What do you think about this MDNR public survey?

[Dan]

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Strategic_Planning_Public_Survey2012?source=govdelivery

[Genie]

It's a survey ...

Could be lip service by the MDNR making us think it is good.  Could be they are actually trying to see what people have to say.  Could be a joke as this is the first I've heard of it.

I guess I like to be an optimist and think that they are trying to get a feel if what the advisers and activists are truly pushing what the people want.

My only down thought is that whatever comes of the survey and any decisions that may come from it don't really mean a hill of beans if there is no budget or staff to mold and maintain it.

[t-bone]

Here is the link to the survey if other want to take it, I'm hopeful they will listen and I think every bass angler should express their views. I'm an optimist and I took the survey today:

Good afternoon,

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources – Fisheries Division is asking for your opinions on future management activities for our fisheries resources. Please take 10 minutes to provide your views on what you believe are the most critical activities Fisheries Division employees work on to make Michigan the place to fish.   

To access this survey, just visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Strategic_Planning_Public_Survey2012.

This opinion survey will close at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, August 13, 2012.

Thank you for your time.


Jim Dexter
Chief, Fisheries Division

[djkimmel]

How did you see the actual survey? I don't get any result with the link above? Ah, there is the link that will work. Thanks t-bone. I believe they usually put the links on the www.michigan.gov/dnrfishing site too though I haven't tested that theory.

[Dan]

I thought I had the right link in my original post. Just corrected it. My concern was the options given for me to give my opinion on, may reflect something other than I interpreted it as.

[djkimmel]

Well, I don't think it is a big surprise on here that some of us want our MDNR to evolve or move into the modern age or however you look at it. There's been some talk from some parts of the MDNR that sounds like what I think we need from them but actual movement and attitudes at a person-level are still way to out of touch and out of date.

I hope people take the survey and I hope they can understand the points of a few of the questions that are worded a little confusing (to me anyway). I understand some of the points they are trying to make and my past history with them also makes me fairly wary of them. Even my recent interactions with the Fisheries Division.

They really, really need our help. They just have no real idea yet how much but the most recent two meetings I attended clearly demonstrated that to me. For a department in distress, I still heard way too much talk about regulations that limit or could limit people's fishing. Part of their interaction with me is some of their anti-bass tournament feelings too which means I have to think about how much my being involved could make any possible changes that could benefit EVERYONE who fishes more difficult if key people are thinking about me being a 'bass tournament angler' verses thinking about how to provide MORE FISHING OPPORTUNITY and considering anything that MIGHT (proven or not) get more people fishing, or at least slow down the steady and scary slide in Michigan fishing license purchases and participation.

I will say that the new fisheries chief did ask that Paul Sacks and I write up a bass season proposal to give them to consider. I do plan on doing that but they want any new proposals to be written in detail similar to how the MDNR would write and document their proposals. That will take some time and could be very frustrating if they do not truly give it real consideration. And frankly, right now, I just don't have that much time. I am behind on website work and need work on that so I can pay my bills.

Considering that the last message to me was there will be no changes before 2015 I am not working on a proposal right now. I hope I can get to something in September/October. I do have a list of businesses and groups who are also frankly tired of waiting for modern fisheries management and also some of them are disgusted that any anti-bass tournament bias impacts their business in a negative way directly. All of those businesses and groups will get a chance to review and comment on any proposal I write about our bass season.

I still have some education to do because there is still a fair amount of fear of change holding some anglers back from supporting some of the changes I want to propose. That also takes time - changing attitudes by providing real data from real bass experts and allowing the time for it to sink in. I ran one of my ideas by one of the top Michigan bass anglers last week and he immediately balked against it out of fear that our closed season might actually still be why our bass fishing is so good. That was AFTER we had just discussed the 14" size limit change and the various factors that have greatly improved water visibility during the same time that seems a lot more likely correlation to the fairly recent great improvement in our fishing verses bass seasons that have not changed in over 30 years (and 100 years for St. Clair).

Part of the problem is most anglers have not read all the studies about bass that I have or talked to all the fisheries biologists / researchers I have about these studies and I recognize that. So I either have to get some of the key studies into more anglers' hands or convince more of them to trust that I do know what I'm talking about considering that all I am really doing is telling all of you what these real bass biology experts have told me over the past 30 years not just what I think. There are biologists even in Michigan, even a few who are not fond of bass tournaments, that still support or at least don't dispute many of the things I share with anglers. I did have a Michigan research biologist at a recent meeting try to counter my claim that closed bass seasons are not common or necessary to 'protect the bass spawn' at any state level. She was polite to wait until I was done speaking and then told the representatives from the various groups present that I was not correct in claiming the 'decision was out' on that. I really, really thought about 'calling' her and raising her 44 OPEN states to only 5 CLOSED states but decided since many of the people present did not know me and were really not that interested in bass that I would save the debate for a later time. I had already pointed out in their claims about Lake St. Clair being 'colder' so therefore 'needing' a later bass opener that their OWN MDNR study did not support that to be true. I had to tell them name and date of the study so they can go look it up for themselves... oh boy. Like I say, lots of work to be done yet.

I will not be proposing open bass fishing all year. I do not believe we can achieve that at this time. Too much too soon. I know some will not be happy about that but ANYONE is welcome to submit their own opinions and proposals to the MDNR and work to achieve them. I want to make REAL progress that I think we have a chance to have enough backing (or lack of opposition) from the general angler that we can actually achieve it and provide more legal bass fishing for Michigan bass anglers and fishing tourists. More legal bass fishing in Michigan would be so good for just about everyone even if much of it is catch and immediate release. Having that additional legal bass fishing could also go a long ways towards convincing more people that the only thing our closed seasons have accomplished in the past consistently and well is to withhold fishing opportunity. I'm convinced we have shot ourselves in the foot too many times with unnecessary fishing regulations for way too long, and that is some of the bill we are now paying in a large drop in fishing license sales and participation. There are surely other factors but unnecessary regulations are guilty of some of it.

I did find out that the MDNR hired the same company that other states have hired to provide a large plan to address this large drop in fishing license sales. Some MDNR told me that all states are dropping but that is also not true. I recently reviewed the state of Washington's study from the same company and they mentioned their fishing license sales have actually gone UP faster than our's have gone down. That study recommends quite a few things including contests with prizes for all anglers and especially teen anglers. Kind of like the organized bass fishing groups are doing with their various Jr, high school and college fishing programs. I want to see if similar recommendations are in the Michigan version of the study? I know a Michigan state group did a similar study with MSU fisheries persons, citizens and some MDNR like Gary Towns, and they recommended having a fishing contest or tournament as a way to build more participation. Interesting?

I know fishing tournaments seem to be one of the few growth areas in fishing lately. Too bad some people are so set against them. But that really should be a separate issue from providing the bass fishing our Michigan waters are capable of providing rather than withholding ANY opportunity for ANY reason that is not necessary to protect the fish from serious, demonstrated, population-level harm. Something no studies support as far as bass and spring bass fishing.

[djkimmel]

I just found it interesting that the MDNR has put up a video about proper catch and release with the comment 'the practice has approached critical mass in recent years' ?? I'm trying to figure out what that is supposed to mean? It sounds negative yet studies have shown that the voluntary catch and release of as much as 90% of our Michigan bass may be the single biggest reason our bass fishing is so good and can provide more bass fishing opportunity. I actually thought the video demonstrated a number of less than optimal catch and release behaviors for the average angler? Not enough to say it is a bad video but it is a little odd to choose that one if you want to be overly cautious. Just my opinion on that.

Not a big deal. Just odd. I wonder who chose it and why? Maybe they are loosening up a little over there in MDNR fisheries? Who knows.

Regardless, I think we need more bass fishing NOW not in 2015. I think the MDNR needs to kick themselves into high gear and not take a whole year to 'strategically plan' before doing anything at all. They are in a state of emergency and I hope that makes them realize they have to change a lot faster than they have in the past. There's no room for bias or any continuing of attitudes such as this kind of angler is a better or more desired than that kind of angler. ALL anglers are valuable! Every... single... one...!!!

There's a new MDNR director I know little about. Maybe he will have them rethink their present 'plan' to plan for over a year, then talk about stuff and have meetings for another year and then maybe change some things in 2015? I hope so because we are losing 4% in fishing license sales a year and 2 or 3 more years of doing little to address that sure won't help anyone.

I have had several MDNR fisheries people tell me this year that I have no idea if any of my ideas will increase fishing license sales, or tell me that 'my ideas' just won't work, but I will continue to counter that they don't know that it won't either, but we all know that continuing the way we are going is bringing us a continued 4% a year LOSS in annual fishing license sales - 30% drop in the past 12 years!!!!! I don't think I can stress that too much considering the negative cost to all of us that care about our natural resources and bass fishing.