You Can’t Fish Here……

Folks, if you don’t read the St. Croix forum, but care about “Fishing The River”, you must now get involved. Click over to the FTR “St Croix” forum and read the posts about the gated marina on the St Croix river.

Take a few minutes out of your day and make the call, write an e-mail, send a letter. This is important stuff here. I kinda put my neck out on the line here and need some support from you, my FTR friends. My phone number is in the St. Paul phone book and not all calls are nice…know what I mean?

Thanks,
J.

hmmmm…. so you got some jerks callin you out for this? well pass their numbers out if they are brave enough to give their names and dont block their call…. Im sure we can let them know there are 2 sides to every story… and their side is NOT the right side…….

I’m too cheap to have an unlisted number….would never pay extra for caller ID….I’m out there where anyone who wants to call can. And that’s fine. Just leave a name and number when you leave a message on my old fashioned answering machine!

J.

Sorry to hear about the abusive calls. I’m behind you 100% buddy. I’m in the process of writing an email and will call over my lunch hour today.

John

Thanks Waterfouler.

Molly Shodeen 651.772.7910

or

[email protected]

Let’s make this the most important thing they have to deal with today.

Thanks,
J.

Did it! Tell everyone you know to do the same! They may have the money to fight this, but I hope we have the voices!!!!
Tuck

Just bringing this back to the top because it is important for everyone to get envolved here.
I wrote my letter, how about you?
I’ve never been one for political activism, I have always gone with the flow not rocking the boat. But for some reason this gate issue just jerks me the wrong way. Maybe because it effects my families favorite pastimes of fishing and boating. And I hate to see the DNR roll over when threatend with a lawsuit by a few wealthy mucky mucks.
I would just hate to see a presidence start here and more public lands and waters be taken away from future generations.
Oh yeah being that I live in South Washington county where the gate is located, my legislative people will be hearing from me, as soon as I figure out how to get a hold of them. Like I said havent been much of a political activist. Sorry for rambling on. Jason

It is 9:15 p.m and I am still ticked off, you now what the sad thing is I saw one of the owners of the Redwing tannery at the Lake City parade and every person who was running for a political office made it a point to go and say HI to him just because he has money!!! I have never in my life fished the St. Croix but I have noticed that our Department of Negative Results has been screwing us the sportsmen and women of MN for years they get a raise and they are still doing less and less for us the people that are the driving Fource behind the DNR we are the reason that they have jobs. What is the last thing they have ever done for us besides shifting the flyway west and east of MN, they have always sided with the Money. Have you ever noticed that its always the private sector that has a river clean up. I know I have done countless papers on the reorganization of the DNR in college I have a BS degree in Natural Resources. The truth of the matter is they dont listen to us they are just like every other political or government body follow the money to protect their own jobs. Maybe the MN DNR dosent have to follow their own regulations the meianduring waters act that states in basic terms all water is public as long as you dont touch the bottom with your physical person basically you cant set foot on the bottom but you can float the water. By haveing these gates up this is a serious violation of their own regulations and you know as well as I do, that if any of us violated this law we would be hung out to dry!!!!I have already e-mailed Gil Gutknecht and the DNR. I know maybe some of you may not feel the same way I do about the DNR but I have to voice my opinion, this being an election season the politicians will listen sadly because they need our votes we need to flex our political muscle and make as much noise as possible we need to e-mail every politician and talk to every and anybody who will listen. Sorry I’m so long winded but I am very passionate about wildlife, wildlands, and fisheries we need to band together and think about bouycotting (sp) redwing boots and shoes I have already started spreading the word in Red Wing and Goodhue, tomorrow the message will hit Cannon Falls and beyound. Together we can make a differance. Again I apologize for being long winded but I needed to vent. Thank you for your time.
Brian

Wingshooter,

Good post! I agree.

I’m happy the way this story was printed. I would have liked to see more focus on the illegal permit issued by the DNR than on a pissed off fisherman. But now the story is out there! What the heck is going on over at the DNR that would allow this to happen? Poor leadership, mismanagement, fraud, corruption?

New Gov. means new Comish. Yes, who you vote for can have a big effect on who is running the DNR……

J.

I also am one of the disallusioned DNR wannabe’s.. being a fisheries person was my goal for years when I was a kid.. when I went to college and they said that less than 5% obtain a job in the field I looked at the others and thought.. man.. wonder why they are trying, me and a couple of others are all thats going to make it!!.. never did I think I wouldnt make it….. (ohhhh the optimism of youth!)…. I did make it.. was the number 1 fisheries candidate for a permanent position… but they needed to balance race and sex at the cost of hiring the best candidate…. fisheries was not the only one wiggling on that hook… what I found was all too often that fisheries was actually politics not sound management principles… and its THAT which made me loose heart and give up my dream, it was kind of like finding out that Santa Claus did not exist.. a coming of age, but a dissappointment that crushed me……

but guess what??.. we ARE a political organization in our own right… look what we are accomplishing… WE have a voice…. and the right people need to hear what we have to say.. they WILL listen.. they always do when people scream……. just a fact of life that the bird with the biggest mouth gets the worm….. Ive been impressed and inspired and happy to see the action we have been able to take…. just think about this … as a group we got the attention of the press, as a group we will get the attention of the DNR… . as a group we will be heard by RedWing and the rich people that think they own the river and everything else….. this is the United states of America and we are the people….. we are fishermen…. but we will be political if we have to be…. and Im afraid that we have to be…. to take no action invites disaster…. Im proud to be a part of this….. and delighted to see it come to pass…. its something I long felt that this group (FTR) would be called upon to respond to… and I was sure you would all answer the call…. I was NOT dissappointed…… thanks to each and everyone of you……
(ok… Im jumping off the soapbox for the next speaker…!)

Here are some folks to contact about this abomination. They are the ones in a position to do something about it:

Molly Shodeen, DNR Metro Region: [email protected]

DNR Commissioner Allen Garber: [email protected]

State Rep. Sharon Marko: [email protected]

State Sen. Len Price: [email protected]

House Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee Chair Dennis Ozment: [email protected]

Senate Environment and Natural Resources Chair Jane Krentz: [email protected]

And don’t forget to express your opinion and future shoe/boot purchasing plans to Red Wing Shoes CEO Bill Sweasy at: [email protected]

I just received an email back from Mary Divine, and she said that her contacts at the DNR have been fielding complaints like crazy. Keep up the good work. Jon, kudos, you have done a great job!
Tuck

Here’s an excellent editorial on this subject from the July 2 Duluth News-Tribune: http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthtribune/news/opinion/3585158.htm

There,s realy somthing rotten going on here,why is the DNR going to re issue the permit as stated in the artical, And why is the DNR buckeling under to a theat of a law suit, what judge would give in to a obvious bunch of crap by the land owners and besides that ,s what the tax payers hire DNR attorney,s for their paid annual salarys not piece work. Somthing fishy hear and it goes up the chain may be father than you think once the initial screaming is done by the public the press will tire and the public will move on, and the land owners will not comment and slowly the whole issue fades away and by hold the gate will stay and they will get a perminite permit mark my word on this, this is a political pay back to these people mark my word has anyone called the govener on this.

Ranger,

The article does not say the DNR will issue the permit. It says the Harbor Association plans to re-apply for a new permit.

I highly doubt the DNR will issue the permit. If a permit is issued, there will be a lawsuit! I will personally persue litigation against the DNR and the Harbor Association.

The next battle now will be to force the removal of an illegal gate on public water.

Stay tuned……

J.

Sometimes the best policy is to follow the money. William Sweasy of Red Wing Shoes has donated $4,000 to Norm Coleman’s Senate campaign since July 20, 2001. The Coleman campaign returned $1,000 to Sweasy on Aug. 1, 2001. But on that same day, a Carol Sweasy of Bayport donated $1,000 to the Coleman campaign. Seems our friend and Red Wing Shoe CEO Mr. Sweasy knows how to work the system…Perhaps candidate Coleman should be queried on his position on this issue, or whether he has plans for the St. Croix Riverway.

I told you this was political pay back,and that gate will never come down. I,v seen this stuff before. Now that this gate is been built only a judge can make them take it out and untill they get a judge to hear the case may take a year and if by chance the local judge tells them to take the gate down they can appeal to a higher judge and after about 10 continuences and another year gone ,well you get the idea, this could go on for 5 yrs.

Lets not go too far here-political payback??? Why would a campaign donation to a former Mayor of St Paul and candidate for the Senate be construed as payback? Norm Coleman has not been or will not be in a position to influence this matter. I suppose that if you believe that all politicians are crooked and that Coleman will somehow pressure someone in a different branch of government help out a donor-but that seems like an aweful lot of trouble for $4000. Especially since Senatorial campaign budgets typically run several million dollars. $4000 isnt even enough to get on a Senator’s good side!

Lets stick to the point-call, write, email, whatever…get the gate taken down. Period.

Why not get a group together,flip the switch that opens the gate (see Duluth Tribune Article) and picket the place via boat until the owners agree to remove the gate. Just a thought.

I am supportive of your efforts to keep full access to Minnesota waterways, but at this point I think a few other details need to be pointed out. When we point a finger at someone it is: one, important to rememeber that there is usually more to the story than we all know, and two make sure we know the WHOLE picture before jumping to conclusions.

I have known the CEO of Red Wing Shoe and his family for most of my 40 years and I must say that they have done more to support environmental issues over the past number of years than I could do in a lifetime. One case in point. Over the last 30 years they have supported, in the millions, an outdoor educational program for youth ages 12 to 18. This program has benefited hundreds of area kids and provided and example and fostered a number of other simliar programs throughout the state. He has provided this support without seeking gain for himself or recognition for he or his family.

I do agree that blocking a natural public resource for all of us to enjoy is not the right thing to do but to assume that its a bunch of rich guys who don’t care about the environment and the recreation it provides is wrong. The posts make it all sound so black and white and, as we all know, no story is ever that clear.

Thanks for letting me provide my view point, I know some of you might not agree or care, but I thought it important to provide the insight.

Mercman

Its good the hear that the general assumption is wrong… hopefully that means he will be able to convince the group that they made a mistake and will quickly reverse it… to me it seems strange that someone concerned about the environment would threaten to start a law suit against an agency whos prime function is the protection of the environment.. but that seems to be the case here….. as you say Im sure there is much we dont know… but this gentleman would not talk to the press about their motives….. so we did not hear that side….. nothing is black and white… this is certainly true….. but this still does not look right to me….

Thats great that the CEO for redwing shoes has done all these great programs. I applaud his efforts I have also done many environmental projects with the youth, but I would never consider to block the same youth out of an area and tell them nope you cant fish here this is our water and I would plain simply never break the law, WRONG IS WRONG I hope the CEO of Redwing shoes uses his political muscle and takes down the gate if he dosent I will let every sportsmen and every organization I am part of to stop buying his boots and shoes. Plus I am all for picketing the gate on the weekends just let me know dates and times.

I know it’s tough to see a friend in a tight spot and even if he were to be the problem, I’m sure he’s capable of being a great person. But I tend to agree that when coming under fire, the truly concerned will bend over backwards to see the situation rectified, quickly and quietly. Granted, any press is good press when there is a cause driving the story but that’s a pendulum that does swing both ways. If he’s got nothing of personal interest to lose, why not open up to the issue? And as Rivereyes pointed out, the threat of a lawsuit doesn’t sound like a position of common interest with the public.

I’m sure he’s got a lot of good in him, but even if we only did one thing wrong or even questionable in our lives, there’s room for conflict in the absence of selflessness. All of us stand in that position and no one is exempt. The gate crosses a granted and (should be) protected freedom of the American people. We are a nation. Not bickering colonies of special interest groups. I know………………it’s hard to see the difference in this day and age but by design, it shouldn’t be like it is. Who wouldn’t like a piece of the river to call their own? Idea? Yeah, get rich and go buy your own island in the Caribbean or Pacific currents…………..there’s still some available and they’re ungoverned. Preserve national freedoms for the nation’s public, bar none. No favor, no exclusion.

Okay…………..that’s about enough from my soap box.

Bump to the top…..

There is a local TV station interested in this story……

J.

That’s great! Who? Can we do anything to make sure the story has a more objective slant than the newspaper story?

The Station is KSTP channel 5 here in the Twin Cities. They wanted to do a segment yesterday, but I had to decline the offer. I do not boat on the St Croix on a sunny summer weekend anymore. So hopefully we can get something set up here mid week. I really hated to put them off.

You really don’t know what angle they will take. But just getting the word out is huge. They asked me if anyone else cared about this subject. I said heck yes, check out FishThe River.Com!! So hopefully they are reading these messages today.

I’m trying to get ahold of a live person at the DNR this morning. I want to see where this thing stands.

By the way. I got a report that the gate was down (Closed) last Wednesday. That’s a no-no if I understand the current situation correctly. If you see that gate closed, take down the date and time and send me a note.

Thanks,
Jon J.