Sen. Amendment/Barkley Rally RADuty

[tkwalker]

Mr. Jefferies, ( This is a letter to .. Jefferies is a PR Rep for Sen. Alexander, Wade White, And others ...read below ... <'TK>< )


The Tennessee / Kentucky supporters of the Freedom to Fish Act, S.421 and H.R. 826, are now focusing a bit more on the ‘freedom’, than the fishing. There is unmistakable evidence that the Corps is expediting the installation of the tail water barriers, in spite of the overwhelming public objection, punctuated by legislative action. The Corps’ arrogance, flies in the face of the Code of Federal Regulations, the Corps’ internal policy, and of the Public Trust Doctrine that is inherently the mark of a free society. “For the benefit of the public”, apparently has no meaning to the USACE Civil Projects leadership.


A newly alarming turn, has the Corps’ Nashville District web site posting what is described in bright yellow on the their map legend, as “Property Lines.” All ten dams of concern are posted, showing the intended barrier dimensions and tail-water “Property Lines”. In the case of Cordell Hull Dam, that line is nearly a full mile downstream of the Cumberland River from the dam itself. Assumed ownership of the public trust? I have included the link to the Corps’ specific page for Cordell Hull Dam as follows:

http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/About/...mBoundary.aspx


In other developments, internal memos have surfaced with a directive issued by the Nashville District Deputy Commander, to expedite material orders relevant to the barricades. While not documented, sources advise that the order has been issued to move dredging equipment up the Cumberland River, for the purpose of initiating the barricade construction.


The grass roots supporters of Freedom to Fish now have a different perspective on the level of play. We have a murky image of large contractors behind the scenes, lobbying committee members for the Corps’ hold on public trust properties, and lucrative future projects. It took a focused effort for those with the means to do so, to dissect the 574 pages of H.R. 933, and table the 6 paragraphs that were Senator Alexander’s (et. al.) amendment. That murky image may find clarity as the lobbyist file their quarterly report, and we hopefully get closer to the truth behind the motive.


Meanwhile, we are attempting to engage the giants of fishing related commerce into fight. Be it through litigation, a court ordered injunction, or PAC funds effectively distributed, the industry must now play an active role. T.V. fishing icon Bill Dance, has stuck his toe in the water, and written a letter of protest to LTC DeLapp. Behind Bill, is list of corporate sponsors unrivaled in his field, who generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue. Doug Markham has invited Bill to participate in the Barkley Dam Rally on April 13th. Doug has yet to receive a reply from Mr. Dance. However, it would be infinitely more powerful for Bill Dance, his peers, corporate heads, directors of fishing federations and other members of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, to participate at the Rally, at the direct urging of Senators Alexander, McConnell, Corker and Paul; and Congressman Whitefield and his cosponsors. Mr. Markham and I can compile a list of potential speakers subject to the Senators’ approval. I am available to do whatever clerical or foot soldier work I can accomplish in a 14 hour workday. If there is any way we can urge the entertainment and corporate legs of the fishing industry to engage in this fight - over the signature(s) of our legislative leaders – please, give us direction.

You have my apologies for the lack of brevity. Thank you for your consideration. We’re looking forward to your reply.


Most sincerely,


Rick Duty

[nofish]

Rick Duty is awesome and has both feet up the opposition's hind end!!! Thanks Rick for all of your time and efforts. Forgive me for not knowing, but who is Rick Duty? I sure am glad he's on our side!

[tkwalker]

Originally Posted by nofish

Rick Duty is awesome and has both feet up the opposition's hind end!!! Thanks Rick for all of your time and efforts. Forgive me for not knowing, but who is Rick Duty? I sure am glad he's on our side!

I met Rick about 14 years ago ... He and his wife were fixing to retire and wanted to leave the Chicago area, which was a temp. stop for him while working for Sears.. ... (Where he was VP of Automotive divisions , and in charge of the Die Hard ..Nascar racing sponsored Events) .. and kind of come back to his roots in Tennessee ... But actually was born and raised in California ... They were big into fishing !!! ... And then found that he had more family than he thought who were native Tennesseans ...

They booked about 7 weekends with me and stayed at my Cabin on the Caney .. over a 3 year period ... This is one of the reasons he has championed this fight against the Corp ... He and Donna really loved catching skippies at the dams, and fishing for Stripers ... Rick saw the wealth of fishing that these Dams brought to our fisheries ... He said Fishing and enjoyment that he has never seen ... And they have fished all over the United States ...

Rick and Donna became close friends with my wife and myself over the years ... especially since we found out that we were competitive drag racers in our former life ...

Gallatin 2005, Rick and Donna built a beautiful executive home in Gallatin across from Vol State Community College .. April 2006 ... Cat #5 tornado hits Gallatin ...(My brother also lost his home 100%) I was watching the TV Weather... phoned Rick just seconds before the tornado hit his house and warned him, he was able to escape to the crawl space . before it totally leveled his home ... the four people who were killed in that tornado were neighbors across the street from Rick, Donna was not at home .. ...( And Rick thought by moving to Tennessee he had avoided the Natural disasters of the Earth Quakes of California .. With which He lost his home in the early 90's ... )

Who is Rick A. Duty ... Rick Is a friend of every fisherman who has ever put a bait in our beautiful Tennessee Fisheries ... His mind is a national treasure ... And that is why He has Championed this fight ...

Rick Duty is a friend of mine and represents FishingTN.com to the upmost !!!... Thank you Rick !!<'TK><