(MLPA) Kayakers: Speak up from your home/office. SAT mtg May 5th and BRTF May 8th!

[zenspearo]

There is a general feeling that it's more important to show up at meetings personally than to attend the webinars and call in for public comments or write your comments.

NOT SO.

They are all important venues for the public to communicate with the MLPA people. I know that this process has not been public-friendly (more from being a clusterf&ck and incompetence than from design--I speak as someone who runs his own business for over 10 years). The law was passed in 1999, and after doing the Cencal process, so many months with the SoCal process, you figure they'd have it straighten out (it's less than 48 hours to the SAT May 5th meeting and they still haven't posted the materials to review. Most public members work full time tomorrow--when can we have time to review the science materials? And of course there are no hints as to how long you can speak, how you can cede time or even you can cede time, etc.).

But hang in there guys. It's our right to speak up, and we need to or they will simply say after the fact "how come you didn't say anything when the process was underway?" We consumptives and small groups like kayak fishermen in particular need to be informed and our voices need to be heard loud and clear or we'll be swept under the rug.

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Tuesday, May 5, 2009
9:30 a.m.
via teleconference and online meeting
Toll free phone number: 800.697.5978
Pass code: 8527564
Presentations via GoToMeeting. Reserve your reservation now at
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/411343984

Public Participation: Members of the public are invited to participate in the meeting using the toll-free phone number and to watch presentations via the GoToMeeting webinar, or may join staff at one of the offices listed above. In addition, the meeting is being simultaneously webcast for viewing only; see the MLPA website (www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/meetings_sc.asp) for more information.

Public comment: The public will be invited by the co-chairs to offer comments on agenda action items. General comments on the work of the MLPA Master Plan Science Advisory Team (SAT), not directed to specific agenda items, will be taken after lunch at approximately 1:00 p.m. Note that the general comment period is for public comment specific to the SAT; comments related to the regional stakeholder group, Blue Ribbon Task Force or other MLPA Initiative activities should be directed to those bodies or MLPA staff.

Meeting materials will be posted to this page as soon as they are available.

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Friday, May 8, 2009
12:00 p.m.
via teleconference call and webinar
Toll free phone number: 800.697.5978
Pass code: 5499680
Presentations via GoToMeeting. Reserve your reservation now at
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/389320216

Members of the public are invited to attend the meeting in person or view and listen to the meeting via simultaneous webcasting on the Internet, and may view an archived version approximately two days after the meeting. Please visit the MLPA website at www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/meetings_sc.asp for more information. Meeting materials will not be provided at the meeting but will be posted to the MLPA website as soon as they become available.

Public Participation: The public will be invited to offer comments on the work of the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) at approximately 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 8, 2009. Note that the public comment period is for comments specific to the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force; comments related to other MLPA Initiative activities or groups should be directed to those bodies or MLPA staff.

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What can you speak about?

1) For SAT: The science is the grading criteria. Others may chime in regarding specific issues with the science but issues regarding kelp, water quality, habitat representation, spacing, etc., are all fair issues to discuss.

2) For BRTF: Socio-economic issues regarding specific closures. By socio-economic issues, we are talking about how a closure will affect your usage, your business, the general business of marinas, tackleshops, tourism. Address issues regarding process as well (what you observe to be good/wrong about this process).

General suggestion: Be courteous. You don't have to be perfect. Speak from what you know/see/believe. Don't insult and don't make it personal.

We need a huge turnout of consumptives to ensure that we make our concerns known. Remember that those who cower and stay silent usually have their rights trampled.

This is a very easy meeting to make. You can work and have a window open on your computer to hear the meeting in the background. No travel involved. You can write your speech in advance and just read it (my strong recommendation--don't try to wing it. Read it from a prepared statement works very well for those who are not used to public speaking).

There are no excuses for not dialing in and speak your alloted minute (or two or three?). Don't fall short on the easy ones by skipping these equally important meetings. If you work anywhere near a desk or a phone on Tuesday May 5th or Friday May 8th, you need to sign up and tune in and speak out for your area!

P.S. I'm a spearo and we are organizing spearos to attend and speak. We greatly enjoyed having a dozen of kayak fishermen speaking up for your rights to kayak fish at the last RSG meeting and hope to have you join forces again.

[zenspearo]

If someone can help by cross-posting on the other kayak fishermen sites this information, it would be greatly appreciated.

[lambadmin]

Very cool, thanks for posting the info!

This ought to make it much easier for all the folks that can't make it to those meetings in person.

[Holy Mackerel]

Thanks Joe, I will post this on the other Kayak Fishing sites!

chris

[tylerdurden]

Thanks for the info. I will make sure to say something.

Kayak fisherman that are going to speak, maybe we should post up? Organize our comments so we don't all say the same thing over and over 20 times.

[Holy Mackerel]

Real easy BWE members!

This thread is getting lost, if you havent attended a meeting, due to school, work, kids, etc. Here you can do it without leaving you desk. Please contribute, the more voices heard from us consumptives, the better.

Reserve your reservation now at:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/411343984

See Joe's intial post about what to talk about. It will be like a phone conversation, just pre-type it.

Anyone?

[zenspearo]

Updated information.

Many of you asked me via PMs and emails on how to speak at the telecon.

Since this information is not found on the DFG MLPA site, I called Sacramento's MLPAI number.

Here's the deal.

When you first call in (say SAT meeting on Tuesday May 5th--Toll free phone number: 800.697.5978), you will be asked to say your name, and your name will be associated with the line you are on.

When the time comes for public comment, the operator will announce that those who want to comment need to enter a code (usually *1) and your line/name will be entered into a queue. The operator then calls the speaker based on the queue.

Also, I asked whether we would have one minute or 3 minutes to speak. Answer: We don't know. (Advice: prepare a one minute speech and a 3 minute speech. There is no telling how long you will have but it's going to be either 1 minute or some duration between 1 minute and 3 minutes).

Also, I asked when the materials will be available for review, being the meeting is tomorrow. Answer: Don't know.

Also, I asked what's the mechanism/steps for ceding time. Answer: Don't know (but she did say she will get back to me on that).

This is from the MLPAI itself. So much for their process. You'd figure they would have this information available for the public somewhere by now or have their act together. Nope.

[Tman]

Clay and I are in, ya know that Chris.

Send me a PM, let me know how we can coordinate what we are to speak about.

I would like to touch on the issue brought up about kelp habitat being a decisive factor, and one thing really striked me as odd...LJ kep/habitat is bountiful, very diverse fishery, and with CP going to the dogs literally, you shut down LJ, the pinnipeds will have a field day. And once you have unlimited food supply, just imagine the consequences. Excess breeding will bring serious ramifications; look what the pinnipeds did to CP. Wiped out the fish population, and polluted the water.

And once the pinniped population is to the point of being out of control, something will come in and thin the herds. When they have no human competition, the only apex predator for them to combat with will be GW's.

Now, I'm all for GW's. Top of the food chain. But what are the swimmers, tourists, recreational divers and the likes, gonna say when we have a spate of GW attacks? Think of the CA mountain lion...at one point, deer were plentiful. They grew in numbers, decimated the deer population, and focused their meals elsewhere, mainly the ranchers' stocks. What happens once the LJ fishery is depleted by the pinnipeds? It will be a field day for the GW's, who will go after the pinnipeds, since their comsumptives are depleted. Do they plan to declare an open moratorium on GW's?

I really don't think that this closure is being thought of in regards to future ramifications. I think they are more concerned with getting an early victory, and adjusting their strategy as each new obstacle is presented before them, with no thought of the consequences of their actions.

Just my dos centavos....

[SeaDog]

I'm in; let me know if we're coordinating our efforts.

For any of the kayak fishermen out there who have not yet joined the effort, please start now while there is still time. To those that are representing us and those that our organizing the information, thank you for your time and effort.

[tylerdurden]

Couldn't get on the phone from work today. Any one else have an issue. I did get to the phone a little late though?

I can't watch via the web at work either. It's blocked.

[Holy Mackerel]

I couldn't download the software at work, someone on spearboard, posted another link for streaming audio, of course, work blocked it as well... Hope others could chime in!

[PAL]

Heck of a way to perform the public's business, isn't it?

[esdees]

I listened to the streaming audio when I could, starting after the break around 1:10. It seemed like they only answered one of the public questions. Is that normal, or did I just miss the answer portion of the question and answer?

[tylerdurden]

Originally Posted by PAL

Heck of a way to perform the public's business, isn't it?

Yeah. Getting that feeling from going to the last meeting too. The only way I think to make a difference is to show HUGE turnout to convince them our side cares.

[zenspearo]

http://www.spearboard.com/showpost.p...90&postcount=6

Of course, the DFG MLPA website is still showing a May 8th meeting as of now.


But I called Sacramento and confirmed that it has been canceled.

So no May 8th MLPA BRTF telecon/meeting.

[Holy Mackerel]

Brutal!

Joe, I will give you a call later today, got tied up on work stuff!

chris