Save Dale Hollow NFH

[pgail66]

Dale Hollow NFH is facing steep budget cuts that could end in its closure or a two-thirds production cut in fish that would leave Tennessee 960,000 to 1.3 million fish short per year depending on how U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) administers these cuts. We can help avoid this funding dilemma, however, by contacting our U.S. House Representative and two U.S. Senators: Alexander and Corker and letting them know we want a funding solution set for Dale Hollow NFH for the sake of the Tennessee sport fishing industry and all the economic activity it produces.

The President's proposed, FY 2012 budget cuts $6.28 million from the National Fish Hatchery System for what is called "mitigation" activities that would eliminate or substantially reduce production at nine different hatcheries across the country; six in the southeast; and two in Tennessee: Dale Hollow and Erwin. According to FWS documents, these activities will be cut unless full reimbursements are negotiated from responsible parties.

In Tennessee, the responsible parties are U.S. Army Core of Engineers (COE) and TVA. COE has proposed to pay 80% of the sought reimbursement for all the hatcheries involved for FY 2012. TVA has not agreed to pay any. Dale Hollow's production is over 90% mitigation and about 60% TVA mitigation, so, if the cuts come down as they are now lined up, Dale Hollow NFH faces either closure or about a two-thirds cut in funding. The former would leave Tennessee short the entire 1.3-1.4 million currently produced for Tennessee. The latter would leave Tennessee short around 960,000 fish; but the loss in TVA waters would be devastating, since no fish would be produced by Dale Hollow for those waters.

Dale Hollow Fish wind up in seven out of nine congressional districts in Tennessee, including Roe, Fleischmann, Duncan, Desjarlais, Black, Blackburn, and Cooper; so, chances are, the Congressperson in your district receive fish and the economic benefit of those fish from Dale Hollow NFH. Of course, our two senators should be interested as well that Tennessee keeps a vibrant fishing industry for the economic output it creates.

Please call your three representatives as soon as possible to get pressure on the three parties to resolve this funding issue.

[pgail66]

It's easy to voice your support for TN fishing. You can call or write or simply email both U.S. Senators. Just click and start typing:

http://corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe
http://alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email

Find your, specific House Rep. Click and Type:

http://roe.house.gov/Contact/
https://desjarlais.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
http://duncan.house.gov/services/zip-auth.shtml
https://fleischmann.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
http://cooper.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=117&Itemid=61
https://black.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
http://blackburn.house.gov/contactform/

[pgail66]

The seven districts represented by the Congressman listed below all receive fish from Dale Hollow NFH. Only two districts in west TN do not receive Dale Hollow Fish.

[pgail66]

Our Friends Group has turned this thing around in the Hatcheries district. Rep. Black called the Hatchery manager and met with him, the County Mayor, the Chamber of Commerce leader and others. She now understands the issue and supports a solution (I hope) but the other Congressmen need to know, because it will impact their districts as well, if the Hatchery loses funding. That's why we're reaching out to fishermen all over the state

You can call or write. If you want to email, just go to the links below and begin filling out the short form and type your message. Your message can be as simple as:

Your House Rep: Please support a full funding solution for Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery, so that our district keeps all the stocked fish produced by that hatchery.

Senator: Please support a full funding solution for Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery, so that Tennessee keeps over a million stocked fish per year in its waters.

If you don't know your House Rep, go here. You need your zip code and four-digit extension. https://writerep.hou...p/welcome.shtml

If you don't know your four-digit extension, go here: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

[pgail66]

If you would like to join the friends group, Friends of the Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery, send me an email, and I'll send you updates on this issue as they occur. You don't have to do anything to join the group except send the email, but you are welcome to work as hard as you want to help spread the information to the public, state officials, and Congress.
faulkner.pgail@yahoo.com

There are two solutions to this funding issue.
(1) Congress can vote to put the base funding back in for mitigation activities. This would not necessarily mean a gov't spending increase. Congress can force FWS to take money out of other, planned programs (i.e. $140 million for new land acquisitions) and put the $6.3 million back in for mitigation fish. A vote could cut spending, while still giving money back to stock fish in southeastern states.

(2) Congress and state officials from AR, TN, KY,AL,OK, & GA can put pressure on the "responsible parties" (TVA and COE for Tennessee) to pay full reimbursements for mitigation.

Either solution would mean Tennessee would not lose 960,000 to 1.3 million fish per year.

[bd-]

Pgail66, thank you for your efforts on this. TVA's attitude on this issue has been unbelievable.

This year has seen one political game after another played out on the backs of our fisheries and wildlife.

bd

[pgail66]

TWRA has finally come out publicly in support of national hatchery funding in the form of a press release and an exclusive story on Channel 4 TV in Nashville. This will make all the difference in the world to help get congressional support. We can win this battle; please help by contacting your three representatives. Read post below to see how. It's easy!

Here are some links:
http://www.wsmv.com/news/28013458/detail.html
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110525/NEWS21/110525068/Trout-supply-TN-fishermen-could-shrink-due-federal-budget-cuts-
http://www2.tricities.com/news/2011/may/25/federal-cuts-pose-problems-twras-trout-stocking-pr-ar-1064489/
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/05/25/business-us-fish-hatcheries_8485251.html

There are more media releases forth coming. I'll post them as they come available.

[pgail66]

Pgail66, thank you for your efforts on this. TVA's attitude on this issue has been unbelievable.
bd

Thanks for the encouragement. When I started finding and posting on these boards, I was afraid my posts would be taken down. But so far, moderators and administrators have been supportive.

I have no personal motive for working this issue other than keeping fish in our state and in the southeast just as all anglers want. It's just a fight worth fighting and one I think we can win!

[Farley]

FLAME SUIT ON! Unfortnately our government is on an unsustainable path and we cannot continue to throw trillions of dollars in every direction. I'm all Dale Hollow Hatchery but it should be the The Tennessee Dale Hollow Hatchery. These types of projects should be in the hands of the states not the federal government.

[bd-]

I would tend to agree with you, except that the tailwaters are operated under the auspices of the federal government, through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and TVA. Since the federal government has built the dams that impact the local fisheries (and impact the economies connected to them), the federal government is responsible for mitigating the effects of their projects. Trout stocking is intended as a mitigation measure.

Before the dams were built, local communities received economic benefits from the rivers - just as one example, the Caney Fork was known nationally as a smallmouth river and it supported a huge export trade of freshwater pearls too. When Center Hill Dam was built, those economic benefits went away. Trout stocking replaces the lost benefits with a new fishery that draws people to the area and helps the local community with economic activity.

In other words, the federal government built the dams to benefit a broad area with power generation and flood control. However, the dams have a deleterious effect on local communities. Logically, the feds should "pay back" the local communities for the economic impact of the dam by providing mitigation.

It's all well and good to say "well, the dams should be state projects too," but the reality is that the goals of the dams are flood control and power generation. Both those goals extend across state lines, because both the power grid and the flood control watersheds are bigger than any one state. Since the impacts affect multiple states, it would be logistically impossible for Tennessee or any other state to manage dam operations without inviting conflicts with contiguous states. Operations of the dams falls under "interstate commerce" as contemplated in Art. I, Section 8 of the Constitution as a jurisdiction of federal government.

bd

[pgail66]

I
In other words, the federal government built the dams to benefit a broad area with power generation and flood control. However, the dams have a deleterious effect on local communities. Logically, the feds should "pay back" the local communities for the economic impact of the dam by providing mitigation.
bd

Amen.
Also, if you look deeper into the budget proposal, FWS and the President originally proposed to increase the FWS budget by $47.8 million (It's possible that's been changed now behind closed doors; not sure).

The FWS has requested $140 million in new land acquisitions and to put more emphasis in areas of climate change.

Now I'm not taking sides on what we should or should not be doing on the climate change issue, but it's pretty easy to see that FWS is not trying to save the tax payer money by taking away wasteful spending. There are few places in the government where spending creates such positive impacts as the national fish hatchery system. For instance, a 2010 economic impact study revealed that every dollar spent to run the hatchery creates $94 in economic activity and $2.93 ends up back in the federal treasury by the economic output created by the hatchery. Other hatcheries in the system have the same effect, because all the hatcheries that are left have had to become extremely productive in order to be as serviceable to the states as possible.

So, if you are for these cuts, you are saying that everything else FWS does is more important than what they can do with this $6.3 million that is being cut; or, you are saying, that FWS should be eliminated. Well, if we eliminate them, let's phase out the national fish hatcheries last; not first!

[pgail66]

I
It's all well and good to say "well, the dams should be state projects too," but the reality is that the goals of the dams are flood control and power generation. Both those goals extend across state lines, because both the power grid and the flood control watersheds are bigger than any one state. Since the impacts affect multiple states, it would be logistically impossible for Tennessee or any other state to manage dam operations without inviting conflicts with contiguous states. Operations of the dams falls under "interstate commerce" as contemplated in Art. I, Section 8 of the Constitution as a jurisdiction of federal government.
bd

Not to mention, in the case of TVA, executives are making millions a year in salaries, all of which is paid for by rate payers from the power they generate, part of which comes for hydro-electric dams.

In other words, in a sense they are profiting off the generation of this power that was allowed for by the construction of these dams, which destroyed fish habitats.

The least they can do is to try to restore everything back to the citizens that they took away, especially since the existence of these projects helps keep them rich!

If you take the $835,000 requested by FWS from TVA that would go towards mitigation at three hatcheries, divide that amount by the total number of rate payers, it would be less than a penny per rate payer. Alternatively, if you figured out which rate payers benefit from mitigation and divided by those rate payers, I'm confident it would still be less than a nickel per affected rate payer. This would be user paid; not paid by all tax payers as it is now for TVA mitigation at least. Now it is true that not everyone fishes, but nearly everyone benefits from the fish. Nearly every person in the region reaps some kind of reward from the economic activity.

So, one can pick either funding side and still be for funding. Only FWS and COE pay, or COE and TVA pays. With respect to COE and FWS, all tax payers pay, but with TVA, only the rate payers who have easy access to the fisheries pay. You can slice it about three ways, but any of those solutions are federal funding solutions.

[pgail66]

If you have the right plug-in, you can click on the link and hear a podcast that aired on 99.7 WTN, in Nashville, on the Doug Markham show, Sat., May 28 around 6:25 am. about this issue.

The hosts interview Andrew Currie, manager of Dale Hollow NFH. He fully explains this funding dilemma and the hosts ask some good questions to prompt him to say things he's not allowed to say unless asked. This podcast is probably about 20 min. long.

http://www.dougoutdoors.com/dougoutdoors/Podcasts.html

[pgail66]

Bad News; but it could have been worse. And remember, FWS don't have the final say. Congress does.

This is what Fish and Wildlife Service Washington office says they are going to do for FY 2012 in my own words, because I've only heard this orally from a hatchery employee who heard it from his hatchery manager. If I can get this in writing later, I'll put it out.

They will keep all southeastern hatcheries operating with no reduction in force (no layoffs) through FY 2012 (October 2011 through September 2012), however, they will not produce any fish for TVA waters, if TVA does not agree to pay reimbursement in FY 2012. They will produce only 80% of the fish for COE waters, if COE pays only 80% of the requested reimbursement (COE will see a 20% reduction from current levels). Keeping these hatcheries operating w/o reimbursements, however, is not sustainable, and hatchery closures and reductions in force are expected going into FY 2013 if full reimbursements are not agreed upon before then.

Hatcheries will lose deferred maintenance and other capital outlays. Those budgets will be taken away and applied to their operating budgets.

To put this in real simple terms, FWS proposes putting mitigation hatcheries on welfare for one year. I say welfare, because, basically, the Service is going to give them enough funds to employ everyone and for all utilities, but they won't really be producing enough product to justify all that labor and all that infrastructure. However, the hatcheries staying open, with all their folks is better than closure, because, if they close, it is likely we would lose them forever. Another advantage of hatcheries staying open is that they will all still be producing fish for mitigation and non-mitigation that is paid for. If Dale Hollow had closed, for instance, Tennessee could have lost the 80% COE fish; and all the state production they have been doing, even though those portions of production would have been reimbursed. This way, at least Tennessee will get the fish that are paid for.

Now remember, this is still just FWS plan based on a proposed budget that has not been approved yet. We can keep fighting. The information I got was that there is certain congressman in KY, TN, and GA that are pushing hard to get the base funds back in. There is also a certain senator in AR that has raised all kinds of heck with FWS, Washington office staff. My point is that all the public support and all the hell-raising by the state's is making a difference. We need to just push that much harder getting the word out to the media and to get folks to contact their congresspersons.

FWS has already backed off their original budget proposal due to the pressure put on them by Congressmen, governors, and wildlife directors from each affected state. It will take some of that $6.3 million they had cut from the National Fish Hatchery System to keep all these hatcheries open, so they have already conceded some ground. We need to work to put pressure on all parties to work this out before October (FWS, COE, and TVA), and get them all to concede ground for full production.

[pgail66]

Front page on the printed newspaper: Knoxville News Sentinel. Wednesday.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/ju...l-budget-cuts/

Another TV spot in Nashville. Channel 5 (CBS affiliate)

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/14...ish-hatcheries

Story also hit Clarksville newspaper and five other places in Tennessee yesterday.

[Turkeyhunter_2008]

Thanks for all of your efforts on this pgail66.
I live in Kentucky but fish both states frequently so I was wondering if you could post links to the senators and congressmen in KY also? I would like to be sure that any email I send gets to the right place. Thanks again.

[pgail66]

To help give maximum support for hatchery funding in Tennessee or Kentucky (depending on where you live) make sure you contact all three of your representatives. You should call, write, or email both of your senators and your one House representative.

If you don't know your House Rep or your four digit extension to your zip code, go to the bottom of this post to get that information.

Kentucky Instructions
A good message to send both of your senators in Kentucky would be: ]Please support a full funding solution for Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery (NFH), so that Kentucky will not lose about one and half million fish per year that are currently stocked in our waters. These fish provide a great social and economic benefit to our state and bring lots of tourism dollars to our state. The cost to produce these fish at Wolf Creek NFH is minimal in comparison to the economic output that is created by their operation. [/B] Send this message or one of your own to both senators. Just click on each link and start filling out the form to email your senators.
http://mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactForm
http://paul.senate.gov/?p=contact

A good message to send your one House Representative would be: Please support a full funding solution for Wolf Creek National Fish Hatchery. The production of fish at that federal facility produces many fish that go in waters in our district. The regular stocking of these fish in our district waters create lots of economic activity, support many jobs, provide a great social benefit to our district's citizens, and bring lots of tourist to our district that spend alot of money to fish. Please send this message or one of your own to only your representative. Choose only your rep.; click on that link; and begin filling out the form. You will need your zip code and four digit extension:

https://whitfieldforms.house.gov/contact-form.shtml
http://chandler.house.gov/contact-form.shtml
http://guthrie.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=117&sectiontree=4,117
http://yarmuth.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=124&sectiontree=124
http://halrogers.house.gov/Contact/ContactForm.htm
http://www.geoffdavis.house.gov/Contact/

Tennessee Instructions
To support Dale Hollow NFH and Erwin NFH in Tennessee, write both of your senators and only your representative.

A good message to send both your senators: Please support a full funding solution for Tennessee's two national fish hatcheries, so that Tennessee will not lose 1.3 million fish and 600,000 eggs per year from our state waters, and all the jobs and economic activity created by the stocking of those fish.Click on each Tennessee senator listed below and begin filling out the forms to send them a message.

http://corker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=ContactMe
http://alexander.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Email


Once you've emailed both senators, now find your representative, and click on his or her link to send him or her an email. Just click and start filling out the form. You'll need your zip code and four digit extension. A good message to send your House Representative is: Please support a full funding solution for Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery, so that our district does not lose the many thousands of fish per year that are stocked in our districts waters. The continued stocking of these fish create alot of jobs in our district; provide a great social benefit to our citizens; and bring alot of tourism dollars into our district that drives many small business sales.

http://roe.house.gov/Contact/
https://desjarlais.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
http://duncan.house.gov/services/zip-auth.shtml
https://fleischmann.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
http://cooper.house.gov/index.php?op...=117&Itemid=61
https://black.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
http://blackburn.house.gov/contactform/
https://fincher.house.gov/contact-me/email-me
http://cohen.house.gov/index.php?option=com_email_form&Itemid=111

If you don't know your House Rep, go here. You need your zip code and four-digit extension.

https://writerep.hou...p/welcome.shtml

If you don't know your four-digit extension, go here:

http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

[pgail66]

I live in Kentucky but fish both states frequently so I was wondering if you could post links to the senators and congressmen in KY also? I would like to be sure that any email I send gets to the right place. Thanks again.

I had some trouble getting all the delegation from KY. I found a website that listed them, but there were some errors regarding their websites. I'm also worried that they were not all listed. TN has nine representatives. Does KY have only six?

[Turkeyhunter_2008]

I had some trouble getting all the delegation from KY. I found a website that listed them, but there were some errors regarding their websites. I'm also worried that they were not all listed. TN has nine representatives. Does KY have only six?
Yes Kentucky only has six. Thank you for the links. I was concerned that some of the ones I had found were not up to date.

[bd-]

I'm making this a sticky thread until the funding issue is resolved. Contact your representatives, everybody, and spread the word.

bd

[robhal11]

I hope everyone contacts these rep's I did last week as you guys suggested. Went to the caney on Sat and caught about 41(with my brother in law). Had my personal best of a 17+ rainbow on micro lite rod and reel. Sure would hate to lose our fishery's around here. And of course it does not only effect our trout it ranges well beyond them.

[pgail66]

I hope everyone contacts these rep's I did last week as you guys suggested.

Thank you robhal11. Contacting your three reps really does make a difference, and it takes only minutes. You don't have to be a registered voter; just a voting-age resident.

A senator in AR is giving Fish and Wildlife Service "the what for" from what I hear and asking for the base funding to be put back in. Also, the rep from Wolf Creek NFH's district, the rep from Chattahoochee Forest NFH's district, and the rep from Erwin NFH district, Phil Roe (TN01), are all pursuing this issue. None of this would be happening without calls, letters, and emails from guys and gals like you. But we need to work to get the entire TN congressional delegation on board, so there will be larger support in Congress to fund the hatcheries during budget deliberations.

No matter where you live in TN or KY, go to the post below and use the links to send a short email and ask your congressmen to support the funding of the hatcheries.

Contacting your rep is particularly important if your rep is Duncan, Fleischmann, Desjarlais, Black, Blackburn, or Cooper. All six of these reps receive thousands of fish in waters in their districts and should have a big interest in making sure Dale Hollow NFH and Erwin NFH are fully funded. We don't know what affect we've had on them so far, but the more calls and emails, the better.

[Turkeyhunter_2008]

Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield represents the first district in KY. All of the portion of Dale Hollow that is in KY is in his district along with Lake Cumberland, Barren River Lake, Lake Barkley, and Kentucky Lake along with countless small lakes and streams that are stocked with trout and other fish.
Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul are our Senators to contact. If any of y'all have any friends that live up in Kentucky pass this along to them. All three are really easy to get your message to with the help of pgail's info and links.
Thanks again pgail!!!

[pgail66]

Kentucky Congressman Ed Whitfield represents the first district in KY. .


That's exactly right! Thanks for pointing that out Turkeyhunter_2008. I'm just now learning about the support Dale Hollow can get from Kentuckians and the congressman who should have an interest in this hatchery staying open.

We had volunteers out at Dale Hollow hatchery yesterday and some this past weekend to hand out material to folks who want to help support the hatcheries. We had two visitors from Congressman Whitfield's district in Thompkinsville, KY. Both were very concerned about the proposed funding cuts at the hatchery and are both emailing all three reps.

I'm working on a hand out specifically for that district in KY to hand out at the hatchery.

[pgail66]

To support Tennessee fishing, see earlier post that provide links to easily contact your three U.S. representatives. Please refer others to this site to get all TN anglers to call their congressmen.

Even though it is likely that all southeastern hatcheries will remain open until September of 2012, this is not the time to sit back. We will still lose many trout in Tennessee as soon as Congress passes a budget for 2012. When that will be, we don't know, but could be as soon as October. When this happens, we're looking at an approx. two-thirds cut in production at Dale Hollow NFH (about 960,000 trout).

Beyond September 2012, we're looking at up to 1.3 million trout lost for Tennessee waters, if it is decided that Dale Hollow NFH will be closed. Tennessee is in the worst political position for funding of all six hatcheries facing cuts in the southeast, because Dale Hollow produces about 58% of all its fish for TVA water-development projects. TVA has not agreed to reimburse Fish and Wildlife Service any monies for mitigation activities. Tennesseans should tell their congressmen that we want a full and permanent funding solution for Dale Hollow National Fish Hatchery. If that doesn't happen, trout fishing will be threatened every year in Tennessee. Congress must decide who is responsible for funding mitigation for TVA water-development projects. Right now, there is no legislation requiring any entity of the federal gov't to mitigate the loss of fish in federally-managed waters. Without this program being in writing, all entities can continue to pass the buck and leave us without the fish that are owed to us by the federal gov't.

[pgail66]

Politically and financially speaking, Tennessee fishermen are at much greater risk of losing trout fishing as a sport than the other states that are facing possible cuts in mitigation trout production in the southeast. This is why Tennesseans, more than any other state, must let each of our three congressmen know that we expect them to support the funding of our national fish hatcheries. Please see the post above that explains how to help. Particularly, it is Dale Hollow NFH that is at greatest risk of all six southeastern hatcheries that engage in mitigation activities. Without Dale Hollow NFH, Tennessee loses the capacity to produce 60% of the state's reared trout for stocking; a total of 1.2-1.3 million trout per year for Tennessee!

By far, Dale Hollow NFH has the highest percentage of trout produced for TVA-managed fisheries of the six hatcheries facing cuts. Erwin NFH produces some eggs for TVA, and Chattahoochee Forest NFH produces and stocks a small percentage for TVA, but Dale Hollow Produces about 58% of all it's production for TVA waters (as a percentage of weight grown). Unlike U.S. Army Core of Engineers (COE), TVA has not agreed to reimbursing any funds for growing mitigation fish; now or in the future. For the other five hatcheries, it is a very small amount of funding needed to fill in the gap for a full funding solution, because COE has agreed to pay 80% of the requested amount and future year negotiations look bright with respect to COE reimbursements. For Dale Hollow NFH, however, almost $600K a year is needed to cover the gap of non-reimbursed cuts to hatchery funding. This represents almost two-thirds of their operating budget. This makes the future of Dale Hollow NFH very bleak without congressional intervention into this dilemma.

The fact that only one state and one hatchery may be hurt additionally increases the chance that congress will not act, but it can be turned around if Tennesseans get all seven U.S. representatives that receive fish in their districts to support a solution and get both senators Alexander and Corker to support it's funding as well. That is enough political support to ensure permanent funding, but we need everyone to call, write or email all three of your representatives.