Proposed changes to NJ fish and game council

[Ledge Fever]

Two north Jersey Legislators Senator Ellen Karcher and Assem. Mike Panter have proposed a change to the NJ fish and Game Council which is comprised of 11 members, six of whom are appointed on the recommendation of the Federation of Sportsmen, three of whom must be farmers. Under the proposed change the council would be comprised of 7 members appointed by the governor, two of which will be farmers.

These two are clearly taking up the fight for the anti's and attempting to back door us out of our rights as hunters and fisherman. Based on the Governors lack of balls in caving in to the anti's and cancelling the north Jersey Bear hunt which is clearly the only answer to controlling the population, I for one dont want to see him or any other Governor in charge of appointing the entire council. These two are claiming they want the council to encourage "eco-tourism" and "non-lethal alternatives for dealing with wildlife conflicts." Sounds like a clear anti hunting and fishing message to me.

There was a rally last night in Gloucester County in which sportmens clubs met with Senator Stephen Sweeney and Nick Asselta who both say they will fight to kill the bill. I attached a link to find your state senators and encourage you to shoot a quick email opposing these changes. Please forward this to your fishing and hunting clubs to try and rally support to stop this change from occurring.
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/legsearch.asp

[roadkill]

Ellen Karcher had a TV ad on this morning over a New York station. That's big bucks but also means she is up for re-election. How about a rally at her house in front of the TV cameras?

[BIGGESTJACK]

Remember When You Send An E-mail To A Politician And They Send Back Thanks For Bringing This To My Attention--that Is Lip Service--but Enough E-mails Will Start To Scare Them.

[beber]

would some one more informed on this issue be willing to draft and post a letter we can use as a template to email our reps? I am not sure I fully understand the issue at hand.

[Ledge Fever]

Beber,
Here is a copy of the letter I sent to my legistators and those in Cape May county, as well as, Ellen Karcher and Mike Panter. I also included at the bottom some information copied directly from the fish and game council web page.

"I am writing to express my contempt for the Bill created by Ellen Karcher and Mike Panter which seeks to change the make-up of the fish and game council. This council is currently made up of political appointees and members chosen by the federation of sportsmen which must include 3 farmers. This current system has worked for many years and provides a fair representation of all interested parties and their view points on the council.
The requested changes proposed in the Bill is a clear attempt to remove the voice of the sportsmen and the people from the decisions effecting our hunting fishing heritage. The new proposal to allow for 7 members appointed by the governor only two of which need be farmers is a disgraceful, backdoor attempt by the anti-hunting and fishing lobby to erode our rights to fish, hunt and have input in important decisions that effect our sport. The bill which is too "seek out new opportunities for eco-tourism and find non-lethal means to manage wildlife conflicts" is an obvious message to all that they wish to eliminate hunting and fishing. It is clear that our current governor has no spine when it comes to dealing with the anti-hunting lobby as he quickly caved in and cancelled a much needed bear hunt to explore junk science techniques such as sterilization etc. I have no confindence in his ability to fairly appoint fair and reasonable members to the fish and game council. In a time of alleged corruption, out of control taxes and an overreaching goverment it seems foolish to vote for more centralization and control in the governers office.
I have been speaking with many fellow sportsmen both fisherman and hunters alike in many online forums and have found great support for squashing this bill. All have been encouraged to email their legislators and be prepared to vote accordingly.
I am therefor requesting you oppose this legislation and allow the fish and game council to remain composed of a fair cross section of members. "
Thank you........


History
The Fish and Game Council was created by Law in 1945 (N.J.S.A.13:1B-24) and succeeded the former Board of Fish and Game Commissioners. The Fish and Game Council was transferred to the Department of Conservation in 1948 and its powers were to be "exercised and performed through the Division of Fish and Game in the department." The Division of Fish and Game was placed under the supervision of a director who was given the power to "administer the work of such Division under the direction and supervision of the commissioner." The commissioner in turn was charged by the legislature with the responsibility for the administration of the work of the department, to appoint and remove officers and other personnel and to generally perform all of the executive functions necessary to administer the department.
Composition This law established the composition of the Council as follows: three members of council shall be farmers, recommended to the Governor for appointment by the agricultural convention; six members shall be sportsmen, recommended to the Governor for appointment by the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs (http://www.njsfsc.org/); and two members shall be commercial fishermen. One farmer representative and two sportsmen representatives in the council shall be chosen from among residents of any of the following counties - Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex and Warren; one farmer representative and two sportsmen representatives in the council shall be chosen from among residents of any of the following counties - Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset and Union; and one farmer representative and two sportsmen representatives shall be chosen from among residents of any of the following counties - Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem. With the creation of the Marine Fisheries Council (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/councils.htm#marine) in 1979, the commercial fishing representatives were replaced on the Fish and Game Council with the Chairman of the Endangered and Nongame Species Advisory Committee (http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/councils.htm#ens) and a public member "knowledgeable in land use management and soil conservation practices.

"The Fish and Game Council is invested with certain regulatory powers aimed at protecting and developing an adequate supply of fish and game for recreational and commercial purposes. These powers are expressed primarily by the Council's determinations as to when and where in the State hunting and fishing shall take place, and which freshwater fish, game birds, game animals, and fur bearing animals may be taken and in what numbers. The wildlife thus regulated is those animals which are the focus of the sports of hunting and fishing. In addition, the Council supervises a program of wildlife propagation, the expenses of which are supported by fees for hunting and fishing licenses paid for by sportsmen and commercial fishermen.

I hope this helps and shows the importance of the members on this board.

[Michaelc]

Somehting I have recently learned when sending letters. If you are a registered voter in the legislators district, it gets seperate consideration. If you are a registered voter in that legislators party, that gets even more consideration. Be sure to let them know that you are registered to vote and that you are not going to vote for them. And be sure to mention that you are going to work hard to switch 10 other voters. Put this in your letters. They need to know that we can organize a grassroots movement and are willing to follow thru on it. They get ten emails indicating they are going to lose 10 votes, they will start taking notice. They get a hundred saying they are going to lose 10 votes and they will start to wrry about their committments.

[O'Man]

I did not realize there were multiple threads on this, but here is my post from the one in the Delaware Bay forum. Please feel free to use the cut & paste for your email. :)

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Thanks for the info. One voice from central NJ has contacted his legislators.

Please feel free to copy & paste or edit my quick note & email to your legislators at the above link. It only takes a moment.

This is exactly the kind of thing you cannot just let them pass. Things in this state are getting so restrictive.

By the way, I heard on the radio that Ellen Kartcher is a farmer, or at least she and her MD husband take the farm tax exemption because they grow & sell some (I think the number was 12 or 17) Christmas trees every year. Oh, and now they planted some lavender too, so you know they are hard-working farmers:rolleyes:


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Dear Legislators,

I have heard a rumor that there have been changes to the NJ Fish & Game Council proposed by Senator Ellen Karcher and Assemblyman Mike Panter. Under this proposed change, the council would be comprised of 7 members, two of whom would be farmers, appointed by the governor. The current NJ fish and Game Council is comprised of 11 members, six of whom are appointed on the recommendation of the Federation of Sportsmen, three of whom must be farmers, represents the public's interests and rights in a more fair and democratic manner. In these days with headlines about political corruption, mismanagement of the treasury and the continual erosion of the public’s rights and freedoms, the last thing our state needs is more power and authority concentrated in this Governor's office.

Thank you,

[Billy A]

Everyone should look into making a donation to http://www.njoutdooralliance.org/index.html

The mission of the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance is to advance and defend hunting, fishing, and trapping in New Jersey. We will enhance and protect New Jersey’s outdoor heritage. The N.J.O.A. will unite and mobilize outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen to further the practice of scientific management of fish and wildlife. We will guard against legal and legislative assaults on hunting, fishing, and trapping. The N.J.O.A. will support those legislators, and the advancement of legislation, that endorse or promote the outdoor experience.

[MarkMartinFan]

Karcher's TV spot was about her passing legislation on ethics. What a friggin hypocrite. :mad:

[BLADE RUNNER]

I will second what Billy A says, support the New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, they are your voice in the inside of the Trenton politcal world. They need your finacially support as well as your word. The anti-hunting/fishing group is very well organized, very well funded and to date they have a step up on us, the hunting and fishing community, with both bills already introduced. Both Karcher and Panter are financially supported by the anti's, and it seems that no action on either of the bills they support will be done until after November, by then it will be too late for us to do anything about it. We need to get these two voted out of office. So get out, speak up to your local representation, tell them your concerns and support them with your vote and your money if they are going to support our cause. If they are not, then put your vote and money in other places. The New Jersey Outdoor Alliance rally the other night in Mullica Hill was outstanding and there is another one scheduled for Monmouth County later this month. We all need to support this group, they are you voice inside the politcal world in New Jersey.

[FIN-ALLYCC25]

Senator Ellen Karcher and Assem. Mike Panter are both up for re-election this year. People on here in thier districts need to vote them out. They are incumbent politicians, time to get rid of them. Look at the past bills they have sponsored and you'll see they have their own agenda. Ellen Karcher also skirts around the property taxes by selling 6 pine trees and claims she has a Christmas tree farm.......New Jerseyans need to wake up and realize it's time to get out and vote. Get rid of the corrupt politicians out there. From the top(Corzine) down when they are up for re-election, get rid of them. There should be no such thing as career politicians. It's time for term limits and getting rid of pensions for public officials.

[egghead]

Lets face it. The NJ outdoor alliance is for hunters by hunters. Nothing wrong with that but they will not even address the the MPA bill that will ban saltwater fishing in large areas.

[Fishin' Finn]

I read somewhere that Karcher and Panter are vegans. They both sponsored legislation on banning trans-fats. These elitist politicians believe that the population is stupid, and they must protect us from ourselves. What arrogance!

Now they want change the composition of the F&WC. Karcher receives funding from animal rights groups. Does it appear that there is an agenda here that she wants to impose on hunters and fisherman, because they kill fish and animals?

I find it interesting that in today's Asbury Park Press talks about a move by animal rights groups to outlaw farming practices that have been used by generations of farmers.

I find it amazing that these clowns believe that animals have more rights than people.

At every turn they try to take away your rights, piece by piece. Vote these bums out, your liberty is at stake!

[SWisH]

This is the third forum that I have found legislative matters discussed in today. How about a forum just for this topic so that we can find, read and provide input on all of this very important stuff? This stuff is so important that we should not have to hunt for it.

[TrentonMakes]

Just got an e-mail from linda greentsein about this,! outta 3,not bad considerin i'm dealin with politicians.


Dear Joseph,

I initially signed on as a co-sponsor to A3275 because it was presented
to me as a non-lethal alternative to the bear hunt, which I have
historically opposed.

However, I have subsequently learned the concerns of groups and
individuals who fear that, if passed, A3275 will create a board that has
the potential to silence the opinions of hunters, fisherman and farmers.
As such, I have reassessed my co-sponsorship and I decided to remove my
name from the legislation at the earliest possible date, which will be
in November.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on this
legislation. If you should have further questions on the bill or any
other State matter of concern to you, please do not hesitate to contact
my office.

Sincerely,
Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein, 14th Legislative District

Also,mr,baroni sent a letter stating he is to vote NO on this issue,so its 2 outta 3,with pete inverso the only one to yet respond to my letter.
I voted for him too!!