More precious than Gold

Well, its been a while since I've posted anything.  Life has a way of getting busier as you get older-spare time is worth its weight in gold pretty much these days as work consumes my being & family is the most important thing in my life these days.  It has been a very busy year, possibly the most rewarding year of my life.  But there are some things happening in this fine placed called the U.P. of Michigan that are just plain alarming to me. Something needs to be done.

Organic, earth first, green, healthy living-we hear these words or terms every day now & they encompass many of our lives.  Manufacturers use these words for marketing mainly, trying to convince consumers that their product is superior & no animals or plants were hurt when making it.  Whatever. Everyone these days realizes how vital it is to take of mother earth, it has been shit on for so long that it is about time we actually give a damn about how we live our lives impacts the environment.  So people are doing their best to try to help out each other as well as their surroundings.

So is it alarming that everywhere else in the USA that state/local governments are fighting tooth & nail against invasive mining and or damming of natural rivers?  We have taken a real kick in the nuts lately here in the Northern U.P. in this department.  First off the city of Marquette & Marquette Board of Light/Power decided to re dam the Dead River system.  This decision was made to re-create Tourist Park Lake, prolly because land owners wanted their property values back-God knows this dam cant be worth the investment to create such nominal power.  Yes, there prolly wasnt much for Steelhead, Salmon or Trout that made it above those falls-but c'mon, this makes the environmental friendly city of Marquette look damn stupid.  What a waste of money & to turn back a natural river is not cool.

Secondly, this mining push has got to stop.  The blasting has started up on the Yelllow Dog Plains & the writing is on the wall.  I fear the worst as one of the most wild & beautiful places I have ever been may be ruined for future generations-I pray that my baby daughter can someday cast for Coaster Brook Trout with me while we watch Bald Eagles & Falcons soar above.

Now the "Back 40" mine on the Menominee river in the Southern U.P.-this is one of the finest fisheries in the United States.  This is a border State & I hope the anglers of Wisconsin can help stop this bullshit.  This is a gold mine & it is as bad or worse than what is happening up on the Yellow Dog Plains.  Kinda hard to stop these mines when our state government wants them to happen because our economy is so piss poor.

Join the fight.  Just tell anyone how much you think this sucks.  Doesn't matter who, just tell someone.  The more people who know about this & don't like it the better.  Only you can decide what is important. My rant........

Outbound & Downtown

Exploring.  This is something that every person has done in their life, to me it just never seems to get old.  I remember as a kid riding my bicycle so much with my waders on I would wear holes on the inside of the wader's legs from rubbing on the bike frame. As an angler, I very much so still relish the opportunity to fish new water for just about any type of fish.  I've traveled across the U.S. & several countries fishing, the increased pulse rate & downright sheer excitement of when you step into a new piece of water is exhilarating.  One can hardly expect to catch fish when fishing someplace new, you have to earn this right.   Putting together the pieces of the puzzle to find choice water & then figuring out your plan of attack is a work of art. Learning is such an important part of fishing and life in general.  One does not become an expert at fishing after a year or two at this sport, anyone who says they are is full of shit. Actually, anyone who declares themselves an "expert" is a pompous ass-once you stop learning your game is over. Catching fish in a  place or two is the norm, but take that game to locales across the board & get ready to be very humbled. Rarely do these quests pan out into much, but every so often you find yourself a gem.  Over the years one of my fishing partners & I have logged way too many miles on both of our vehicles in search of the holy grail.  Our wives think we are idiots as many days we just drive across the U.P. spending loot on pricey fuel and we don't even get a cast in with the fly rod. But dammit, when you have one of those days where the stars align and one of these places you have researched actaully has some sweet trophy fish-it feels damn good.

Experience the finest-Fly Fishing in Michigan Upper Peninsula-
http://www.riversnorth.net

Land Mine

Sure, the Upper Peninsula was founded pretty much upon the mining of the valuable minerals found deep in the soils and bedrock of this land. Many people moved to the Upper Peninsula to work in this industry to provide for their families-it was how the U.P. became what it is today.  Currently the U.P. still has vast deposits of minerals-recently this has been a hot topic as some mining companies have been granted permission by our state and federal governments to mine in extremely sensitive environmental areas.

Even with responsible mining techniques that are present this day in age, it is so absurd to allow the opportunity for a company to possibly destroy our natural resources in search of a product that will put money in their pocket.  Mining now is different from the mining that founded the U.P., we know so much more now about adverse effects of mining from what we did back then.  The future of areas that are remote and beautiful like the Upper Peninsula rest with tourism.  The U.P. has become a global destination because of its vast abundance of natural beauty and wonderful natural resources.  Every season anglers from across the U.S. and world travel here to fish with me to experience what the U.P. has to offer. Managing our natural resources correctly so that many generations are able to enjoy the benefits is key, not opening up our land for possible destruction.  If a species like the wild coaster Brook Trout is lost because of a mining mishap, it can never be brought back to its truly wild status.

Whoever is part of allowing this mine in the Yellow Dog Plains should be ashamed of themselves for letting greed possibly ruin something beautiful and pure.  If there is a line, it needs to be drawn. 

Nice work Marquette City Commission- Way to stand up and give Rio Tinto the bird!
http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/558385/City-commission-unhappy-with-Kennecott-haul-move.html?nav=5006