.


San Juan River Foundation
www.sanjuanriverfoundation.org

[DG]

Just a question or two, since you are asking me for $ to do things.

What is the stocking plan, or what changes do you propose to fund with this money? Do you have science supporting the need to stock more (or less, or differently) than is done now, or is this just to offset the costs incurred by NMFG to stock? Will changes in stocking be subject to public review/environmental analysis?

What sort of stream improvement? Structural enhancements? Flow regime changes? Gravel supplement? Is there research and data available to support any proposed work? If habitat work improves spawning, will stocking be reduced to compensate? Will this pay for the environmental analyses required to do this work on public lands? Will it be used to pay for education, efforts to prevent aquatic nuisance species, wash stations for boats, and the like?

What part(s) of the San Juan will this $ be spent on? Will the $ be spent solely on public lands/waters? Will it be required only on public waters (how far down from the dam, in other words)? Is this an additional fee over the state parks fee you have to pay to fish much of the tailwater? Is the fee $10 for nonresidents for a year, and if so, calendar year or year from date of purchase, or will you need to buy this stamp each time you purchase a short-term nonresident license?

How much $ IS the gas industry contributing to work on the river there?

And, well, I am all for the enforcement.

[Bubba Smith]

OK being a member of this board I am going to step in here.
first off the Oil and Gas industry has already donated well over $200,000.00 towards projects on the juan.
TU and other groups were asked but they declined to help.
We have asked for YEARS for help on the Juan only to be told to take a hike from TU etc.
Studies will be done before any work in stream work is done.
There is a plan in place for much of what you ask, somehow I think you already know that.

[hardhat]

I am all about preserving fishing and hunting for future generations. I am also in support of amendmants stating that hunting and fishing is a citizens right. I do not wish to end up like some other countries where the government and certain individuals control who may have those rights. That being said I would pay the $10.00 as a person coming from out of state to fish your beloved SJ. I know that many people rely on that fishery to make their living. However many people also rely on the oil business and manufacturing for their livelyhood.

I have been a supporter of TU since I was a child in Michigan. I may be mistaken but it seems to me that their mission is becoming more radical inviroment control. They no longer wish to protect and preserve, but now fight against what they consider change. We must all strike a balance between progress, peoples jobs, and preserving rivers and other waters.
Good luck

[DG]

No worries, Bubba, I know good things can happen if people put their minds to it.

Just that the first posting was a little thin on details and heavy on emotional appeal, and a little contradictory. 100% support but some are against it... If you are asking for support, the people you ask deserve to know the whole plan. Hence the long list of questions for people who do not already know the answers.

[Bubba Smith]

DG,
I personally have been working on this for 2 years now. And I can tell you everything you have asked has been looked at and quite a bit more as well. This has taken a lot of work by a lot of people to get it to this point.
For many, many years we have asked TU and NMWF for help in addressing the flows being changed on the Juan and the effect it would have. We were told flat out we were a tailwater and to more or less take a hike.
So we started this with help from the Fly Fishing Federation, local businesses and the local fisherman.
It is frustrating to see TU fighting us on this, they simply don't give a damn about this river our the people that use it. this is about an agenda on oil and gas. They have thrown the river under the bus with negitive and false radio ads, newspaper stories, etc.
I was told by the fellow that runs TU national for New Mexico that TU is no longer an angling group. TU is now an enviromental group.
TU has lost touch with the average fisherman
sorry for the rant guys

[vmabuck]

All of this info about the San Juan is a bit troubling.

Too bad about TU as well. I was about to become a member. I will have to do a bit more research it seems...

[Max]

The SJ Foundation is looking for support here for their idea of a trout stamp to provide additional spending resources for the fishery. In these recessionary times I am opposed to any additional levies or spending.
I also do not understand why information requests from those you ask to support such a levy and spend proposal are not answered by you to demonstrate the need?

[Bubba Smith]

DG here you go
stocking
as of right now NMF&G stocks around 60,000 4 inch fish yearly this seems to be about right to maintain the fish populations as they have been in the past. however there have been times in the past when WD was discovered in the hatcheries and we have gone a few years without stockings.
This has hurt the fishery
In the past there has been cutthrout trout in the river as well, and in the future NMF&G would like to stock cutts again
also NMG&F would love to be able to do a long term study of the fisheries with chips in the fish etc.
that is what the stamp will be for.
changes to the stocking program have always been open for public comment

Flows

the san juan flows at around 500cfs.
In the past the flow was 1,000 cfs, we still have the same river channel just half of the water now.
With the flow change the river has lost fish habitat.
getting this changed is simply never going to happen. the BOR is not going to give in on this. there has been an effort to try to get a little more water but it got no where.
Here was how we had hoped to make all of this work
Last year Gov Richarson gave NMF&G $250,000.00 to start the study for a blue print for the river.
The next step was to have a stamp (around $3.00) help offset the costs of the work that would be done to the river.
due to the shortage of funds this year in New Mexico the Gov has frozen all spending. the $250,000.00 was taken back
So now we will have to use the monies raised from the stamp to help fund the studies that need to be done before any work can be done
there has been a lot of ideas thrown about by all interested groups but, untill a study is done it is just ideas.
if this work some how allows the fish to reproduce yes the stocking numbers will be reduced. however, be aware the the san juan has one of the highest spore counts for WD anywhere in the US. natural reproduction might not be in the cards here.
Any and all impact studies, permits etc will be addressed by NMF&G

all of this work will happen in the quality waters section of the san juan.
the stamp is a one time yearly purchase.
We would like to see a flat $3.00 fee for everyone

Hope this helps.