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Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) has sponsored a bill, AB 2502, that all anglers and fishing groups should support.  This legislation will create a “Delta Ecological Restoration and Recreation Area” that will allow increased angling, hunting and other recreational access while providing needed fish and wildlife habitat. Ducks Unlimited and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance are supporting the bill.

Wolk is proposing for the state to buy Prospect Island and Little Holland Tract from the federal government and Liberty Island from the Trust for Public Lands and turn them into a state recreation area. She introduced the bill on February 21, 2008 and the legislation is scheduled for a hearing before the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee on April 15. 

I urge you and/or your organization to send a letter in support of the legislation to Lois Wolk's office via email to assemblymember.wolk@asm.ca.gov. Please send a copy to me at danielbacher@fishsniffer and Chris Unkel of Ducks Unlimited at cunkel@ducks.org.

In addition, sending your letter supporting AB 2502 to the Boards of Supervisors of Yolo, Solano and San Joaquin Counties will also be very helpful. You can send emails to Yolo County at http://www.yolocounty.org/org/bos/board.html, Solano County at http://www.co.solano.ca.us/Department/Department.asp?NavID=7, and San Joaquin County at http://www.co.san-joaquin.ca.us

I also urge you to attend the bill's hearing on April 15 at Room 447 in the State Capitol in Sacramento at 9 a.m. We need a good turnout of anglers in support of the legislation! 

Below is a sample letter from John Beuttler, conservation director of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), to give you some talking points for your letter of support. You can contact him and CSPA, http://www.calsport.org/ at 510-526-4049, JBeuttler@aol.com,  Below the letter is my article about the bill. 

For more information, contact Susan Treabess, Consultant to Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, 916-319-2008, or Chris Unkel, Ducks Unlimited, 916-851-5307. You can read the bill's text at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=ab_2502&sess=CUR&house=A&author=wolk

Thanks 

Dan 

 

1360 Neilson Street / Berkeley / CA / 94702 / 510.526.4049

“Conserving California’s Fishery & Aquatic Resources”

4.06.08

Assembly Water,Parks and Wildlife Committee

Attn: Diane Colborn

1020 N Street, Suite 160

Sacramento, CA 94249

Re: AB 2502 (Wolk) - Delta Ecological Restoration and Recreation Area

Dear Assemblymember Wolk, Chair & Committee Members:

The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, representing our membership that includes some twenty affiliated sportfishing organizations, would like you to know of our support for AB 2502. This legislation would authorize the Director of State Department of Parks and Recreation to create an ecological restoration and recreation area in the north Delta while establishing an endowment fund to pay for ongoing operation and maintenance of the area. 

The Delta has been degrading for decades from a variety of human impacts and has suffered economically primarily due to the extensive decline of its public fish and wildlife resources. As a consequence, the Delta’s economy and especially the recreation industry that supports fishing, hunting, boating has also been degraded.

Now, there is an opportunity to accomplish both ecosystem restoration as well as enhance the Delta economy. One area of the Delta that has been consistently proposed for restoration is at the south end of the Yolo Bypass and includes Liberty Island, Prospect Island, Little Holland Tract and surrounding areas.  This area has great potential to provide high value fish and wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities while encouraging the business that support these activities. 

The land for this project is owned by the Trust for Public Lands, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers. They would like to divest themselves of these lands and in so doing would provide an unique opportunity for them to be acquire to assist the Delta’s beleaguered fish and wildlife resources. 

We completely endorse the concept proposed by AB 2502 of unifying the public ownership of these properties under the State Department of Parks and Recreation with funding for restoration and management through an endowment. Should this significant restoration be initiated, the result will be a healthier Delta ecosystem that provides greater opportunities for Delta agriculture and recreation while stimulating the economy. Given the Delta’s desperate condition, such actions will surely benefit all those who rely on the Delta’s waters.  

Sincerely 

John Beuttler

Conservation Director