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Fishiding Artificial Fish Habitat Installation Video

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Meet the gluttons that could save Claytor Lake from ‘hydrilla gorilla’

At  Claytor  Lake,  thousands  of  fish  have been  

brought  in  to  try  to  tame  an  invasive monster  weed.


A grass carp shares a tank with sprigs of hydrilla on the boat launch dock at Claytor Lake. Six thousand of the fish were released into the lake Thursday.

The sterile grass carp, delivered from Arkansas, are flushed into Claytor Lake on Thursday. Officials hope the fish will help control the hydrilla, which is estimated to cover about 10 percent of the lake.

The sterile grass carp, delivered from Arkansas, are flushed into Claytor Lake on Thursday. Officials hope the fish will help control the hydrilla, which is estimated to cover about 10 percent of the lake.

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CLAYTOR LAKE — Six thousand sterile grass carp were released in three areas of Claytor Lake early Thursday morning, drawing a crowd of onlookers, residents and wildlife specialists.

The fish eat hydrilla, a plant that covers an estimated 400 acres of the more than 4,000-acre lake. The monster vegetation has caused concern among homeowners, business owners and officials in Pulaski County.

John Copeland, fisheries biologist with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said officials hope this will help them start to get the hydrilla problem under control.

“At Claytor, it’s going to become a boating and navigation issue,” he said.

The lake water was just 56 degrees Thursday morning, an important consideration for transferring the fish from the hatchery. When the lake gets warmer, the fish can get stressed.

The plant-devouring carp average about 13 inches long. Thirty-four of the largest ones were tagged with radio transmitters for research purposes. The fish won’t erase the hydrilla completely but could help bring it down to a “dull roar,” said Lloyd Hipkins, an extension weed specialist with Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech.

The county budgeted $12,540 for the fish to be brought from Arkansas and distributed, with oversight by DGIF.

“A biological control like a grass carp lasts a long time and is cheaper than spraying,” Copeland said.

Although many people will be happy to see the plant go, there are others who are worried about losing it — mainly anglers who say that cutting back the hydrilla will hurt fishing habitats and that chemical sprays will kill fish.

Along with the carp, plans call for chemicals, specifically Komeen, to be sprayed on hydrilla in the lake this summer, paid for by a $50,000 grant from Appalachian Power Co.

A former professional fisherman and a businessman on the lake, Rock House Marina owner Mike Burchett can see both sides of the hydrilla debate.

Burchett is a member of the committee of Pulaski County officials, the citizens group Friends of Claytor Lake, business owners and wildlife experts that has been planning the most substantial collaborative effort to date to fight what they call the “hydrilla gorilla.”

For fishermen, it’s a bonus because, if it’s not too thick, hydrilla provides cover for fish, Burchett said. But left unattended, the plant can decrease oxygen in the lake and hurt native habitats.

The plant is often introduced into lakes by boaters who have picked it up in another lake, which is why education is important, Burchett said. Its tubers and seeds can also be transported by animals.

Hydrilla makes a good fish habitat for a few years but will cause more harm than good if left untreated, said Mike McLeod of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

Chemicals have been sprayed by private contractors hired by residents to treat hydrilla on Claytor Lake for three or four years, and “there are no records of direct cause and fish kills,” McLeod said.

Plans call for the use of Komeen, a contact herbicide. It contains copper, but the copper in the herbicide is biologically inactive, McLeod said.

It also kills the plant only where it makes contact, unlike a systemic herbicide, which goes throughout the plant.

“There’s really no reason to believe it’s going to hurt any fish,” Hipkins said.

For now, researchers from DGIF and the Virginia Tech department of fish and wildlife conservation will monitor the grass carp movement and eating habits in the lake.

The fish are made sterile in the hatchery — DGIF requires all non-native fish brought into Virginia waterways to be sterile to avoid invasive species being introduced, Copeland said.

In August and September, the plant’s peak growth times, specialists will study the plant growth to decide how many fish will be needed next year.

“They can’t put enough fish in there to take care of the problem the way it is, so what they’re trying to do is integrated management and kill a good portion of it,” Hipkins said. “If they can use the fish to maintain a very low level, then ultimately the business about treating with chemicals could go down year after year.”By Amy Matzke-Fawcett

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Ketchikan teacher reels students in art of fishing

Published: Friday, May 27, 2011 10:45 a.m. MDT

By Danelle Landis, Ketchikan Daily News

KETCHIKAN, Alaska — “We got to miss school and go fishing” Fawn Mountain Elementary School fourth-grader Asher Ilten yelled. He leaned against the railing of the Ketchikan School District’s F/V Jack Cotant while holding up his limp, fiercely spined rockfish.

Cheers flew as grinning kids, stuffed into yellow, red and blue lifejackets jostled to show off their catches of the day.

Fawn Mountain’s counselor, Norm Noggle, held a two-week after-school fishing workshop in April. He then took his 14 fourth- and fifth-graders for a five-hour fishing trip Thursday.

Ketchikan Charter School students gather around some to their catch, mostly rockfish and "red snappers" (yelloweye rockfish),at Clover Pass Resort on May 20, 2011,  in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Ketchican Daily News, AP Photo/Hall Anderson
Ketchikan Charter School students gather around some to their catch, mostly rockfish and “red snappers” (yelloweye rockfish),at Clover Pass Resort on May 20, 2011, in Ketchikan, Alaska.

This was the second year that Noggle has conducted the workshop and taken the kids fishing on the Cotant, he said.

“Last year, we were boarded by the Coast Guard,” he said. The students were worried, and had no idea what to expect.

The crewmen “handed out little chits for free ice cream, because they noticed all the kids had their lifejackets on,” Noggle said.

At Fawn Mountain, for one hour per day in the workshop, Noggle taught the students how to tie knots, cast, put line on reels, and identify fish species. He also taught them about Fish and Game regulations, fish habitat and fish-catching strategy.

Noggle brought in experts from the U.S. Coast Guard to teach the students about boat safety, and Fish and Game professionals who taught them about fish species, gave a pop quiz, then coached them through making a “mepps spinner” salmon lure.

He also took his group on a field trip to the Whitman Lake Hatchery, and students asked the staff questions they had created and rehearsed ahead of time.

He said he’d like to add a fly fishing course next year that would teach students about fishing etiquette, how to “read” the water, tie flies and how to cast.

Among schools offering educational fishing excursions is Point Higgins Elementary, where teacher Linnaea Troina will take her fifth graders out on Wednesday. Knudsen Cove Marina sponsors their fishing trip, she said, supplying boats, fuel, and guides.

Ketchikan Charter School teacher Greg Gass also headed up a fishing class this year. Instead of an after-school workshop, his was offered as a physical education elective.

He chuckled when he explained why, out of all the sixth-through-eighth graders who could have participated, only one eighth-grader was in the group of 12 on the fishing trip. Students in eighth grade were allowed to sign up for their choice of elective classes first, and most of them chose more traditional classes, like sports.

Gass laughed and said that the ones who opted out of the fishing class were seriously rethinking their choices when his group was gearing up for the fishing trip.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

State pulls Park grant

May 28, 2011 in City

Concerns over spawning habitat delayed project, allowing $530,000 award to expire
 

Christopher Anderson photoBuy this photo

Water rushes past old railroad bridge abutments near the Sandifur Memorial Bridge just west of downtown Spokane on Friday.
(Full-size photo)

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The future of a proposed white-water park in the Spokane River just downstream from downtown is in danger after state officials decided to pull a grant that was supposed to pay for nearly half the project.

Spokane park leaders have appealed the decision and hope to persuade the state Recreation and Conservation Funding Board to reverse the decision at a hearing on June 23.

“It’s all kind of in jeopardy,” said Tim Sanger, president of the board of Friends of the Falls, the nonprofit group that has led the effort to create the white-water park.

The project won the $530,000 grant in 2007. It was supposed to be used within four years, but plans for the project stalled in 2009 when then-City Planning Director Leroy Eadie ruled that concerns about the park’s effects on native redband trout were serious enough to require a study of the project’s environmental impact before a shoreline permit could be issued.

Eadie, who later was named park director, said those working on the park didn’t agree to pursue an environmental study until late last year. At the time, the city won a six-month extension for using the grant – until June 30. He said the city was about to award an $80,000 contract to begin work on the study when state officials warned this spring that the grant would get no further extensions because of the long delay.

If the state board agrees to a new extension, Eadie said he’ll move forward on the environmental study, which could provide recommendations to avoid harming spawning areas of native trout.

A study on redband trout in the Spokane River, released recently by Avista, indicated that there is a sizable spawning area near the proposed white-water park, said Rick Eichsteadt, the attorney for Spokane Riverkeeper, a nonprofit group that supports clean-up efforts and conservation.

Eichsteadt said the group believes the environmental study is needed but probably wouldn’t have a problem with a white-water park if recommendations to protect habitat are followed.

Sanger said Friends of the Falls is hopeful that the park could be constructed in ways that could improve the fish habitat.

“We’re really not interested in harming existing fish habitat,” Sanger said.

If the funding board’s decision is reversed, Eadie said the project would need a shoreline permit from the state Department of Ecology, hydraulic permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and an aquatics land lease from the Department of Natural Resources. The earliest construction could start is next summer.

Susan Zemek, spokeswoman for the Recreation and Conservation Office, said if the decision stands, the grant will be allocated to another project.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the industry leader and only science based, man made and artificial fish habitat, proven to provide all fish with cover they prefer to prosper.

Fishers hooked on habitat

Fishers hooked on habitat
NSW State Government

More than 60 recreational fishers met with landholders, scientists and natural resource managers to talk about all things related to fish habitat at the successful Fishers for Fish Habitat Forum 2011, held in Tamworth last week.

‘The Forum provided an unparalleled opportunity for fishers from across NSW to learn more about the latest research into fish habitat and to share their stories about efforts to rehabilitate habitat and make more fish,’ said Craig Copeland, Conservation Action Unit Manager with NSW Department of Primary Industries, in chargeof the Forum.

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‘Recreational fishers assessed the Forum as a major success and plans are now underway by many fishers to fix some fish habitat in their local area over the coming year.’

President of the NSW Recreational Fishing Alliance, Malcolm Poole said recreational fishers at all levels were inspired by speakers at the Forum who explained what fishers could and should be doing to create more fish naturally for the future.

Ecofishers President, Ken Thurlow said the Forum was ‘a superb opportunity to network with recreational fishers from around NSW and discuss the key role of fish habitat in supporting our fisheries.’

President of the NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers, Rodney Tonkin said a highlight was Dr Martin O’Grady’s presentations on issues affecting fish habitat in Ireland and how these were being addressed.

As well as being a mad keen fisher himself, Dr O’Grady challenged fishers to seriously look at habitat repair as a cost-effective way of improving fish numbers.

Mr Copeland said the Forum included several site visits, as well as the presentations from senior scientists and managers on the key importance of habitat in supporting fish populations.

‘One of these visits was to the defunct Jewry Street weir in Tamworth itself,’ he said.

‘Participants also enjoyed a demonstration of long-stem tree planting, hearing about the fish habitat work being done by local landholders and by the children at Calrossy School.’

Malcolm Poole said the Recreational Fishing Alliance thoroughly recommends all anglers get involved and take time out to attend next year’s Forum.

‘In the mean time, why not check out the Fish Habitat Network website for more info right now,’ he said.

This was the third Annual Fishers for Fish Habitat Forum and was organised using funds from the NSW Recreational Fishing Trust.

Fish Habitat Forum looks to future

Fish Habitat Forum looks to future

30 May 2011

 

LAST week’s Fishers for Fish Habitat Forum held in Tamworth saw more than 60 recreational fishos join forces with landholders, scientists and natural resource managers to discuss ways to improve fish habitat.

“The Forum provided an unparalleled opportunity for fishers from across NSW to learn
more about the latest research into fish habitat and to share their stories about efforts to
rehabilitate habitat and make more fish,” said Craig Copeland, Conservation Action Unit
Manager with NSW Department of Primary Industries, organisers of the Forum.

“Recreational fishers assessed the Forum as a major success and plans are now
underway by many fishers to fix some fish habitat in their local area over the coming year.”

President of the NSW Recreational Fishing Alliance, Malcolm Poole said recreational
fishers at all levels were inspired by speakers at the Forum who explained what fishers
could and should be doing to create more fish naturally for the future.

Ecofishers President, Ken Thurlow said the Forum was “a superb opportunity to network
with recreational fishers from around NSW and discuss the key role of fish habitat in
supporting our fisheries.”

President of the NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers, Rodney Tonkin said a highlight was
Dr Martin O’Grady’s presentations on issues affecting fish habitat in Ireland and how these
were being addressed.
As well as being a mad keen fisher himself, Dr O’Grady challenged fishers to seriously
look at habitat repair as a cost-effective way of improving fish numbers.

Forum participants were taken on several site visits and received presentations from scientists and managers on the importance of fish habitat. They also saw a demonstration of long-stem tree planting and heard about fish habitat work being done by local landholders and school children.

Malcolm Poole said the Recreational Fishing Alliance thoroughly recommends all anglers
get involved and take time out to attend next year’s Forum.

Fish habitat forum
More information: http://www.fishhabitatnetwork.com.au/

 

Hook, line and sinker

Hook, line and sinker

Salmon fishermen take issue with a lawsuit to halt the 2011 fishing season
By Alastair Bland
More stories by this author…
This article was published on 05.26.11.

 

Bill Divens caught this beauty, a chinook (king) salmon, on the Rogue River in Gold Beach, Ore., this past September. The Red Bluff-based fishing guide is looking forward to hitting the Sacramento River this year. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL DIVENS
Bait it up: A commercial ocean salmon season opened May 1 and a recreational river season for chinook salmon is scheduled to begin on July 16. For more info, visitwww.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp.

Mike Bogue saw most of his income vanish in 2008. That was the year that officials closed California’s ocean and river salmon seasons in response to a dramatic decline in fish populations, and Bogue—a sport-fishing guide in Redding—lost his main livelihood.

To make ends meet, he has been taking clients catch-and-release fishing for wild rainbow trout on the Sacramento River.

But the Sacramento’s chinook salmon seem to be staging a comeback. A successful return of spawners showed last fall, and biologists believe large numbers of fish are now holding in coastal waters and will move upstream to spawn in the fall. Based on such estimates, on May 1 federal officials opened the first full-length commercial ocean salmon season since 2007.

Five days later, a group of water agencies in the San Joaquin Valley sued to stop it.

The lawsuit, filed on May 5 against the federal government by a group of 22 water and irrigation districts called the San Joaquin River Group Authority, makes the case that resumed ocean fishing could have an adverse effect on salmon numbers, especially the federally threatened spring-run chinook. If fishing does dent their numbers, the plaintiffs say, officials might impose new restrictions on the pumping of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to protect the salmon. Many farmers who gain their livelihoods from water removed from the delta via two large pumps near Tracy would suffer.

Ken Petruzzelli, a Chico attorney representing the plaintiffs, sent an e-mail on April 20 to the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the National Marine Fisheries Service, both defendants in the case, that spells out the concerns of the plaintiffs.

“The [San Joaquin River Group Authority’s] member agencies have no wish to give up water … to mitigate for ocean fishing,” Petruzzelli wrote.

Bogue, who has lost 80 percent of his income since sport fishing for salmon was largely closed in 2008, notes the insincerity of the lawsuit. “They don’t want to see the salmon go on the endangered species list, but not because they care about the fish,” he said. “They want to keep their water, because water is money.”

Fishermen statewide have lashed back in response to the lawsuit, alleging it was water diversions at the delta’s two large pumping facilities that damaged fish habitat and caused the Sacramento River’s fall-run chinook salmon to collapse in the first place.

Another local fishing guide, Bill Divens in Red Bluff, thinks the lawsuit is an elaborate public-relations maneuver to divert attention from the effects that water pumping has had on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers’ ecosystems.

“It’s meant to distract people from the real problems affecting the rivers,” said Divens, who still takes customers trout fishing on Shasta Lake but has otherwise moved his guide service to Oregon’s Rogue River. “The water agencies are just saying it’s not their fault that the salmon almost disappeared. First they said it was striped bass. Now they’re blaming commercial fishermen. Next they’ll say it’s the yellow-legged frog’s fault.”

Allen Short, the coordinator of the San Joaquin River Group Authority, believes that salmon runs crashed several years ago due in part to overfishing. Fish numbers, according to biologists, now seem to be on the upswing, and Short believes this is a direct result of three consecutive years without substantial fishing seasons. Short has suggested delaying fishing for another year to further help the runs.

But Michael O’Farrell, a research scientist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, says overfishing has not been a problem for California’s salmon populations. He recently helped produce a report in which a team of biologists determined that overfishing in 2007 did not play a role in the decline of salmon numbers, which hit their lowest recorded levels in 2009.

O’Farrell added that salmon-season limits and regulations are rewritten every year, and he says the salmon fishery is among the most carefully regulated fisheries on the West Coast. Measures like minimum size limits and the season schedule, he says, are designed to minimize angler contact with the Sacramento’s imperiled salmon runs.

Officials entirely banned fishing after spawning returns of the fall-run chinook took a nosedive about four years ago. Many fishermen even welcomed the closures while demanding restrictions on water pumping in the delta to improve spawning and smolt-rearing habitat.

But a fourth year of unemployment could sink many commercial fishermen into bankruptcy, says Mike Hudson, a commercial salmon fisherman in Berkeley.

“We’ve been fishing for other things, and a few pounds of rockfish or black cod might keep the boat running and food on the table, but it’s nothing to make real money off of,” Hudson said. “If I was forced to quit fishing now after getting my boat all ready, I’d be totally busted.”

Peter Moyle, a UC Davis fisheries biologist, says that salmon populations—especially small ones—can be affected by overfishing. But the Sacramento’s fall run, he says, is produced largely by the work of hatcheries. Such runs, Moyle says, are very resilient.

“You can catch 75 or 80 percent of a hatchery population as long as just a few fish are allowed to get back to the hatcheries,” he said.

Moyle is one of many experts who believe that problems in the rivers where salmon spawn and where the juveniles must spend the first months of their lives caused the near-disappearance of salmon. Indeed, the delta’s two large pumps removed record-high levels of water between 2003 and 2006. In the years that followed, the fall-run chinook salmon population plunged; nearly 800,000 adult fish returned to spawn in 2002; just 39,000 did so in 2009.

Now, the fish may be rebounding. Last fall, 163,000 salmon returned to the Sacramento to spawn. Officials had incorrectly predicted a much higher return, however, and many people have grown skeptical of biologists’ abundance estimates. Still, the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s estimate that approximately a million salmon, mostly from the Sacramento’s fall run, are now holding in coastal waters has fishermen hopeful that the runs may be returning.

The plaintiffs in the San Joaquin River Group Authority’s lawsuit, which is now pending in a U.S. District Court in Fresno, say that salmon fishing violates the federal laws that protect imperiled fish populations and will hamper the task of rebuilding the runs.

In the very midst of such accusations, the Center for Biological Diversity reported last month that the delta’s two major pumps—which provide for farmland and urban development to the south—have killed more than 10,000 juvenile spring-run chinook this year, though a federal official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told this reporter that many of the dead salmon may have been fall-run fish.

Furthering the drama, San Joaquin Valley Republicans introduced congressional legislation on May 11 that proposes to exempt these very pumps from fish-protecting regulations. If such maneuvers win out, and if river management policies are not improved, the rebounding salmon population could easily crash again, warns Dick Pool, president of the Bay Area conservation group Water4Fish.

“Shutting down the season is not the way to bring these fish back,” said Pool, who considers the lawsuit a waste of time, resources and taxpayer money. “It’s the health of the river that matters. If the river conditions don’t change, these salmon could still head to extinction.”

 

Enviro groups, NID optimistic about higher stream flows

By Trina Kleist

Staff Writer

Fish would benefit from an effort by water district officials and environmentalists to increase the amount of water flowing in some waterways. 

And both sides appeared optimistic about their prospects during a public hearing before the Nevada Irrigation District board on Wednesday.

The negotiations come as NID applies for state licenses on 10 water right permits it holds for the district’s distribution system. Directors voted unanimously to continue those talks for up to three months, while also approving a report that concludes the licensing would have no environmental impact.

Groups working with NID on the issue and represented by Foothills Water Network include American Rivers, based in Nevada City, the Sierra Club and California Department of Fish and Game.

They are asking for more water in Deer Creek below Lower Scotts Flat Reservoir; in Bear River downstream from Combie Reservoir, where it crosses Highway 49; and in Coon Creek, the next watershed south of Bear River, in northwestern Placer County.

All three host or could host trout. Coon Creek has excellent fish habitat and flows through Spears Ranch Regional Park, said Northern California/Nevada Conservation Chairman Allan Eberhart of the Sierra Club, with an office in Grass Valley.

Group members also are asking for more water in Auburn Ravine, the next watershed south of Coon Creek. That waterway has seen steelhead and salmon, and environmentalists are looking for ways to help fish get around barriers in the waterway.

More studies are needed to determine how much water in each waterway is needed, environmentalists said.

An agreement on the matter would allow most of the groups that have protested the district’s water licensing application to drop their protests, said Chris Shutes of California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.

“There are costs associated with what we’re asking NID to do,” Eberhart said. NID potentially could recover those costs by selling that water downstream or “banking” the water for environmental improvement to the Sacramento-San Joaquin river delta, Eberhart said.

Foothills Water Network coordinator Julie Leimbach praised district officials for working with environmental groups “in good faith.” She promised no surprises would pop up during the coming discussions.

She also will provide a briefing paper on the groups’ interests. Negotiations would lead to “a plan in place for targeted studies to answer any data needs, and a plan for implementation,” Leimbach vowed.

The Department of Fish and Game also supports the strategy, said environmental scientist and Water Rights Coordinator Lauren Dailey.

By approving the environmental document while negotiations continue, the district is protecting itself from other groups that could file a new protest, NID lawyer Jeffrey Meith said.

The strategy can help NID avoid the financial and time costs of court challenges to the environmental documents, Division 5 Director Nick Wilcox said.

Staff from the state’s licensing agency, the Water Resources Control Board, also support this route, Eberhart added.

 

A $76 billion economic force.Hunters andAnglers: chapt #1

Chapter #1

A force as big as all outdoors:

Meals: $165  Fishing license: $30   New boat and trailer:  $52,000   ATV: $6,000

Motel: $69.95 x 5 nights   Boat registration: $60   Hunting license: $50   Gas: $75

Two weeks’ groceries: $300  GPS and walkie-talkies: $295    Gas $115

Polarized sunglasses: $90  Fish finder: $360   Boat winterization: $300

New rod and reel: $295   Flowers for my wife for letting me go fishing: $45

New rifle: $785   Cabin: $25,000  Property tax: $4,200  Hunting land : $115,000

Chain saw: $189     Trolling motor: $280    New boots and coat: $325

Taxidermy (with any luck): $450

A  dollar here .  A hundred dollars there .   It adds up to more than you might think.

America’s  34 million hunters and anglers are an  economic  powerhouse , driving  the  economy.  They’re  passionate about their pastimes and  they  spend passionately too.

Multiply individual  spending by those many millions of  people , and  you’re  talking  a major  force in our economy, through  booms as well as  recessions .  They directly  support 1.6 million jobs .  They  spend more than a billion dollars  just  on  licenses,  stamps ,  tags   and  permits, and  they generate  $25 bi l l ion a year in  federal , state and local  taxes .

By  any  measure , hunters and  anglers are among  the most  prominent  and  influential of all demographic groups. Hunters and  anglers  support  twice as  many  jobs  as  the combined  civillian  payrolls of  the Army, Marine Corps , Navy and  Ai r Force .

$208 million a day. $1.5 billion per week.  Annually hunters and anglers  spend  $9 billion to  lease and purchase land for their sports . That’s  enough  to purchase  27,000  new homes or rural  acreage larger  than  the states of  Rhode Island  and Delaware  combined.

No mortgage crunch here. Without  hunters and anglers, our economy would be a lot   smaller. $76 billion smaller, in fact. That’s how much they spend  each  year on their pass ion for the outdoors.  If a single corporation grossed as much as hunters and anglers   spend,  it would be among America’s  20  largest ,  ahead of  Target , Costco and AT&T.  Buthunters’  and  anglers ’  influence  goes   even  further.  They  create an economic “ r ipple effect “.  They keep people working: not  just   in  typical  hunting and  fishing  jobs ,  but also in ga s stations,  retail , restaurants  and hotels  throughout  every  state and  congressional  district of  the  USA.

There  are  other  numbers ,  too.  For   instance ,  Americans  spend more   time  hunting and  fishing  each  year  than days  spent running  the Federal  government   (737 mi l l ion days vs . 486 mi l l ion) . Together, hunters and anglers are a significant voting bloc. In fact, their voting potential was 31% of all votes cast in the 2004 presidential election. Eighty percent of sportsmen are “likely voters,” far more than the national average. They can change the tide of elections. And, as you might guess, they tend to favor pro-sporting candidates.

$8.6 million an hour. Spending by hunters  and anglers  is  more than the revenues of  Microsoft , Google, eBay and Yahoo—combined                                 (76 billion vs . 73.6 billion)

Higher earnings than high-tech. (34  MILLION VS . 27  MILLION ) More  people  hunt and fish  than watch the  nightly newscasts of  the three major  networks—ABC,  CBS, and  NBC.  Breaking news.  Hunting  and fishing  Americans  out  number motor- sport  fans  by more  than 2 to 1.   In  fact ,  they could  fill  every NASCAR  track 13  t imes over.

Racing ahead. If  the $76 billion that  sportsmen  spend on hunting and  fishing were the Gross Domestic Product of  a country,  sportsmen as a nation would rank 57 out of  181 countries .

On  lodging  alone,  hunters spend more than the annual  revenues of  Comfort  Inn, Comfort  Suites, Quality Inn,  EconoLodge,  Rodeway  Inn and Sleep  Inn  combined. Sleep on it.

 

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