2010 IWLA Resolutions

2010 Izaak Walton League National Resolutions: Summary of Resolutions

As a grassroots organization, the League’s members develop our conservation policies by considering and voting on resolutions at convention. During the 2010 national convention, members approved seven resolutions by voice vote. They were integrated into the 2010 edition of the Conservation Policies Handbook. The following summarizes the main objective of each resolution.

Separate the Great Lakes Basin from the Mississippi River Basin to Stop the Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species: Aquatic invasive species, including exotic mussels, viruses, and fish, are among the most serious threats to the health of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes basin and the Mississippi River basin are not naturally connected, but canals and other man-made waterways around Chicago provide a pathway for Asian carp and other invasives to move from the Mississippi into Lake Michigan, and beyond. This resolution calls for a permanent hydrological separation between the Great Lakes basin and the Mississippi River basin. READ FULL TEXT

Implement Great Lakes Compact: League members throughout the Great Lakes region strongly backed the Great Lakes Compact, which Congress approved in 2008. The Compact is designed to conserve and protect water resources throughout the region, including by limiting diversion of water from the Great Lakes to regions outside of the watershed. The Compact directs states to develop rules and procedures to guide decisions about water diversions; however, diversion requests are being submitted before most states have these rules in place. This resolution urges states to develop those rules before considering diversion requests. In addition, it specifies that rules and procedures should support public participation, require water conservation, protect water quality, and oppose diversion of water to facilitate significant new residential and commercial development. READ FULL TEXT

Stopping Open Lake Dumping: When harbors and channels are dredged along the Great Lakes, the mud, silt, and sand (known as “dredge spoils”) that is scooped up is frequently dumped in the Great Lakes. This material can contain toxic pollutants, heavy metals, and excess nutrients. In some regions, it also consists largely of silt, which is easily stirred and re-suspended in the water column by recreational and commercial boat traffic and wave action. Minnesota and Wisconsin currently prohibit open lake disposal of dredge materials in the Great Lakes. This resolution opposes open lake dumping of dredge spoil material in the Great Lakes. READ FULL TEXT

Hunter Safety Apparel: A majority of states require hunters to wear colored clothing, vests, or other gear to make them more visible to other hunters. Historically, states have required hunters to wear “safety orange.” Ten states, however, do not have any safety color apparel requirements for hunters. A small number of state fish and wildlife agencies have recently begun exploring the use of alternative colors, including various shades of green now commonly worn by highway construction and maintenance workers. This resolution urges all states to require the visible display of colors which, based on objective and scientific assessment, are most visible to the greatest number of hunters under a wide range of conditions. READ FULL TEXT

Riparian and Wetland Setback Regulations: Buffers of native trees, plants and shrubs along streams, lakes and wetlands provide essential habitat, improve and protect water quality, and reduce erosion. These areas are also easily damaged and degraded by development and other land uses in them or in close proximity. Buffers or setbacks between waterways and development have proven effective in safeguarding these resources and the many benefits they provide. This resolution adds wetlands to existing League policy supporting the adoption and implementation of local river corridor protection ordinances. READ FULL TEXT

Hydraulic Fracturing (Hyrdrofracking): Hydraulic fracturing is a process through which large quantities of fresh water, chemicals, and other materials are injected under high pressure to fracture rock formations and release oil and natural gas. Although versions of the fracturing process have been used in the western United States for decades, new processes that use massive quantities of water (millions rather than thousands of gallons per well) are being used at a dramatically increasing rate to tap natural gas in the Marcellus shale formation under New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland. Most states do not have regulations or laws in place to effectively manage this development or protect water and other natural resources. This resolution supports a moratorium on issuance of permits for new, natural gas hydraulic fracturing wells until: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completes an on-going study of the impacts of fracturing on water quality and public health; EPA issues guidelines and states adopt regulations concerning freshwater use, waste water treatment, spill prevention and response; and Congress repeals an exemption from public disclosure requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act for chemicals used in the fracturing process. READ FULL TEXT

Menhaden Harvest: Menhaden provide important sources of food for larger fish, including striped bass and bluefish, and are harvested commercially for bait, oils and fishmeal. Large-scale commercial fishing operations use spotter aircraft to locate and then direct fishing vessels to menhaden schools in the Chesapeake Bay and off the Atlantic coast. Use of spotter aircraft allows these operations to target and harvest fish with accuracy and scale that would be difficult to achieve with ships alone. There is concern about the sustainability of this fishery and the potential impacts of declining menhaden stocks on striped bass and other predatory fish. This resolution calls on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates menhaden fishing in the Bay and along the Atlantic coast, to ban the use of spotter aircraft, satellites, and other overhead viewing methods in the commercial menhaden fishery. READ FULL TEXT