Sign a petition lately? - There's more to the story

[Militant Outdoors]

You may have seen it, you may have already signed it. There is intense discussion surrounding a large 60-slip dock at John's Marina on Mississippi Lake. While we (Militant Outdoors) do not advocate for, or against this project, it appears there are more questions to be asked by all who are watching this unfold. There is a petition being passed around for those who support public access to bodies of water, and that cottage associations can't dictate who can access public bodies of water... such as this petition:

https://www.change.org/petitions/minist ... e_petition

" Thus far, approval has already been received from Navigable Waters, part of Transport Canada endorsing the floating dock installation. As well the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have signed off on the project citing that "harmful alteration, disturbance and destruction to fish habitat" is not anticipated and as such an authorization is not required. "

However, this petition merely scratches the surface, and can be misleading in why you should sign it.

The subject in question is a proposed dock installation at John's Marina on Mississippi Lake in Eastern Ontario, eluded to in the petition outline by the fact that the deadline for public feedback is May 27th 2013 (that's midnight tonight actually). As stated in this petition outline, all of Canada is at risk of losing access to public waterways. However, it isn't made clear who is driving the petition, or where it applies, and again, makes no reference to the John's Marina dock project.

The issue is that local land owners feel the dock project is unwarranted, UN-neccessary, and will negatively impact the environment.

Some points of interest that are not stipulated in the petition mentioned above:

1. John's Marina is responsible to generate the report which outlines the potential environmental impact and community impact that this dock project will have. This is submitted to various associations for approval, including the MNR. Currently the MNR is only looking for the John's Marina report to address their concerns over fishery impact.

2. John's Marina is entitled to hire a 3rd party company to investigate and provide scientific information regarding environmental assessment and potential impact. This company is Shibata Bio Consultants Inc. This is the same Paul Shibata that currently runs the Renegade Bass Series tournaments.

3. The only reason that an assessment/report is required is that John's Marina intends to charge a fee for the public to use the 60 + boat slips, instead of free. Up until now this dock issue has been a debate between local land owners and John's Marina since access has been deemed as free to the public.

Now that you have read the petition, read the point of view from those who feel that the matter requires disclosure:

http://takebackthelake.ca/

"We were informed that the marina’s preferred dock (some 750 feet of docking) will have room to house 66 boats. Only a dock of this size according to the SBC report, will sufficiently satisfy “the significant demand for boat slips on the Mississippi .” However, we will have to take them at their word on this since the report contains no data or documentation to support that assertion; no tracking surveys; no letters of requests or confirmation from 66 prospective slip users; no prospective slip users or supporters at the meeting, except several employees of John’s Marina, who milled about, read the documentation and submitted written comment slips to SBC staff." (SBC = Shibata Bio Consultants Inc)

Public feedback is finished tonight at midnight. It is up to John's Marina to respond to MNR questions and ALL public concerns. When contacted, an MNR representative said that this could be within a couple of weeks.

Given those involved, there is more to this discussion, we suspect. The http://takebackthelake.ca/ article touches upon Paul Shibata's affiliation with the Renegade Bass Series. This in itself appears to have raised concerns on the source of what should be an impartial scientific report. Furthermore, this has the potential to reflect poorly not only on fishing tournaments in general, but the elite series that is Renegade Bass.

While we are all experienced with issues as they relate to landowner vs anglers. With regard to public access and moreover tournament events which make use of local water bodies, as it stands things are becoming blurred by misinformation as it applies to this issue. One side is driving their best interests, against the other side. There seems to be a "spin" of information happening, perhaps a misrepresentation... so, check the available information, and you be the judge. Is there a conflict of interest? Does this issue stem beyond a simple dock project into some other dealings? Does this actually have anything to do with public access to public waterways?

... we suspect there is more to come.

Militant

[Militant Outdoors]

If you have been following this story, you probably already know that Renegade Bass members recently received an email blast encouraging them to sign the previously mentioned petition, or, as stated in the petition, risk losing access to local fisheries. This email blast has caught the attention of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and has been deemed as being in direct conflict with the MNR Class Environmental Assessment process. Renegade Bass has been ordered to retract the petition as a result.

http://takebackthelake.ca/

05/30/13 — MNR Seeks Retraction From Renegade Bass

We shared the Renegade Bass mass email (discussed in posts below) with the MNR asking for comment about the assertion in the mail that signing the petition will “help the Ministry of Natural Resources create enhanced public access on Mississippi Lake.” The prompt response from the MNR is copied below in it’s entirety.

“Thank you for sharing this information. The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) wasn’t aware of, nor approved the Renegade Bass: “Seeking your Support” email. We have contacted Renegade Bass and requested a retraction.

.... clearly there is more to this story than a simple dock project on a local lake. Why is the Renegade Executive involving its members like this?

We invite you all to stay informed, and join the discussion. Stay vigilant, and support the Renegade anglers.

Militant

[Bassassins]

Crazy boys - followed all alone and its nuts what is going on!!!