South Florida Anglers
For Everglades Restoration

Dedicated to Preserving Our Fishery
Committed to Restoring the Everglades

What’s Ahead for 2008…………Al Ovies, President

 SAFER has begun what promises to be a busy year in our efforts to “Save Our Canals.” Representatives have attended two important meetings affecting the WCA 3A & B fisheries and the reservoirs. The first meeting, which took place at South Florida Water Management District’s Headquarters in West Palm Beach, was the quarterly meeting of the Water Resources Advisory Committee’s Recreational Issues Committee (A mouthful that in bureaucratize is SFWMD WRAC Rec Issues). The second was attendance at a panel discussion hosted by the National Parks Conservancy Association (NPCA) at the Everglades Coalition’s annual conference, held this year at Captiva on Sanibel Island. SAFER members need to be informed of the issues discussed at these two separate but important initiatives.

  First the WRAC Rec Issues: For the past 7 years SAFER has not only worked to preserve the Everglades fishery, but has been aggressive in the pursuit of establishing a full fledged bass fishery in the mammoth reservoirs planned for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project (CERP). For the past year or so, we have been hearing from the SFWMD staff that there had been objections to the establishment of any fishery by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). For months, we have been asking that a representative of DEP be present at a meeting of the Rec Issues, and for months nothing happened. Well, we finally got the chance to question their representative, and his answer was simple enough: As far as he knew, DEP had no objections to the public fishing on the reservoirs! They had objections to any fishing that relied on some means of propulsion, whether gas or electric, on the Stormwater Treatment Areas (STA’s). And they even left the door open to some kind of bank/dock bound fishery, as proposed by SAFER.

  Our message to the agency leads has been “That a Boat Ramp Does Not a Fishery Make.” We have seen the plans for what are no doubt, excellent boat ramps, but if plans aren’t built into the design of the reservoir for the creation of a bass fishery, then the fish population will be at the mercy of any low water event. Littoral Zones, an area of deep water for refuge in case of draught conditions, and the stocking of bait and sportfish are all issues which need to be addressed, if future generations of Floridians are to enjoy  quality bass fishing such as we have on reservoirs like the Stick Marsh and Farm 13.

  One of the reservoirs is already built and operating, so it’s too late to do things right there. But the plans of the reservoirs on the drawing boards haven’t been finalized yet. It is important that SAFER members urge the members of the project teams to incorporate plans for establishing a fishery on each of the reservoirs. In this day and age of internet  and emailing, and all the technology, it is easy enough to log on to the websites of the participating agencies, and voice your opinions directly to those that matter.

  The Everglades Coalition Conference: It was certainly with mixed feelings that SAFER accepted an invitation to participate in a panel discussion on the effects Everglades Restoration on the different fisheries in the CERP ‘Footprint.” The Everglades Coalition is “an alliance of 45 local, state and national conservation and environmental organizations dedicated to full restoration of the greater Everglades ecosystem, from the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes into Lake Okeechobee, through the "River of Grass", out to Florida Bay and the Keys.” Like us, their representatives have laid out their agendas at the public meetings, and it is safe to say that very rarely did we share the same view of life, nature and restoration. Nonetheless, SAFER  has stated often that we will sit down with any group/organization at any time or place, to ensure that recreational fishing is an integral part of the restoration process. As in any process, circumstances change, often times due to the dialogue that takes place amongst the participating stakeholders. And it is clear that SAFER’s message that there is nothing more natural than an incredible bass fishery, in the heart of the Water Conservation Areas and with access within minutes of major urban centers, is being heard.

  In a discussion that has been called “thoughtful and robust,” SAFER was given every opportunity to state its view of restoration, and discuss fishing’s place in the overall scope of restoration. The discussion and question and answer period that followed our brief presentation showed that the people there, were there to listen, and learn. It is important that an on going discussion of the many issues involved is established. If anything, these discussions showed that there are still many serious misconceptions about the canals in the WCA’s, and about the future of fishing in the STA’s and reservoirs. Even amongst our salt water brethren, there are misconceptions about what is happening to the water in the WCA’s and its impact on the Florida Bay ecosystem. SAFER needs to continue to get its message out to people, especially those who might not have agreed with us in the past.

 A Brief History of the Weigh-in Pavilion…….….Rick Persson, Vice President

  Back in 2003 Brad Arnold, then secretary of S.A.F.E.R., Inc had the vision of building a much needed weigh-in pavilion at Holiday Park. He contacted SFWMD and found out what needed to be done to get approval, had plans drawn up, and went so far as to submit the plan to SFWMD. Problem being there was no money in our budget at that time, we didn’t even have the funds to pay the $165 permitting fee.  The project was dropped. A year or so went by, Brad moved to Arizona, and I started hearing from the anglers at Holiday Park, “Where’s the weigh-in Pavilion?”

  I started doing research on finding money, and heard that B.A.S.S. Federation Nation had grant money available for conservation projects.  I contacted Chris Horton, and he said that we should qualify for a grant, he gave me the forms to fill our and I did and sent them directly to him.  It took several months to get the approval for the grant in the sum of $5000.  As soon as I found out that we had the money coming, I started the permitting order of business.  After many attempts to find out who to contact, I finally hit on Herky Huffman, then Chairman of FWC.  Shortly after talking with Herky, I was contacted by Carol Wehle, and Laura Lythgow of SFWMD permitting office, and made an appointment to see her.  She walked me through the procedure to fill out the forms and also told me of a waiver of the application fee to ask for.  I went home and filled out the forms, and hand carried the forms and the check for $165 directly to Laura Lythgow on March 22 2007.  In June, I was notified that all the applications were accepted, and our permitting fee was refunded.

Alex Supik, an active SAFER member, put me in contact with the Chickee Hut Company, and they agreed to build the hut for $4200.  The chickee is up, and we ordered the lumber for the build-out on Jan. 16^th, 2008. The floor went in on Jan. 13th, 2008 and we should have the walls, counters and ads up by mid February.

I am working with Jon Fury of FWC to develop a suggested method of live release for Tournament Directors to consider.