Tag: fishing

Constitutional Amendments Make it One Step Closer to Nov. Ballot

In a rare occurrence at the statehouse, Senators debated three possible Constitutional Amendments on the floor, changes that will ultimately be sent to the people for their approval.     

Senate Joint Resolution 10 proposes a Constitutional Amendment designating the right to hunt and fish for West Virginians.

Sen. Corey Palumbo amended the resolution on the floor Wednesday, clarifying that the people of West Virginia have the right to hunt and fish the state’s game, but the state still maintains the ability to regulate those activities.

“What I fear in this amendment is that we are trumping those private property rights which our ancestors were so concerned about,” said Sen. Clark Barnes in opposition to the amendment. “Mr. President, I’m not urging members to vote one way or another, but I don’t believe the right to hunt and fish trumps private property rights.”

The amendment passed on a vote of 31 to 2, with Senators Barnes and Mike Hall voting against it.

Senators then moved to Senate Joint Resolution 12 proposing a Constitutional Amendment claiming the waters of the state for the use and benefits of its citizens.

The resolution came from Senate Majority Leader John Unger who has been increasingly vocal about protecting the resource since the Elk River chemical spill last month.

The amendment reads:

“It shall be the policy of the state of West Virginia that the water resources of this state shall be protected, conserved, utilized, and developed for the benefit, enjoyment and general welfare of its citizens consistent with and subject to the riparian rights and groundwater rights of the owners of real property.”  

The resolution passed unanimously.

The final Senate Joint Resolution taken up for consideration was SJR 14, protecting the state’s Future Fund and designating how the interest earned from the fund can be spent.

The resolution couples with Senate Bill 461, Senate President Jeff Kessler’s bill creating a Future Fund. It is created through statute, but how those funds can be used after its establishment must then be determined by the people.

The amendment proposes restricting access to the principle for six years following its creation and restricts its appropriation for things like education, infrastructure or tax relief measures.

The resolution passed unanimously.

If all three resolutions are passed by the House, they will appear on the ballot in November for approval by the people.
 

Government shutdown affects….bass fishing?

With a shutdown in the United States government, nearly one million employees are not able to work. But in northern West Virginia, area fishermen and…

With a shutdown in the United States government, nearly one million employees are not able to work. But in northern West Virginia, area fishermen and women are also feeling that pinch.

This weekend, a bass fishing tournament along the Monongahela River is scheduled to take place. Normally contestants would be able to catch bass anywhere along the river between  Fairmont and Point Marion, Pennsylvania. But because of the  government shutdown, the United States’ Corps of Engineers employees aren’t able to open the locks. So that will limit the ability of fishermen to travel up and down the river. Tim Mitchem is the president with B.A.S.S. Nation of West Virginia.

“Once the government shut down, I received a message that they wouldn’t be able to honor that agreement. They’re not allowed to pay anybody overtime, during a furlough, which is essentially what they’re doing with the staff there. The locks will not be open for us,” he said.

Mitchem is frustrated because the Corps of Engineers and organizations like B.A.S.S. have been negotiating for months to keep the locks open as much as possible during the tournament.

“A lot of people say this is just a fishing tournament. It is, but when you plan for something for over a year, which is what we’ve done, but we’ve got people spending money in the area, and we could have people not even show up to this tournament now, because they are not going to want to fish in a congested area. So it could affect a lot of things. It’s frustrating, but we have to deal with what we have to deal with,” said Mitchem.

The fishermen will be using only one section of the river for the tournament. Metchum says it’s better than nothing, but it’s not that good either. Mitchem didn’t want to move the tournament, since several hotel rooms were already booked.

“It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not an ideal situation, because when you have that many boats in that limited space of water, it’s difficult for guys to find fishing spots that haven’t been fished many times over. Saturday should be an alright day, Sunday will probably be more difficult and we will probably see that when fish are brought in for weigh-in,” he said.

But Mitchem said the tournament will go on, and wants the public to come to enjoy two days of fishing.

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