Post by yihunt on Aug 9, 2009 11:45:27 GMT -4
Erie permit program likely to get approved
Buzz up!By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
Sunday, August 9, 2009
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Impressed by the success of securing access for fishermen along Lake Erie's tributary streams, some anglers have called for the creation of a statewide habitat license.
That's not happening, at least not yet.
But the Lake Erie permit program could soon be taking in a little more ground.
The program is scheduled to expire as of Dec. 31. State Sen. Jane Earll, an Erie County Republican, is trying to change that. Earlier this year, she introduced Senate Bill 574, which would extend the need to buy a Lake Erie permit when fishing the lake or its tributaries another five years, through Dec. 31, 2014.
The bill was amended in the legislature. As it now reads, it would allow the commission to spend the money not only on Lake Erie and its tributaries, but on "waters that flow into those tributaries."
That essentially means the commission could use the money to secure easements in Presque Isle Bay and the Conneaut Creek and Turkey Creek watersheds.
The amended bill would also allow the commission to use the proceeds from its Lake Erie permits to "protect or improve fish habitat" in all of those waters.
The bill already has passed the Senate by a 50-0 vote and is now before the House Game and Fisheries Committee. It may move out of there soon.
"It's getting some real traction this term," said Gary Moore, legislative liaison for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
That's all well and good, said commissioner Sam Concilla of Erie County. The program has done what it set out to do, he said.
The commission has acquired more than 11 miles of access along steelhead streams in the past few years, all thanks to the proceeds from the sale of Lake Erie permits.
Specifically, the commission has collected about $3 million from the sale of Lake Erie permits, and spent about $956,000 of that to lock up access to nearly 11 miles of steelhead streams. The total includes five miles of Elk Creek, 2.27 miles of Walnut Creek, 1.95 miles of Crooked Creek, 1.18 miles of Twenty Mile Creek, 1.03 miles of Four Mile Creek, and 560 feet at the mouth of Trout Run on Lake Erie.
But Concilla of Erie County — who has no more than six months left on the board, at most — wants his fellow commissioners to be diligent about getting more access, and not use the money that's left for anything else.
"I understand we have to maintain what we acquire," Concilla said. "But the purpose of this money was to secure fishing access. I want to be careful, just because there's almost $2 million in there, that we not look to that primarily for repairs, but reserve the bulk of that money for more access, rather than bricks and mortar."
Commission acquires section of Elk Creek
Fish and Boat Commissioners acquired access to two more sections of Elk Creek at their most recent meeting.
Ccommissioners first agreed to spend $68,000 from the agency's Lake Erie fishing permit account to secure an easement for 800-plus feet of Elk Creek.
The property is located in McKean Township, immediately east of I-79 off West Road. The stream section offers good steelhead fishing on its own, according to Dan Martin, director of the commission's bureau of baiting and access.
Just as importantly, though, it includes parking for five to 10 cars and "will provide a core area from which the commission may pursue additional fishing easements."
Commissioners also agreed to spend $174,000 to help the Lake Erie Regional Conservancy acquire a nearly 46-acre parcel of ground along Elk Creek in Fairview Township. Located along Peffer Road between I-79 and Sterrettania Road, it will provide access to 1,703 feet of the stream.
It's also located near several other parcels where the commission has acquired easements in the recent past, Martin noted.
The conservancy plans to build a parking area on the site for fishermen.
Buzz up!By Bob Frye, TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
Sunday, August 9, 2009
y
Impressed by the success of securing access for fishermen along Lake Erie's tributary streams, some anglers have called for the creation of a statewide habitat license.
That's not happening, at least not yet.
But the Lake Erie permit program could soon be taking in a little more ground.
The program is scheduled to expire as of Dec. 31. State Sen. Jane Earll, an Erie County Republican, is trying to change that. Earlier this year, she introduced Senate Bill 574, which would extend the need to buy a Lake Erie permit when fishing the lake or its tributaries another five years, through Dec. 31, 2014.
The bill was amended in the legislature. As it now reads, it would allow the commission to spend the money not only on Lake Erie and its tributaries, but on "waters that flow into those tributaries."
That essentially means the commission could use the money to secure easements in Presque Isle Bay and the Conneaut Creek and Turkey Creek watersheds.
The amended bill would also allow the commission to use the proceeds from its Lake Erie permits to "protect or improve fish habitat" in all of those waters.
The bill already has passed the Senate by a 50-0 vote and is now before the House Game and Fisheries Committee. It may move out of there soon.
"It's getting some real traction this term," said Gary Moore, legislative liaison for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
That's all well and good, said commissioner Sam Concilla of Erie County. The program has done what it set out to do, he said.
The commission has acquired more than 11 miles of access along steelhead streams in the past few years, all thanks to the proceeds from the sale of Lake Erie permits.
Specifically, the commission has collected about $3 million from the sale of Lake Erie permits, and spent about $956,000 of that to lock up access to nearly 11 miles of steelhead streams. The total includes five miles of Elk Creek, 2.27 miles of Walnut Creek, 1.95 miles of Crooked Creek, 1.18 miles of Twenty Mile Creek, 1.03 miles of Four Mile Creek, and 560 feet at the mouth of Trout Run on Lake Erie.
But Concilla of Erie County — who has no more than six months left on the board, at most — wants his fellow commissioners to be diligent about getting more access, and not use the money that's left for anything else.
"I understand we have to maintain what we acquire," Concilla said. "But the purpose of this money was to secure fishing access. I want to be careful, just because there's almost $2 million in there, that we not look to that primarily for repairs, but reserve the bulk of that money for more access, rather than bricks and mortar."
Commission acquires section of Elk Creek
Fish and Boat Commissioners acquired access to two more sections of Elk Creek at their most recent meeting.
Ccommissioners first agreed to spend $68,000 from the agency's Lake Erie fishing permit account to secure an easement for 800-plus feet of Elk Creek.
The property is located in McKean Township, immediately east of I-79 off West Road. The stream section offers good steelhead fishing on its own, according to Dan Martin, director of the commission's bureau of baiting and access.
Just as importantly, though, it includes parking for five to 10 cars and "will provide a core area from which the commission may pursue additional fishing easements."
Commissioners also agreed to spend $174,000 to help the Lake Erie Regional Conservancy acquire a nearly 46-acre parcel of ground along Elk Creek in Fairview Township. Located along Peffer Road between I-79 and Sterrettania Road, it will provide access to 1,703 feet of the stream.
It's also located near several other parcels where the commission has acquired easements in the recent past, Martin noted.
The conservancy plans to build a parking area on the site for fishermen.