Email Campaign for MAP 2!!

[Holy Mackerel]

Email Campaign for MAP 2!!

The short of it...

Anti-Fishing groups have sent thousands of emails to the BRTF for map 3. We need to match them.

*****Time is limited, BRTF meets on 11/10/09 to decide our fate.

Please email

SUBJECT LINE: "South Coast comment for BRTF."

Along with MLPAComments@resources.ca.gov

Please CC: Kayaker4prop2@gmail.com

Tell them you support Map 2. You can use your own words.

This is a simple email I put together for friends, co-workers, family.

Hi Blue Ribbon Task Force,

I am writting in support of Map 2 with regards to La Jolla, CA. Map 2 has the most cross interest support, and buy in of consumptive fishermen. It meets the science guidelines, and leaves safe access for Kayak Fishermen, and shoreline spearfishermen. These two groups have invested a lot of time at these meetings. Please support Map 2.

Thank you,

YOUR NAME
ADDRESS

The long of it! read below!

General letter targets will be announced shortly.

1. Support Prop 2 for San Diego, where it meets all science guidelines and lessens economic impact. Captures the rare deep water rock and pinnacles at Del Mar. Other proposals fall short of SAT guidelines because they do not.

2. If the task force closes south La Jolla, enlarges the existing reserve and grows the SMCA proposed for the pier all the way up to Torrey Pines (BOOKENDS), there will be many negative impacts:

- Compaction will cause a threat to public safety. We'll have to share a tiny area with sportboats, private boats, commercial boats, free divers and kayakers. People will get hurt, most likely a free diver or kayaker.

- Small changes make big differences for kayak anglers. The paddle out from the Shores would go from 1/2 a mile to roughly 2/3 and take out roughly 20% of the east-west extent of the north kelp line. Novices would be pushed out from the shelter of Pt La Jolla out to more open water.

- The existing Scripps MPA boundaries are well known. The new bouys are well maintained and not prone to drifting. Boundary signs with maps are numerous.

- The bait-only SMCA proposed for the pier and north is not needed to meet science guidelines. The habitats that would be protected are represented elsewhere in the study region. It would have a big impact on the local surf-casting community, who would have virtually no fishable sandy beaches the length of La Jolla.

More local info!



Guys and gals,

November 10 is when the BRTF will convene to make their final decision and finish up the work they deferred from their Oct. 21-23 meeting. Between now and Nov. 5th, letters and faxes need to be sent.

We need to put down the hammer on our letter writing and faxing.

The other side brags that there are thousands of emails supporting Proposal 3, and only a handful supporting proposal 1 and 2. I have a hard time believing that there are more Prop 3 supporters than Prop 2 supporters, but the email process is out of our view.

We can only verify what we see.

We need to counter this because that's not representative of the public and unless the BRTF recognizes this, we are screwed by the financially-powerful private interests.

I don't have trust (call me cynical) that ALL our pro-group 2 emails will be accurately counted. So I want to independently verify the number of emails that we sent to the BRTF, just to make sure the process of collecting those emails is forwarding them all to the BRTF.

Call me skeptical but there is NO effing way, looking at the previous meeting statistics, that the pro-Group 3 people can have more people than we do. No effing way looking at the huge majority of black shirts in each meeting.

Some thing is wrong and it's skewing the BRTF's perception of public support. May be nothing is wrong but I'm not trusting the numbers. And I just want to make sure all our emails are accounted for.

1) We have established an email box for kayakers to email your letter to Kayaker4prop2@gmail.com IN ADDITION (PARALLEL--CC us) to your emailing it to MLPAComments@resources.ca.gov. This will be the collection point and verification of the number of emails spearos have sent. We'll do the same thing for other communities.

Please email to both MLPAComments@resources.ca.gov and Kayaker4prop2@gmail.com, Subject line "South Coast comment for BRTF."

I will run a running tally of the numbers, compare it with the official numbers they claim they receive, and make sure that no funny stuff goes on, and make sure that consumptive emails for Prop 2 are not undercounted. But unless you also send the email to our independent verification email box (diver4prop2@gmail.com), we can't argue when we feel the numbers are not right.

Here are the possible arguments when you guys do your letters.

For San Diego (the area I know):

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

1. Support Prop 2 for San Diego, where it meets all science guidelines and lessens economic impact. Captures the rare deep water rock and pinnacles at Del Mar. Other proposals fall short of SAT guidelines because they do not.

2. Argue strenuously against the closure of South La Jolla. If the task force closes south La Jolla, enlarges the existing reserve and grows the SMCA proposed for the pier all the way up to Torrey Pines (BOOKENDS), there will be many negative impacts:

- Compaction will cause a huge threat to public safety. We'll have to share a tiny area with sportboats, private boats, commercial boats, free divers and kayakers. People will get hurt, most likely a free diver or kayaker.


- South La Jolla is critically important to local commercial lobster and urchin and to the sportboat landings in Mission Bay. Remember, in years the current runs predominately uphill, south La Jolla grows in importance to us too. Besides, north Pt Loma is more suitable as it offers the most persistent kelp forest in Southern California. When there's no kelp in LJ, its still hanging on at north Pt Loma. The economic and access hits are much lighter.


STAY TUNED