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True story: The state of Illinois is getting into the angling business.
More specifically, Illinois is poised to become the first state in the nation to have a statewide bass-fishing tournament at the high school level.
That’s right. Fishing in the schools. Reading, writing and bass fishing. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
Consider: The Illinois High School Board of Directors recently approved a recommendation to add the bass fishing tournament “as an IHSA activity beginning in the spring of 2009, provided that adequate sponsorships are secured in advance for the tournament.”
Trust me when I tell that the fishing industry will step up and support this concept. To me, it’s a no-brainer. Sponsorships and volunteers will soon follow—and in big numbers. That said, here’s hoping Illinois high school officials look at the fishing-tournament concept as a much-needed opportunity to teach students the many virtues of natural-resources conservation.
This can be accomplished by teaching conservation through the eyes of an angler, which will make the learning process much more palatable to students. Instead of boring classroom lectures, wouldn’t it be interesting to have a local angler or natural resources official with a grasp of environmental conservation talk about the importance of clean water and proper land stewardship?
Good fishing doesn’t exist in a vacuum, my friends. Remember the old saying, which harks back to Aldo Leopold: Good fishing begins on the land. It’s so true.
The Illinois High School Board of Directors, working in tandem with the fishing industry and local volunteers, have a golden opportunity to A) introduce kids to fishing and B) make sure they understand the connection between clean water and healthy fisheries.
Kudos to the state of Illinois for sanctioning tournament fishing as a legitimate high-school activity. As Chicago Sun-Times outdoors columnist Dale Bowman wrote: “Where was this when I was staring at creeks from my school windows?”
In other news, hunters and anglers—increasingly concerned about global warming and its impact to our land and waters and the critters that inhabit both—are making their voices heard like never before.
A recent example: More than 670 hunting and fishing organizations from all 50 states are urging their U.S. Senators and Representatives to target global warming with strong legislation, reports the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).
“America’s sportsmen have a special connection to the outdoors, and for that reason we are on the front lines of global warming,” said Larry Schweiger, NWF president and CEO. “It has been impossible to ignore the changes happening before our eyes—you don’t need to be a scientist to feel that something is seriously wrong. As a grandfather who cherishes fishing trips with my grandson, I strongly believe we must work together to preserve American sporting traditions for our children’s future.”
To reduce the environmental impacts of global climate change, America’s sportsmen are calling for comprehensive legislation that cuts global warming by two percent per year through a so-called cap-and-trade system. The legislation, as I’ve noted in a previous column, includes dedicated funding for fish and wildlife conservation and restoration.
While such legislation will not be passed this year, hunters and anglers must be its primary advocates and ensure that any bill has significant dollars for fish and wildlife habitat.
After all, if our nation is serious about reducing its “carbon footprint,” the best place to start is by restoring wetlands, keeping our forests intact and preserving our native (and other) grasslands.
The National Wildlife Federation is right: Hunting and fishing have traditionally been pillars of American economic prosperity: 34 million people who hunt or fish in the United States spend $75 billion annually, supporting 1.6 million jobs.
In other words, good environmental policy is good economic policy.
“This is not a matter of left versus right,” said Simon Roosevelt, sportsman and great-great grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt. “It is a matter of right versus wrong.”
Indeed, the fish and wildlife that support America’s outdoors traditions are literally feeling the heat. Some trout and salmon populations are declining from increased water temperatures. Small, season wetlands critical to waterfowl populations are at-risk due to increasing temperatures. In my home state of Minnesota, moose are disappearing in part due to hot summers.
“Sportsmen want America to lead on global warming solutions,” said David Crockett, avid sportsman and descendant of the legendary outdoorsman. “We have used cap-and-trade systems—and American ingenuity—and successfully in the past to cut pollution. Now, similar measures will not only protect our heritage, but also bring new jobs to our cities and rural communities while bolstering a stronger economy.”
Hunters and anglers have always been leaders in conservation. Global warming is just another case in point. It’s time for us to lead again.
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