January 2009 SoCal MLPA Update

[PAL]

Happy New Year to all of you. 2009 is going to be one hell of a white-knuckle ride.

I’ll keep this short and sweet. If you would like more information, please PM your phone number. My goal is to be accessible and available to the entire kayak fishing community as this thing motors forward.

Before I get to business, the KFACA is looking for a volunteer to manage our booth at Fred Hall Long Beach, including rounding up staff. I will have my hands full with government hearings that week, although I will do my best to attend. If you can run with it, please PM me ASAP. Kayak fishing clubs and organizations that staff the booth are welcome to promote their events.

Representing kayak anglers, MJ Kennedy and I attended the third session of South Coast Regional Stakeholder meetings this Tues and Weds. The preliminaries are just about over; line drawing will start in roughly two weeks. It is very difficult to predict how events will play out. I’m cautiously optimistic. We have a fair deal, roughly half of the stakeholders. We’ll end up with a livable conclusion. You can bet we’ll try to hang onto EVERY one of our major launch sites and fishing areas. Whether we’ll be successful across the board, only time will tell.

Finally, you might have heard how the closure proponents flooded the public comment period. It’s true, they did, especially the La Jolla ‘Save the Seals’ people. I want to reassure you, it means little. We can pack the room any time we care to call out the troops. It's not time. Remember, we have representation where it counts, at the bargaining table.

If you need more info, drop me a line. We're all in this together.

Tight lines!

Paul

[PAL]

Steve Green has generously stepped up to manage the KFACA booth at the Hall shows. It’s a big thing – he’ll build, tear-down, recruit the staff, probably live there too - we’re grateful.

If you can put in a few hours at either Long Beach or Del Mar, please get in touch with Steve. We'll get you in free to the shows, so you can enjoy them before or after you've put in your time. Word is some tournament discounts may be available to volunteers, although the details are still being worked out.

Thanks!