I believe Les Claypool of Primus once said fishing was the most spiritual activity he had ever engaged in, and I concur. Unfortunately, I don't get the chance much anymore, but hitting a farm pond at dusk in spring or summer, slowly working a plastic worm with a Carolina rig, and engaging in some largemouth catch-and-release is probably about as close to heaven as a godless heathen such as myself can ever hope to get. That's why it warmed the cockles of my otherwise cold and callous heart when I read that the American Fly Fishing Trade Association, Trout Unlimited, the National Wildlife Federation, the Fishing Nerds...that's right, the Fishing Nerds...and many other organizations dedicated to preserving hunting and fishing and the lands and waterways that enable these pastimes all wrote President Obama endorsing and encouraging more action on climate change.
On behalf of the undersigned sportsmen conservation organizations, businesses, and millions of Americans who enjoy and depend on our wildlife and natural resources, we write to express our support for your common-sense efforts to address the threat of climate change. We especially appreciate your recognition that responding to climate change requires steps to reduce the carbon pollution that threatens fish and wildlife, as well as accelerated measures to support natural resources adaptation and enhance the resilience of fish and wildlife habitats.
It's difficult to say how any one species of game or fish will be affected by global warming. As with any dramatic change in climate, there will be winners and losers, surely, but if the WWF's Living Planet Report can serve as a guide, due to many man-made stressors including our emissions, things may not be looking up for my favorite bit of transcendental redneck recreation, freshwater angling.
Falling by 76 per cent, populations of freshwater species declined more rapidly than marine (39 per cent) and terrestrial (39 per cent) populations
By the way, dear blog readers, here's a rare glimpse of yours truly having a little luck trout fishing on a glacier lake way up in the Cascades of Washington state. In fact, the fishing was so good in this particular location (I caught something on just about every cast) that I started feeling somewhat sheepish and guilty, and put down the pole. The idea is to conserve natural resources, not consume every last available shred of them, right? ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment