An Earmark + “K Street” Lobbyist = Massive Federal Land Grab

by David A. Ridenour

With his signature on May 8 to S. 2739, the ‘Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008,’ George Bush has now signed on to the establishment of de facto federal zoning along a 175-mile corridor running from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s one of the largest federal land grabs in history.

On April 29, the U.S. House of Representatives passed this massive, pork-laden bill that included a provision creating the Journey Through Hallowed Ground (JTHG) National Heritage Area. Debate was limited to just 40 minutes.

Heritage areas are National Park Service preservation zones in which environmentalists, federal officials and local elitists influence local land-use decisions, frequently in ways that restrict property rights and move property ownership beyond the means of the less well-to-do.

Environmentalists and preservationists love heritage areas, because they can be used to curtail development.

Local elitists like them because they can help keep people they consider to be undesirable out of their communities. Minorities are harmed disproportionately when land-use restrictions cause home prices to soar. (It is perhaps no coincidence that lily-white Waterford, Virginia was at the epicenter of the effort to create the JTHG Heritage Area. Waterford has a rich black history — and history is apparently where the village would like to keep it.)

Politically well-connected developers like heritage areas because they can be used to establish near monopolies on real estate development opportunities. As the Heritage Foundation’s Ron Utt discovered, that’s precisely what the JTHG Heritage Area would do.

And federal bureaucrats love heritage areas because they allow them to get around little inconveniences to their central planning — inconveniences such as local elected officials.

House passage of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area was hailed by its chief sponsor, Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), and by the Journey Through Hallowed Ground foundation, the chief lobby organization behind the effort. Both noted the overwhelming vote in the House, 291-117.

The bill received support across party lines. In the House, supporters included Representatives Alan Mollohan (D-WV), Don Young (R-AK), William Jefferson (D-LA), Rick Renzi (R-AZ), and John Doolittle (R-CA). (Now all these gentlemen can say they have a second thing in common.)

But it is unlikely that support for the land grab was as great as the tally might suggest, as it was buried in an omnibus bill of over 60 other proposals — some enjoying wide support.

As Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) noted during the limited debate, “Many of the sections of this bill are unable to stand on their own and have subsequently been bundled into a $300 million brew to avoid individual scrutiny… this omnibus was created with enough prizes that inevitably the bad will be overlooked and everything, the good, the bad and the ugly, will be able to cross the finish line.”

Approval of the JTHG Heritage Area is a case study in what is wrong with American politics.

The JTHG Heritage Area wasn’t approved by Congress due to overwhelming public demand for it. Borrowing from the Beatles, perhaps it got by with a little help from Wolf’s friends — a lot of Ben Franklins, Alexander Hamiltons, Abe Lincolns and George Washingtons.

You see, Congressman Wolf slipped a $1 million dollar earmark in the 2005 federal transportation bill — buried among 6,372 other earmarks — for the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Foundation. This is the very group that has led the lobbying effort for Wolf’s bill. More unusual still is that at the time of the earmark, the foundation had yet to even be incorporated and was operating out of the personal post office box of its executive director, Cate Magennis Wyatt.

It appears as though Congressman Wolf used taxpayer money to fund the lobbying campaign for his own bill. (Read more about his here)

Then there’s the unseemly Wolf-”K Street” lobbyist connection. Wolf’s land grab bill was written by Don Pongrace, who runs the Indian practice (yes, a lobbyist for Indian gaming interests) for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a large law firm with offices in D.C., London, New York and Moscow.

Not only that, but Pongrace apparently was authorized to speak for Congressman Wolf in meetings about the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Heritage Area.

It turns out that Pongrace serves on the board of the Journey Through Hallowed Ground foundation — the group receiving Wolf’s earmark largesse — and Pongrace’s wife has served the group as vice president.

Apparently, the concept of a conflict of interest is lost on the mega law firm of Akin Gump.

Interestingly, at the very time Frank Wolf was collaborating with Akin Gump on his bill, he criticized the firm for working for the Chinese government in its bid to acquire Unocal.

Wolf wrote to Akin Gump, “I question the appropriateness of an American firm… being on the payroll of the Chinese government… I immediately thought, ‘Is there no bright line to separate who lobbyists in Washington will and will not represent?’”

Is there no bright line, indeed.

Congressman Wolf introduces a bill written by a “K Street” lobbyist, arranges a $1 million earmark for the group lobbying for that bill — and employing the lobbyist’s wife — and he asks about bright lines?

Congressman Wolf also received help pushing his bill from National Park Service employees, who acted contrary to the Service’s official position, which calls for the creation of no additional heritage areas until a formal NPS program is created through legislation. Nonetheless, the NPS’s Brenda Barrett and Alma Ripps were dispatched to defend creation of the JTHG Heritage Area.

The full extent of the National Park Service’s assistance with the legislative effort is still unknown, as the Service has so far failed to fully comply with a Freedom of Information Act request. In violation of the FOIA law, it provided only incomplete records and documents that obviously had been altered (helpful hint for NPS employees: if you plan to alter documents, you might want to avoid using ruled paper).

Ethical questions surround the process through which this national heritage area was approved. A presidential veto was warranted.

-David A. Ridenour is vice president of the National Center for Public Policy Research.

Remember this photo of a “What is it”?

The photo was taken by Milt Inman at the Andover, Maine Historical Society. Here’s his explanation:

What Is It? The machine was used to safely let a team of horses and a large sled full of logs slowly down from a mountain side to the valley below. The sled, with 4 wheels or pulleys, was taken up to near where the logs were cut and anchored to a large tree. The cable wound around the pulleys in away that it went around each one twice and then back down the mountain to a pulley chained to a tree and then back up to the braking machine. Moving the long levers on the rear of the machine would apply the braking force needed to do its job of snubbing up the load of logs hooked to the cable and going down the mountain. I think it was called a “SNUBBER” or something else. Milt

If you would like, you can return to the original post and read what some of the guesses were.

Posted by Tom Remington

A federal judge this past week told the Department of Interior it had until May 15, 2008 to make a decision on whether to list the polar bear as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. And the environmentalists went wild!!!

If you follow the link category to the right under “Endangered Species“, you’ll find plenty of articles and links to the ongoing debate about whether the polar bear is in danger, whether the world is in danger and if it’s all caused by anthropogenic (man-made) global warming from carbon dioxide.

I laughed out loud a few days ago, when Al Gore, during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes said that those of us who won’t jump on his flim-flam bandwagon, were like the Flat Earth Society people and that we believe the lunar landing was staged on a lot in Hollywood. What was hilarious about it was that the Flat Earth Society was made up of people like Al Gore, who refused to listen to any kind of reasoning whether logical or scientific, that showed the earth wasn’t flat. I know of hundreds of people personally that are not sold on Al Gore’s theory of man-made global warming but are open to listening to debate on both sides of the issue. So who’s a Flat Earther?

Without debate, media, politicians and American citizens are blindly plowing ahead, often times willy-nilly, to save the planet - in this case the polar bear. Yesterday, the Houston Chronicle provided readers with an editorial about the plight of the polar bear. 100% of the piece (and yes I realize it’s an editorial) was presented as fact that ice is melting everywhere in the arctic, that this is caused by man and that the polar bear is dying off. They even repeated projections from recently discovered to be faulty models that said the bears would be extinct by the year 2050. There is just as much scientific evidence, particularly the newest data, to refute everything the Chronicle repeats as climate change facts.

But what I find as the most disturbing part of the editorial is their position on what they deem to be more important to the American people; affordable energy and a healthy economy or swallowing a politician’s theory on global warming.

It’s unlikely that in its final year in office, the administration will reverse its policy of protecting business interests instead of the environment and endangered species. The courts should not have to tell the administration to enforce environmental statutes rather than undermine or ignore them.

Protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act isn’t a simple matter of adding it to a list and then we hope it gets better. There has to be intelligent discourse among sane people in order to realistically determine the all-encompassing affects of making such a move.

I have worked some in my past articles that I hoped would, if nothing else, get readers to ask questions and think more about this issue other than how it is going to affect next Christmas’ Coke commercials. Huge Hewitt of Townhall has also covered more in depth as to what actually can happen to our economy, through the federal permitting process for growth and development. He offers more thoughts on that today.

The short version: If the polar bear is listed, every activity that emits a greenhouse gas of any sort in the lower 48 AND which receives a federal permit or requires federal agency action of any sort –even if that permit or action is unrelated to the emission of the gases– those activities will be subject to new review by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the approval may not be forthcoming, will certainly at least be delayed, and will almost certainly come with massive new costs attached.

Thus coastal building programs that require federal flood insurance or Army Corps of Engineers permits, highway construction that gets FHA funding, or joint NASA-private industry initiatives that result in launchings, all these and hundreds of thousands of additional federal permits and actions get gathered in under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

Hewitt practiced Endangered Species Act law for two decades and should have a pretty good understanding on how administering the Act works. In several of his articles about the polar bear listing, he refers to Section 7 of the ESA(pdf - scroll down to find Section 7) often. The first part of Section 7 I believe spells out quite clearly, even to those of us without a law degree.

SEC. 7. ø16 U.S.C. 1536¿ (a) FEDERAL AGENCY ACTIONS AND CONSULTATIONS.—(1) The Secretary shall review other programs administered by him and utilize such programs in furtherance of the purposes of this Act. All other Federal agencies shall, in consultation with and with the assistance of the Secretary, utilize their authorities in furtherance of the purposes of this Act by carrying out programs for the conservation of endangered species and threatened species listed pursuant to section 4 of this Act.
(2) Each Federal agency shall, in consultation with and with the assistance of the Secretary, insure that any action authorized,
funded, or carried out by such agency (hereinafter in this section referred to as an ‘‘agency action’’) is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered species or threatened species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of habitat of such species which is determined by the Secretary, after consultation as appropriate with affected States, to be critical, unless such agency has been granted an exemption for such action by the Committee pursuant to subsection (h) of this section. In fulfilling the requirements of this paragraph each agency shall use the best scientific and commercial data available.
(3) Subject to such guidelines as the Secretary may establish, a Federal agency shall consult with the Secretary on any prospective agency action at the request of, and in cooperation with, the prospective permit or license applicant if the applicant has reason to believe that an endangered species or a threatened species may be present in the area affected by his project and that implementationof such action will likely affect such species.
(4) Each Federal agency shall confer with the Secretary on any agency action which is likely to jeopardize the continued existence
of any species proposed to be listed under section 4 or result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat proposed to be designated for such species. This paragraph does not require a limitation on the commitment of resources as described in subsection (d).

The two biggest remaining questions which may never get answered are; Is the polar bear really threatened and to what degree should we as a society carry out the protection of an animal species while putting our own well being at risk?

I know of nobody who wants to see the polar bear disappear. Many scientists don’t believe it will nor that it is threatened. What the Houston Chronicle failed to reveal, as has many other media sources, is that only two areas of polar bear populations are decreasing somewhat in size. The remainder are holding steady or growing. It is my opinion that we have as yet to scientifically determine whether the bear is in danger.

Remember that should the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decide to list the bear, it will be because they think man-made climate change will destroy the bear down the road somewhere. This has never been done before. Hewitt, from a perspective of having been there and done that, clearly points out that we don’t know what we are in for. The courts can only make rulings that are based on the content of the Endangered Species Act.

Do we really know what we are doing?

Tom Remington

This link takes you to a short story about the history of didymo or rock snot and some are asking if this new outbreak of the alga is some kind of more resilient hybrid form.

Tom Remington

On Thursday I posted a picture for readers to guess what it was. If you haven’t taken the chance to wager a guess, now is the chance to do that. In the process of gathering comments from readers, one of my faithful reminded me that I hadn’t revealed the previous “Whatzit” picture. That picture is below and this link will take you back to the original post so you can read all the comments about it.

So, what is it? As a reminder, this photo was sent to me by Gary Inman in Maine. Gary is a surveyor and needless to say he covers a lot of territory. Gary says the picture was taken in back of an old barn in Newry, Maine and the “thing” was taken from an old barn. He says it is actually the remains of a “six-holer”.

He was also eager to point out that he didn’t investigate closely enough to determine which hole got the most use.

Thank you Gary.

Tom Remington

As I was heading out the door late yesterday afternoon, my good friend Kevin from Congressman Don Young’s office sent me the below email. Congressman Young, from Alaska, is the ranking republican member of the House Committee on Natural Resources. I couldn’t help but have a laugh…….for more reasons than one.

Dear Colleague,

Is this Speaker Pelosi’s “commonsense plan” for reducing Americans’ energy costs?

NO! to ANWR’s 30 year, 1 million barrel per day supply of American oil

NO! to 2 Trillion Barrels of American oil shale

NO! to more clean burning natural gas

NO! to Clean Coal.

NO! to more energy exploration in the 85% of OCS off-limits to energy development

NO! to more energy exploration in the Intermountain West

NO! to more Nuclear Power

NO! to more Hydropower Energy

NO! to expediting alternative energy development

NO! to any form of energy that will provide meaningful relief from record high energy prices

NO! to 90% of the energy that fuels America’s economy

NO!! IS NOT AN ENERGY PLAN

Tom Remington

The May 1, 2008 edition of Open Air With Tom Remington is available for podcasting and streaming. Follow this link for information about the show and important links to topics discussed on the show.

Tom Remington

Tom Remington

Just wanted to give readers/listeners a heads up that today’s broadcast of Open Air With Tom Remington will be done live at 3 p.m. Once the show airs and is uploaded to the server, it will be available for podcasting.

Today’s show will be about…….well, I’m going to talk about…….I dunno! I guess you’ll have to tune in to find out.

Tom Remington

Region A – Sebago Lake

The regional fisheries staff has been out on Sebago Lake training our new seasonal census clerk, Bill Yeo. Bill will be interviewing anglers on the lake two days per week from now until the end of September, and the data will be used to evaluate the current status and future management of the salmon and lake trout fisheries.

Our expectation is that Sebago will produce some great fishing this year. Anglers can expect salmon in the 21/2-31/2-pound range and lakers in 21/2-5-pound class. However, we anticipate some trophy salmon in the six- to eight-pound range, as well as some lakers over eight- to 10 pounds.

Early angler reports and our recent census efforts support our predictions for the season. On Thursday, April 24 and Saturday, April 26 the fishing was quite good. We interviewed 75 boats and anglers reported catching 50 legal salmon as well as, 44 lakers. This equates to approximately 1.3 legal salmonids per boat. In addition, anglers have reported catching or losing some salmon over six pounds and one boat had reportedly landed a 12-pound togue!

Currently, the best salmon fishing is near the State Park; however, Jordan Bay is producing some great lake trout fishing with a few boats catching more than 10 lakers per trip. It gets better. The best fishing is yet to come once the smelt run gets under way.

We have received quite a few questions regarding the gating situation for the State Park Boat Ramp. Following is an excerpt from a recent press release issued by the Department of Conservation:

Sebago Lake State Park Boat Launch Open

Gates at the boat launch will open at 4:00 AM for the next few days. Beginning May 4th the park’s entrance booth will be staffed and the gates will then open at 9:00 AM. Anglers can purchase an early morning fishing pass, that - when accompanied with a season pass - will accommodate those who want boat access prior to 9:00 AM. That pass, and the combination to the gate that accompanies it, are readily available at Sebago Lake State Park.

Back to the fishing report. Although Sebago is getting a lot of attention from anglers this season, many other waters offer great salmon and lake trout fishing including Thompson Lake (Oxford), Auburn Lake (Auburn), Peabody Pond (Sebago), and Kezar lake (Lovell). Due to changes in smelt abundance, Thompson Lake salmon are expected to be in better condition than last year, whereas anglers may notice decline in salmon and togue size quality at Auburn Lake.

This time of year, the biologists and the hatcheries get inundated with phone calls about what has been stocked and when particular waters will be stocked. Typically, we refer these callers to our website to view last year’s report. Although the report is a year old, the waters, species, numbers, and timing of stockings is typically very similar from year to year. The biggest change will be timing, which typically may vary a week or two due to high spring flows, late spring thaw, and other unforeseen factors.

For example, stocking got off to a late start this season due to the delayed snow and ice melt, but the hatchery trucks are rolling and our three local hatcheries are quickly making up for lost time. In addition, although stocking site information is not provided in these reports, it should be noted that rivers are typically stocked at most major road crossings within the town listed.

The good news is MDIF&W staff is currently working towards a “real-time” stocking report for our “catchable” trout programs. Waters managed under a catchable trout program are typically stocked with legal-sized fish on waters that provide more marginal habitats (such as summer water quality limitations, competition and/or predation issues). Under catchable trout stocking programs we want to promote angler use and catch of recently stocked fish.

Other types of stocking programs designed to “grow out” stocked hatchery fish and produce better quality fisheries will not be included in the real time stocking report. We’ll keep you posted as to when this program goes live. In the meantime, we will likely report recent stocking events in this weekly report. For a list of waters stocked with spring yearling brook trout (9-11 inches) during the week of May 28th, please see our Web site at www.maine.gov/ifw.

Lastly, we wanted to point out to anglers that the Otter Ponds in Standish will be stocked on Thursday, May 1, and MDIF&W staff will be conducting a short-term census on these waters as part of a larger statewide project to evaluate our catchable trout programs.

Hope to see you on the water and good luck!

– James Pellerin, Assistant Regional Fishery Biologist, Gray

Region B – Shawmut Tailrace Fishery Report

At one time the tail water below Shawmut Dam on the Kennebec River was one of the most popular brown trout fisheries in the state. It was not that long ago when one could count 20 or more anglers during any summer evening downstream of the Shawmut Dam.

The tailrace area is easily accessible for wading anglers from both the Benton and Shawmut sides of the river. Two boat launches provide access to this portion of the river. One is located in downtown Fairfield in front of the Community Center. The other boat access site is an unimproved launch located in Shawmut just below the dam.

The popularity of the fishery grew out of an initial planting of brown trout in 1983. The intent of that stocking was to initiate and maintain a fishery for larger, older-aged brown trout, thus allowing the brown trout angler an opportunity to do battle with a big fish. In the years that followed, the river met those objectives. The browns flourished and some grew to several pounds.

At any one time there might be three- to five-year classes of fish living in the reach. Word spread through out the angling community and Shawmut gained its reputation as a quality fishery.

Prior to 2001, it was not uncommon to see many large brown trout sipping on the surface of the river, as mayfly or caddis hatches emerged from the bottom of the river. The evening light triggered the feeding activity, and darkness would only intensify a feeding frenzy on the surface. Many anglers would leave the river prior to nightfall, but those who fished into the wee hours were sometimes rewarded when large brown trout took their fly.

What has happened to this well-known brown trout fishery since then? Some recent history will tell the story.

In 1992, the Kennebec Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited requested a permit from the Department to stock the Shawmut tail water with spring yearling rainbow trout. The primary reason for stocking rainbow trout was to enhance the fishery and give anglers the opportunity to catch another salmonid that would not be as difficult to catch as the brown trout. The Department approved the permit and the TU chapter purchased 1,000 rainbow trout from a private hatchery and planted them below the dam in 1992. In 1995, the stocking of rainbow trout was increased to 2,000 to equal the number of brown trout being stocked.

The genetic strain of rainbow trout that were utilized from 1992 to 2000 didn’t perform well. In short, they didn’t show the potential to produce a significant recreational fishery compared to the brown trout in terms of both size and catch rate. Also, the rainbows did not show much of an ability to survive into their second year after stocking.

In 2001, the Department took over the rainbow trout stocking program with a different strain of rainbows called the Eagle Lake strain. This new strain would be utilized in an experimental performance comparison between rainbow trout and brown trout. Results from this report were compiled in: Rainbow Trout and Brown Trout Field Comparisons by James Pellerin, (Fisheries Final Report: Series No. 07-1). Other data has been obtained from voluntary angler booklets.

Longevity characteristics observed in voluntary angler data indicate that the Eagle Lake rainbow trout utilized in the study show better long-term survival (called ‘hold-over’) than did the private source strain. However, neither strain of rainbow held over as well as the brown trout. The rainbows did not contribute many large fish to the Shawmut fishery.

From 1993 to 2000, prior to the MDI&W stocking of rainbow trout, rainbows made up 27 percent of the total salmonid catch, compared to browns at 73 percent. In terms of larger fish, those 16 inches or greater, only 16 percent of the total rainbow trout caught exceeded 16 inches versus 41 percent of all brown trout caught.

From 2001 to the present the brown trout fishery has significantly decreased, with smaller and less brown trout being caught than in previous years. During the same time period and after the Department started stocking rainbow trout, rainbows made up 61 percent of the total salmonid catch whereas brown trout made up 39 percent.

Composition of the catch also has changed significantly. In the years prior to 2001, voluntary angler data shows the bulk of the catch was made up of brown trout. To view the changes, please view this fishing report on the Web site at www.maine.gov/ifw.
Essentially, we have lost a good proportion of our larger and older salmonids at Shawmut, both rainbows and browns. The loss in size quality in the brown trout fishery has been particularly striking. This decline in the brown trout fishery has generated some concerns regarding future management strategies at Shawmut.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has a policy of considering public comment on significant management proposals. As such, interested citizens and anglers are being asked to consider the following:

* Are anglers satisfied at the present time with the fisheries at Shawmut?

* Should MDIF&W take steps to restore the fishery to its pre-2001 condition?

* What management strategies do you think the MDIFW should take to manage this fishery?

A public meeting to discuss potential management strategies for Shawmut has been scheduled at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 30 at the IF&W Sidney office at 270 Lyons Road in Sidney. Your comments and concerns are welcome and can be e-mailed to Scott.Davis@Maine.gov and Robert.Vanriper@Maine.gov or mailed to the address above. Or bring them to the meeting!

– Scott Davis, Fisheries Specialist, Sidney

Region C — Downeast

The start of the hot spring fishing season is now! Most of the lakes in the Downeast region have all gone ice free in the last week and the trout and salmon are bending rods everywhere!

Trout ponds where the hot fishing is happening are as follows: Huntley Creek, Cutler; Simpson Pond, Roque Bluffs; Simmons Pond, Hancock; Pineo Pond, Deblois; West Pike Brook Pond, T 18 ED; Montegail Pond, Centerville; Salmon Pond, T 30 MD; Vining Lake, Cooper; East Monroe Pond, T 43 MD; Monroe Lake, T 43 MD; Duck Tail Pond, Amherst; Partridge Pond, Amherst; Fox Pond, T 10 SD; Little Tunk Pond, Sullivan; Young’s Pond, Otis; Lakewood Pond, Bar Harbor; Witch Hole Pond, Bar Harbor; Bubble Pond, Bar Harbor; Six-Mile Lake, Marshfield; andLong Pond, Great Pond Plt.

Good splake waters that are heating up are as follows: Peaked Mountain. Pond, Centerville; Fitts Pond, Clifton; Second Old Stream Lake, T 37 MD; Jacob-Buck Pond, Bucksport; Burntland Pond, T 35 MD; Long Lake, Marion; and Pleasant River Lake, Beddington.
Good salmon waters that I recommend are: Cathance Lake, Cooper; Long Pond, Southwest Harbor; Phillips Lake, Dedham; Brewer Lake, Orrington; Big Lake, T 27 ED; and Gardner’s Lake, East Machias.

West Grand and Pocumcus Lakes should be ice free by April 29 or 30.

Try your luck at these waters and I think you’ll be glad you did. Anglers are reporting good catches this spring with the waters heating up early with the warm day temperatures. Take advantage!

Enjoy being on the water, take a child fishing and be safe and wear your life jacket. Tight Lines!

– Greg Burr, Assistant Regional Fisheries Biologist, Jonesboro

Region D – Rangeley

Very soon after ice out you can expect the hatchery trucks to be visiting many of our lakes, ponds and rivers. The fish being stocked this spring are almost all of legal size, though a few waters have special regulations, so check your lawbook.

Here are the stockings to watch for in rivers: Brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout in the Androscoggin River; brook trout and rainbow trout in the Carrabassett River; brook trout and salmon in the Dead River (below Flagstaff Dam); brook trout in the South Branch of the Dead River; brook trout in the Ellis River and the West Branch of the Ellis; brook trout and brown trout in the Kennebec River; brook trout and brown trout in the Sandy River; brook trout in the Sunday River; brook trout and rainbow trout in the Swift River; and brook trout and brown trout in the Webb River.

In most of these waters, fish are scattered over the length of the river.

We’ll also be stocking a number of streams and brooks with brook trout: Muddy Brook, Industry; Temple Stream, Farmington; and Wilson Stream, Wilton.

The following kid-fishing waters will be stocked with brook trout: Aunt Hannah Brook, Dixfield; a section of the Carrabassett River; Haley Brook, Rangeley; several sections of the Kennebec River; Mill Stream, Embden; Pinnacle Pond, Kingfield; Tibbetts Pond, Concord; and a section of Wilson Stream, Wilton.

This year we also are adding a small pond behind the DHHS building, Rte. 150, Skowhegan, to the list of kid-fishing waters (access is off Maple Street). Many of these waters will be stocked twice, in May and in June.

And, of course, larger, catchable brook trout will be stocked in a number of lakes and ponds: Austin Pond, Chain of Ponds, Baker Pond (Solon), Black Brook Pond (Moxie Gore), Bugeye Pond, Caribou Bog (Chain of Ponds Twp), Clearwater Lake, Crowell Pond (New Sharon, Chesterville), Dodge Pond, Embden Lake, Grindstone Pond, Gull Pond, Haley Pond, Harvey Pond (Madrid), Jackson Pond (Concord Twp), Jim Pond, Long Pond (Township E), McIntire Pond (New Sharon), Moxie Pond (The Forks Plt), Otter Pond (Chain of Ponds Twp), Podunk Pond (Carthage), Porter Lake, Richardson Lakes, West Richardson Pond, Round Pond (Rangeley), Rowe Pond (Pleasant Ridge Twp), Saddleback Lake, Tea Pond, Toothaker Pond (Phillips), Tufts Pond (Kingfield), and Wilson Pond (Wilton).

We stock many other waters in the fall, with either the smaller fall fingerling fish or the larger fall yearling fish. And most of our salmon are stocked in the spring, but are not generally of legal size until they have grown a season or two. Nonetheless, the stockings listed above should provide lots of good fishing in many waters throughout western Maine.

– Forrest Bonney, Regional Fisheries Biologist, Rangeley Region

Region E – Moosehead Lake

It looks like spring may happen after all! Although there are still large piles of snow left in our parking area, open water can be found around the edges of some ponds and near the mouths of flowing water.

The Piscataquis River is still a little high but it should be fishable soon and the hatchery trucks won’t be far behind. The East and West Outlets would be a good bet for someone in the area looking for a place to wet a line. The East Outlet is running a low flow as Kennebec Water Power refills the big lake and the West Outlet has a good fishable flow all year.

We are still a week or more from the “smelt hatch” on most waters in the region. So, while the ice and snow continue their annual retreat, we can bring you up-to-date on a very busy and successful winter season and on some projects of interest that will take place this summer.

If you are fishing the upper Piscataquis River in Abbot this spring, don’t be alarmed by the strange contraptions floating in the channel. Fisheries biologists from the Bureau of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat (we used to call it the Atlantic Salmon Commission) will be conducting studies on Atlantic salmon in the river. These Rotary Screw Traps are designed to catch young salmon (smolts) as they drop out of the river and head to sea. The smolts will be captured and then released in an effort to estimate salmon production in the upper river.

In another study, consultants and staff from Florida Power and Light Energy (FPLE) will be conducting studies around Brassua Lake and the Moose River this summer as part of the relicensing of the Brassua Dam. One study of interest will involve evaluating the habitat improvement projects that were constructed when the power station was constructed. At that time, IF&W requested the dam owners to dig pools and place large boulders below the tailrace to hold adult salmon and trout to create fishing areas. A small island also was constructed on the north side of the river.

FPLE biologists have received a permit from the IF&W to capture and implant radio tags in several adult salmon and brook trout in the Moose River. They may be using several different techniques to capture the fish, including: angling, nets, and electrofishing. Tracking will continue throughout the summer and fall using stationary receivers and portable receivers on the water, on the ground, and in the air.

This will be a very interesting study that will not only tell us about the habitat improvement projects, but we will learn a lot about movement into and out of the river, how temperature, flow, and possibly smelt drift through the dam affect movement of the coldwater gamefish.

We will also gather some tracking data from around the lake to learn about the movements of these fish when they leave the river. This study dove-tails nicely with some brook trout work the IF&W will be conducting on Moosehead Lake in the next few years.
Many folks have asked us about the success of the new and very liberal bag limits on lake trout last winter. As you may know, lake trout have become very abundant in Moosehead Lake over the past 15 years or so. The smelt population crashed as a result of too many predators on this primary prey species for the lake, and salmon and lake trout growth suffered. We made several regulation changes during this period in an effort to reduce the lake trout population.

While we did make some progress in some years, we could not attain our fishery management goals for lake trout. In fact, two years ago, we began to see growth slip and catch rates increase; a sure sign that the lake trout population was on it’s way back up. We further liberalized the bag and size limits on lake trout starting last winter in an effort to get ahead of the oncoming problem and try to get the lake trout population into balance. We also worked with the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce to develop a fishing derby to target lake trout and bring more anglers to the big lake in the winter.

We have documented a decline in ice fishing use in the past several years and we needed to reverse that trend if the new regulations were to be successful. This would be a difficult task since ice fishing pressure, in general, has been declining statewide.

The harvest of lake trout 14-18 inches has typically ranged from 4,000 to 6,000 fish in the winter. Anglers also released many fish that they could have legally kept in this slot. We knew that we needed to exceed the historic harvest rates to get ahead of the burgeoning lake trout population.

The ice fishing derby was very successful. Not only did it give us a good jump start toward removing lake trout, it also created a lot of good publicity for the lake and the fishery goals. We registered just over 2,000 fish and brought hundreds of new anglers to the region that weekend. And they kept coming back for more.

Winter use has hovered between 10,000 and 12,000 angler-days for the past several years. This winter, angler use was estimated to be nearly 19,000 angler days. We estimated approximately 28,000 lake trout between 14-18 inches were removed last winter and an additional 2,000 fish less than 14 inches were harvested for a total of around 30,000 lake trout less than 18 inches. Catch rates for small lake trout remained high all winter, indicating that we still have some work to do, but this is a terrific start toward reaching our goals.

– Tim Obrey, Regional Fisheries Biologist, Moosehead Lake

Region F – Penobscot

Who would have guessed that Cold Stream Pond would be out by now? Early estimates from old timers around the lake gave May 1-5 as the most likely prospects for the lake to be ice free. In fact, the lake was out the morning of the April 24.

The couple of weeks of sunny, relatively hot weather in mid-April really did a number on the 30 inches of ice present on March 31.
Early reports from Cold Stream are sketchy, but I did hear of a couple of very nice, 4-pound-plus salmon taken the day following ice-out. No reports of togue or brook trout yet.

Other regional waters north of the Lincoln area will be a few more days. According to reliable reports, Schoodic Lake in Brownville should be out on Tuesday, April 29 . East Grand should be out by the weekend of May 3 or 4, and Millinocket and Pemadumcook also will be out this weekend. Pleasant Lake in Island Falls, Matagamon Lake and Scraggly Lake in T6R8 WELS and other water bodies in the far northern part of the region will be ice-free the following week, most likely.

Presently, high water is prevalent across the region as many of our smelt populations are staging before they run up lake tributaries to spawn. The West Branch Penobscot is just starting, as are a number of smaller lake populations throughout the southern part of Region F.

As the week progresses, we will be checking smelt runs across the region, as well as setting burlaps at some of the stronger runs to transfer smelt eggs to some smelt deficient waters.

May I suggest a couple of early season waters that are open to youngsters less than 16 years of age. At the top of the list would have to be Pickerel Pond in Twp 32 MD. We stock the pond with both spring yearlings (500 annually) and fall yearlings (300 annually), as well as a few brood fish each year to keep it interesting for the kids. The Maine Youth Fish and Game Association have an ongoing program for the benefit for area youngsters. For more information, go to http://www.maineyouthfishandgame.org/.

Other early season opportunities for youngsters only include Rocky Brook in Lincoln, Cold Stream in Enfield, Giles Pond in Patten, Johnny Mack Brook in Orono, Mattagodus Stream in Springfield and Rock Crusher Pond in Island Falls. Jerry Pond in Millinocket is open to all during the open water season (open to persons under 16 during the winter only) and offers all members of the family additional opportunity to hook the big one.

– Nels Kramer, Fisheries Biologist, Enfield

Region G – Aroostook County

Believe it or not, it looks like spring in the eastern areas of Aroostook County. Snow lingers in the woods and where piles of snow were deposited from winter plowing but the lawns and fields are mostly bear with green grass showing around the edges of roadways and buildings. What could have been catastrophic water levels were controlled by the lack of rain and hot weather with cool nights.

That said, rivers and brooks are running high and the lakes remain iced over. I do not anticipate any of the major lakes to be open this weekend but through next week leading up to the weekend of May 9, ice-outs should be progressing north. Presently, anglers have been fishing lakes in southern Aroostook at the mouths of tributaries and where it has pulled away from the shoreline enough to get a line in. As the boating season nears, please remember to wear your life jacket, as the water is extremely cold.

Travel in the North Maine Woods area west of Ashland is as you might expect, rough and muddy with frost holes. Roads that were not plowed may still be snow covered. We would ask that you please respect the industrial landowners who build and maintain these roads for commercial purposed and not go “mudding” on these roads with 4 wheel drive trucks. You wouldn’t want people rutting up your front lawn or back forty, as the case may be.

– David J. Basley, Regional Fishery Biologist, Ashland

Dear Fishermen and Fisherwomen;

I’d like to invite you to compete in the Upper Andro Two Fly Contest and Drift Boat Competition scheduled for June 12 and 13. This is the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance’s primary fund-raiser for the year. Our sponsors, Kittery Trading Post, L.L. Bean, the Orvis Company, Caddis and Cane, Sun Valley Sports, and Clackacraft have donated over $5,000 worth of prizes.

Information and registration is available on line at www.upperandro.com. The releases below give an overview of the events.

If you are a guide, invite two of your best sports to join you for the event and introduce them to the trout fishery on the Upper Andro. Did you know that Maine’s record rainbow trout was caught last June on the Upper Andro? If you are an avid angler but a mid-week 9 to 5’er, perhaps your employer would sponsor your team. We’d be happy to post any banners or posters from you company to give them recognition.

Many of our lodging members have special overnight rates. Just mention that you are competing in the Two Fly Contest to receive the rates. May we suggest The Bethel Inn-$133 per night for a double occupancy room including tax (800-654-0125) or The Bethel Hill B&B- $230 for 2 nights exclusive of tax or bring your friends and stay at the Village House sleeping 6 for $375 for 2 nights (207-824-2461). Information about other UAAA lodging and camping members is available at www.upperandro.com

The final day of registration is Wednesday, June 11 at Sun Valley Sports. Pick up your registration kit, rules, and barbecue coupon early so you can get out on the water at the crack of dawn. Any questions, give me a call at 207-824-7533.

Yours truly,

Rocky Freda
Sun Valley Sports
UAAA Director

Upper Andro Two Fly Contest

Set for June 12 and 13

The Upper Andro Anglers Alliance is sponsoring its Annual Two Fly Contest on June 12 and 13 in Bethel, Maine.

The Two Fly contest will test the skills of anglers to fly fish for the most and the largest of the three trout species, brown, rainbow and brook found in the Upper Androscoggin River from the New Hampshire border to Rumford.

Contestants may use only two flies during the event, which starts early Thursday morning and ends at noon on Friday. A fly is defined as made from natural or synthetic materials tied to a single pointed hook. No tandems or treble hooks are allowed. Teams of three including two anglers and a referee/oarsman must fish from an open boat-drift boat, row boat or raft. All fish must be released live.

Prizes include rods and fishing gear supplied by Kittery Trading Post, L.L. Bean, Caddis and Cane, Sun Valley Sports and the Orvis Company.

Official contest rules and a registration form are available on line at www.upperandro.com or by phoning 1-877-851-7533. The entry fee is $375 per team and includes an outdoor barbecue at the Bethel Inn. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Upper Andro Anglers Alliance.

Northeast Drift Boat Championship

The First Annual Northeast Drift Boat Championship will be held Friday afternoon, June 13 on the Upper Androscoggin River in Bethel Maine. Designed as a spectator event, the competition will test oarsmen’s skills at launching, navigating a course and rowing speed. Each drift boat must carry at least one angler, who must remain standing throughout the timed race. The launch will be from Bethel Outdoor Adventures on Route 2 and the finish line is at Davis Park in Bethel-a distance of a quarter mile.

Prizes include drift boat equipment provided by Clackacraft. A registration form is available on line at www.upperandro.com or by phoning 1-877-851-7533. The entry fee is $50 or is included in the Two-Fly Contest fee if the drift boat is competing in both events.

Tom Remington

Yesterday’s show was a live broadcast, part of an attempt to work out more of the “bugs” that seem to be affecting the show. That part of the effort was unsuccessful but I did end up with a recorded broadcast. All the information has been posted up at the Skinny Moose Radio home page along with an audio player so you can listen to the show. You can also download the audio if you chose and play it later.

Yesterday’s show includes a commentary from me about hunting ethics and the “bastardizing of the hunting ethic”. This includes why some people just have to legislate and control everything which ultimately steals our rights and freedoms as Americans.

Along with sharing with listeners about the growth and recent successes of the Black Bear Blog, I take a little time out to tell a funny story about Nancy Pelosi referencing Bible Scripture. You got to hear this one.

There’s also a bit of a treat at the very end of the show that I think most listeners will enjoy. So, follow this link for more information about the show and a chance to stream the audio for the latest podcast of Open Air With Tom Remington.

Tom Remington