BigBendFishing.Net

Bastads

Four species is only the tip of the iceberg.
All estuararian marine habitats depend on a salinity balance provided by freshwater influx.
In our Gulf of Mexico the species that survive to move offshore to become reproducing adults will all be devastated. This includes grouper,redfish,cobia just to name a few that the environmentalists are already saying are threatened. The inshore species will fall by the wayside as well.
It is a major shame that the American people have such stupid people mandating any issue on our behalf.
The freshwater resources of this country belong equally to this country.
Sounds to me like the making of Civil War #2.
This country is on the verge of extinguishing itself.
History is beginning to repeat itself.

Althought I live in Georgia I do side with you in Florida.
All they have to do is look at what happened in the Everglades when salinity levels where increased.
The effects were reversed when fresh water flow was incresed.
This will be alot harder to fix because your dealing with three states. The Everglades issue was fixed
when the state of Florida steped in.
Makes me sooo mad!!!

Sorry, gotta vent on this one but it’s likely to piss somebody off.
If I were to weigh the value of Lake Lanier compared to one of the worlds most productive estuaries
then it’s a no brainer, Lake Lanier can dry up and blow away.
The trouble I have is with the hypocrisy of supporting one side of an environmental issue with
virtually no objectivity at all.
Save our fish?
I have to wonder how many people who disagree with this ruling also think climate change
is a bunch of bleeding heart liberal save the polar bear BS.

Parrothead wrote:Althought I live in Georgia I do side with you in Florida.
All they have to do is look at what happened in the Everglades when salinity levels where increased.
The effects were reversed when fresh water flow was incresed.
This will be alot harder to fix because your dealing with three states. The Everglades issue was fixed
when the state of Florida steped in.
Makes me sooo mad!!!

Agreed

I don't think we're stopping all the water - we're just keeping a little for own lively hood. Believe it or not we've been in a drought for the past few years and a lot of our lakes, rivers and ponds won't make it through the summer if it keeps going the way it's going. While I'm all for fishing the gulf I'm also for drinking water and towns and communities surviving. I'm sure none care if Lake Lanier dries up and blows away - because you don't live there. Been on here a while and never heard anyone say it's good when a huricane hits - so why is a lake drying up ok? The last time I was at Icky there were more Ga. tags than Fl. tags in the parking lot - so this issue affects everyone, but if it comes down to people vs animals(fish) then I'm for the people. Blame the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - not the people from Georgia.

Ok , Ill jump in the hornets nest, usually do. In being from Georgia yet loving Florida's coast, Im torn. I personally think Atlanta and the other north Georgia communities that use the lakes and river for water resources should do what most small towns do and dig wells. Theres a lot more water under the surface than on top. I dont understand why the GA/AL/FL governing bodies cant come to some type of agreement as to alot Fl an ample amount of water without draining North Ga. Florida should determine the amount of water necessary for everyday minimal operations and settle for that until a better solution arises. A little water has got to be better than none!! There has to be a happy medium and allow the water to be shared. Ill bet if the politics and lawyers are taken out and you let a couple of good Ol boys sit down and hash it out like farmers used to with water rights issues, this arguement would be a thing of the past!!Just my .02 and then some.

Jumptrout51 wrote:Four species is only the tip of the iceberg.
All estuararian marine habitats depend on a salinity balance provided by freshwater influx.
In our Gulf of Mexico the species that survive to move offshore to become reproducing adults will all be devastated. This includes grouper,redfish,cobia just to name a few that the environmentalists are already saying are threatened. The inshore species will fall by the wayside as well.
It is a major shame that the American people have such stupid people mandating any issue on our behalf.
The freshwater resources of this country belong equally to this country.
Sounds to me like the making of Civil War #2.
This country is on the verge of extinguishing itself.
History is beginning to repeat itself.

Hate to say it but I agree JT...........Dayum shame ain't it

Jumptrout51 wrote:Four species is only the tip of the iceberg.
All estuararian marine habitats depend on a salinity balance provided by freshwater influx.
In our Gulf of Mexico the species that survive to move offshore to become reproducing adults will all be devastated. This includes grouper,redfish,cobia just to name a few that the environmentalists are already saying are threatened. The inshore species will fall by the wayside as well.
It is a major shame that the American people have such stupid people mandating any issue on our behalf.
The freshwater resources of this country belong equally to this country.
Sounds to me like the making of Civil War #2.
This country is on the verge of extinguishing itself.
History is beginning to repeat itself.

Pretty much sums it up.

BAD BEHAVIOR wrote:Ok , Ill jump in the hornets nest, usually do.

Me too.

Mark K wrote:I'm sure none care if Lake Lanier dries up and blows away - because you don't live there. Been on here a while and never heard anyone say it's good when a huricane hits - so why is a lake drying up ok?

Yeah, that was was harsh. I was just trying to emphasize the point of comparing the value of the two "resources". They're nowhere close to equal. This is in large part reflected in a answer to your question:
"...why is a lake drying up ok?"
Lanier isn't really a lake. The difference might seem semantics but the biology of a damned river is a whole lot different than an estuary. I can't take the time to explain that much further now but there really is a lot to know.
For example, addressing this point:
"...Been on here a while and never heard anyone say it's good when a huricane hits ..."
A hurricane hitting Florida is good. We often wish for it. Our weather stations make no bones about it.
Not a Cat 3-5 but a 1-2 is most appreciated. We do say it's good. It is good.
Are we ready to make a great big leap into the concept of why lot's of water could be a good thing?

Can anybody say Colorado River? The same forces that extinguished the river from consistently reaching the Gulf of California are in play here. As each new "need" is rationalized up river the quanity and quality of water is diminished ultimately destroying a long established balance as it heads to our Gulf of Mexico. The destruction which took place along the Colorado River happened in the span of one lifetime. If you expect the Gulf to provide a recreaction area for your grand children we can not support the continued degradation of the Florida esturay system. Every future "need" will be debated as population pressure grows bu the only "NEED" that makes sense to me is the NEED to leave it as it was... NATURAL!

As the saying goes, you can't un-ring a Bell. As they say, too much water has passed under the bridge. What is next...fill in Sikes cut, move hwy 98 inland all the way from AP to PC. A lot of pollution runs off the highway. Making the 200 or so people with House boats North of Apalach on the river move them will go a long way to bettering the fecal matter ppm count in the Bay. At least make them put in burners for the waste instead of dumping in the river. If you think Georgia is going to dry up the river you have lost your mind. I say, and so do some of the people that know what they are talking about, that over the last two years if the Dams were not in place to maintain a steady flow, there would have been several times that there would have been little to no water to make it to the Bay. The severity of the droughts in the area would have cut the flow down to nearly nothing. They still have to let a Fed. mandated volume of water down the river in order to protect some of the species on the endanger list. The Flow will go from about 5000 CFS to 4500CFS. Lake Lanier is a nice and convenient target, but very little of the water in that watershed would ever make it to the Gulf, regardless of whether the lake was there or not. If it was the only water flow from there to the gulf it would never make it that far.

Perhaps this can be considered a "cop out" but I'd like to commend all who have expressed their feelings on this issue up to this point. All points have been expressed well and show a lot of thought, and concern for the complete picture. I can't say I really disagree with any of the positions taken. They're all good points! I sure do appreciate this forum sometimes!

I can appreciate all the views above and also the allegiances expressed and I, too, am one of those on the "fence."
I do feel the major issue has been avoided....ATLANTA FEELS ENTITLED TO ANY AND ALL WATER SUPPLIES TO SUPPORT ITS TERRIBLE RECORD OF WASTE
AND ABUSES. It's infrastructure, like many major cities, is a disaster as concerns water management and practices. Also consider the stark reality....
AS ATLANTA GOES SO GOES THE STATE! In my lifetime I've seen the glorious Apalach go thru numerous changes starting with the Lake Seminole impoundment
in 1955. I'm trying to remember something environmentally favorable but my mind is blank.

Sadly....politicians, judges and commissions generally could really care less about the simple truths of water supply fluctuations vs. validity and importance of demands and
any concerns sportsmen might have.