Concerned fishers
We attended the first organizational meeting of the Washington Angler's Alliance (WAA) this past Tuesday, 3/7, in Lacey, WA. This group is headed by Jim Bain of Chehalis with the goal of promoting the concerns of recreational fishers and non-fishers.
Bain said his goal is to correct the lack of professional representation by
sports fishing interests in the face of professionals representing commercial and
tribal interests seeking to tilt fisheries management decisions in their favor. Jim pointed out, and we have heard this from other sources as well, that when fisheries management decisions are made there are professional lobbyists, attorneys and biologists representing both the tribes and commercial fishers. Only a handful of nonprofessional avid recreational fishers and
conversationalists represent the rest of the citizens of this state.
Jim pointed out that "if we keep on doing what were doing we'll keep on
getting what we got." Which means the short end of the stick.
Jim said that like it or not fish are political and if we are going to make a
change in our favor WAA needs to recruit approximately 100,000 members. WAA needs that many members to have enough money and clout to sway the political process of fisheries management in the favor of recreational fishers and others who believe fish are needed in our ecosystem.
The people who attended this meeting started forming ideas as to what the
goal of this group would be and came up with this: "An alliance of Washington
citizens formed to promote and enhance fisheries and recreational opportunities, achieved through political influence and authoritative communication." This goal is still a work in progress.
There was plenty of talk about what recreational fishing brings back to the community in economic gain and cultural satisfaction. We could have talked on this for days. The other main topic was how to get the different clubs; i.e., fly fishers, gear fishers, bass fishers, environmentalists, etc., to join in one common effort.
Historically this has been impossible. If it can be done now the WAA would be an umbrella for all these groups to be able to fight for the rights of everyone in the political arena where we currently have no professional representation. Bain envisions the alliance hiring a lobbyist, an attorney and a biologist.
The meeting lasted about 2-1/2 hours and it was determined to have another at the Lacey Library on Tuesday, April 18, starting at 6:00 PM. We do not have a roster of all that attended this meeting but there were members of at least three Chapters of Trout Unlimited, two Chapters of the Poggie Club and various "unaffiliated" but very concerned individuals.
In our opinion this group has good intentions and lofty expectations. But it is worth the effort. What WAA needs is more attendance at the meeting on 4/18. So at the expense of redundancy: "if we keep on doing what were doing, we'll keep on getting what we got."

WAA has a new website at: www.gamefishin.com/waa

This bulletin was written by:

Gary Bee
President of the Sky Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited
and
Dee Norton
Board member of the Northshore Chapter of Trout Unlimited

Contact People for WAA

Jim Bain
e-mail: runwildrivers@yahoo.com
phone: 360-740-5934

Marc Marcantonio
e-mail: Amarc45@aol.com

Thanks Beezer. Here's another chance for all fishermen, including lazy guys that whine but don't act, to do some good. This is what Backbouncer pointed out can do a lot of good, especially along with NSIA, and that complacency is the sportfishermen's achilles heel. Keep up the good fight for our right. It's tough for me to get off my butt sometimes but for this I'll try.

[This message has been edited by Hugh Gebutt (edited 03-10-2000).]