LongLine

Dear Congressman, I am writing to voice my concern and opposition any proposed cuts to the USGS Scientific Center budget. The USGS studies plants, animals, bacteria and the interactions with humans and the landscape. They actively support effective management of species, lands and ecosystems and mitigating costly impacts of invasive species, pollution and wildlife diseases which impact every state. They also have outreach/education programs for the public. Tunison National Lab (Cortland NY) and Hammond Bay (Michigan) have been instrumental in our area by supporting the health of the Great lakes and Lake Ontario via research and monitoring of the water and fisheries. They have worked to identify Zebra Mussels, Sea Lampreys and Bird-flu as well as mitigate their harmful affects to our ecosystem. They have also developed control measures to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. Over 180 invasive species have been identified in Lake Ontario alone! USGS has been the "top of the list" resource for agencies of all the states to maintain healthy wildlife. In our fishery, they actively support the restoration of native species such as the Cisco, Bloater, Lake Trout and Salmon which at one time had abundant populations in Lake Ontario. Successful restoration and protection require constant monitoring of the environment so that future generations can enjoy the great outdoors. USGS Biological Labs actively monitors the conditions of the prey fish in the lake to monitor the effectiveness, success and control of the restoration of native game fishes in the lakes. This annual assessment program must not be allowed to lapse. It is far better to have a dedicated body of experienced scientists proactively committed and "at the ready" to solve environmental issues than have states seek out the lowest bidder of educational institutions that would have to start from scratch well after environment catastrophes strike. I urge you to vote against and convince your colleagues in congress to defeat any budget cuts to the USGS Science Center. Thank you (Note: with an edit.)

USGS needs our support. Members of congress concerned with Great lakes: The members of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force are: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) Richard Durbin (D-IL) John Fetterman (D-PA) Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Jon Husted (R-OH) Amy Klobuchar (Vice-Chair) (D-MN) Bernie Moreno (Co-Chair) (R-OH) Gary Peters (Co-Chair) (D-MI) Charles Schumer (D-NY) Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) Tina Smith (D-MN) Todd Young (Vice-Chair) (R-IN) The members of the House Great Lakes Task Force are: Jack Bergman (R-MI-01) Shontel Brown (D-OH-11) Sean Casten (D-IL-06) Debbie Dingell (Co-Chair) (D-MI-06) Bill Foster (D-IL-11) Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06) Bill Huizenga (Co-Chair) (R-MI-04) John James (R-MI-10) David Joyce (Co-Chair) (R-OH-14) Marcy Kaptur (Co-Chair) (D-OH-09) Mike Kelly (R-PA-16) Robin Kelly (D-IL-02) Tim Kennedy (D-NY-26) Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08) Nick Langworthy (R-NY-23) John Mannion (D-NY-22) Lisa McClain (R-MI-09) Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI-08) John Moolenaar (R-MI-02) Gwen Moore (D-WI-04) Joe Morelle (D-NY-25 Frank Mrvan (D-IN-01) Mike Quigley (D-IL-05) Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09) Brad Schneider (D-IL-10) Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03) Pete Stauber (R-MN-08) Bryan Steil (R-WI-01) Haley Stevens (D-MI-11) Emilia Sykes (D-OH-13) Claudia Tenney (R-NY-24) Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13) GT Thompson (R-PA-15) Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12) Michael Turner (R-OH-10) Tim Walberg (R-MI-05) Tony Wied (R-WI-08) Rudy Yakym (R-IN-02) I previously posted a letter to Joe Morelle in other thread with directions on how to email them. Feel free to copy/paste it in to a email to any/all of above.

College is out over the summer (May-Sept) and kids look for work. Interns live at all locations across the lake. What college kid doesn't have a cell phone? Working with a statistical sampling program is a valuable experience for any science major.

They're fishing? Ok, easy to solve. Everyone has to fish out of a certain port on survey day. Each boat must register on the way out with a designated return time. 1st boat must return at 9:00, 2nd at 9:15, 3rd at 9:30, etc. That'll keep surveyors busy all day. LOL Boats bypassing the survey boat? Easy to solve. Have a 2nd DEC boat chase them down. OR add to GR Lakes regulations that passing them by is illegal. They can photograph the registration numbers, turn it over to DMV who can mail them a fine. (Like the thruway) LOL New signs? Easy to solve. Just put flashing LEDs on the STOP sign they use. LOL Scan a QR code? Easy to solve. If you don't have a cell, they can give you one when you get your license and only charge you $2K for the license. Just don't drop it overboard or you'll have to go swimming. Not sure what to do if you bought a lifetime license years ago. LOL Submit pictures for each fish? Easy to solve. Must be 1200 Mbs max. Fish must be held along a length reference and not be fuzzy. 1st pic to be side view that includes head and tail. 2nd photo to show open mouth. C&R fishing not allowed. LOL This site has over 30,00 registered members and is viewed by DEC & USGS personnel for anecdotal experiences. Yet only approx. 100 post any fishing reports. About 12 post regularly. There are very few that report shakers or getting skunked, yet they put in effort also. Very doubtful they would report anything digitally and yet this is important data. There are many who ask: "Is this a Brown or an Atlantic?" Something that might work though: For last couple years there have been college students at the Genny launch. They were studying invasives and checked retrieved trailers/boats for seaweed etc. Could the DEC contact the colleges doing these intern studies to also survey fishermen? I think one group was from Brockport and another from Hobart or ESF. Could a DEC rep make the rounds to many sites over a day and collect surveys? or have interns mail them in? If they sleep, fish, read books or work on their suntans between boats...who cares?

If you've ever had issues identifying fish in the Great Lakes or wondered what the difference is between a Bloater & a Cisco; an Alewife & Shad; or a Brown & Atlantic, this site is an excellent resource. https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/fish-id/#fishMain

For any objective lake-wide survey to have accuracy, it must be taken at random times at random locations. This randomness schedule must be determined before the survey is taken or it will be biased. For example, a survey asking about year-long lake wide bass fishing effort would be meaningless if only bass fishermen were interviewed only during their bass tournament. Obviously, Sandy at that time, was chosen well in advance of setting up the survey. (probably months) A recent survey report specifically noted that fall boat fishing effort was down as multiple stormy conditions prevented fishermen from venturing out. This stormy event would be noted in this year's data. The south shore is a pretty large area, and we all know that fishing conditions can be very different at different ports at the same time. There can be 4 ft waves at Sandy where nobody can get out yet at the same time it can be perfectly calm just east of the Genny where there may be 15 boats fishing the nearshore. The surveyors can't move to the Genny as it would break the predetermined randomness time and location protocols for a lake-wide survey. Historically the prey fish assessment was conducted at set locations however a few years back some random trawls were added. It was acknowledged that alewives can move somewhat E_W and not just N-S. It made the numbers much more representative of the population. A problem with app reporting may be having faith in the data. Will a guy that spends all day but gets skunked report? Will a guy who has caught over his limit report? Will a "rag-boater" report on fishing? If only charters report, will it drive stocking numbers downward? There's a lot more to in-person data collection and statistical protocol than meets the eye. Of course, they could have more surveyors at more locations at the same time, but oh boy! would some complain about costs then!

I don't have a "cleaning lady"; no "lawn guy"; no "pool guy;" (no pool either) and no snow plow guy nor bug guy. Obviously, I can't fire them but if I did and could fire them, taxes would go up to support their unemployment and the gov't would lose income on the income taxes they would have paid. The cost of noodles just went up more in the last 3 months than in the last 5 years. Lose houses and everyone else can pay more in taxes to support the homeless and shelters. Selling a 40 yr old boat won't help much. Yes, the highly employed haven't seen the situation. (The ones with the cleaning-lawn-pool guys) They would see it if they had to start paying. However, all the republicans voted no to having them pay their fair share of taxes. A guy who was convicted of not paying his taxes got elected by gullible voters that he is now distancing himself from by saying his campaign promises were exaggerated and most said in jest. I'm all in favor of fiscal responsibility and thoughtful reductions in spending. But issuing 123 executive orders that blindly cut gov't agencies/projects and then hiring lawyers to defend the constitutionality of 90 of them doesn't demonstrate thoughtfulness. Causing economic chaos is not fiscal responsibility. Not obeying Federal Court orders is treasonous. Redecorating the Oval with gold fixtures, installing more flagpoles and million-dollar photoshoots is squandering taxpayer money. We won't have to worry about the now higher cost of imported moonshines while fishing for the only fish left. I.E. Asian carp. It'll be offset by medical bills when they jump in the boat and hit fishermen in the head. Maybe helmets should be added to the USCG safety checklist now? RFK was slammed by his family; Rogan's ratings are way down, and Elon is jumping ship as he's lost billions due to his thoughtlessness. At least AOC isn't afraid to address voters as all the republicans are. Fishing trip to PR. Pretty landscape. Just goes to show you how unpopular his policies are and how hard it is to find someone that agrees with the baloney.

I knew everything you said was a joke. "Do less with more"???? Bush did that from 2003-2007. Yes, it took Obama a few years to dig us out of it. The debt? I didn't hear complaints about his adding 8.2 trillion (With a T) to it in his 1st time at bat. Nor his million-dollar photoshoots at Superbowl or NSCAR. Nor his 30 golf days, in 100 days, on the taxpayer's dime. I haven't heard what the DOJ defense fund is for defending stupidity, nor anything more about his not paying taxes. Lord don't put the white house on an austerity budget! The little guy will always pay for it one way or another. Whether one has to pay higher house insurance premiums because his FEMA no longer covers natural disasters such as major snowstorms; whether one has to pay higher state taxes because states now have to cover things once covered by Feds or whether the little guy has to pay more for basic necessities. Whether one has to pay more taxes because he fired the people going after tax cheats. Sell public land to oil companies then don't collect any taxes because they invested in development. Don't close tax loopholes. Don't prohibit "cost-reimbursements projects. I guess those don't matter to some people. Wholesale cuts to fishing...well there won't be that many on the bank or in boats emulating the administration. I.E. whipping their flies and/or pulling their plugs. BTW: Feds set the interest rates! Declare a national emergency and suspend/lower interest payments.

You can't change history. There was a recession and very high unemployment in 1982. 1979-1982 is when companies really began moving offshore with drastic cuts in US capital spending and layoffs. Reluctantly, I had to assist training manufacturing people in Ireland in '79 and assist moving an operation to Mexico in '81. Clinton's monetary policy & gov't spending ('83-'01) pulled us out of that jam just as FRD's policy in '33 did. No business or government survives by intentionally cutting their dependable sources of income. The G-Lakes industry represents $5 billion. Blindly cutting support of it is pure mismanagement. It has nothing to do with efficiency. It's downright stupid! Maybe you got a surplus of money, the rest of us don't. The only thing left in the swamp will be the alligators who will turn on each other, just like they are beginning to do now.

Both the House and Senate have bipartisan Great Lakes Task Forces. The NY members are Kennedy, Langworthy, Mannion, Morelli, Tenney, Gillibrand and Schumer. The email address follows the format: "morelli.house. gov". The following is my letter to Morelli. Feel free to copy/paste and send to your representative. Dear Congressman, I am writing to voice my concern and opposition any proposed cuts to the USGS Scientific Center budget. The USGS studies plants, animals, bacteria and the interactions with humans and the landscape. They actively support effective management of species, lands and ecosystems and mitigating costly impacts of invasive species, pollution and wildlife diseases which impact every state. They also have outreach/education programs for the public. Tunison National Lab (Cortland NY) and Hammond Bay (Michigan) have been instrumental in our area by supporting the health of the Great lakes and Lake Ontario via research and monitoring of the water and fisheries. They have worked to identify Zebra Mussels, Sea Lampreys and Bird-flu as well as mitigate their harmful affects to our ecosystem. They have also developed control measures to keep the Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. Over 180 invasive species have been identified in Lake Ontario alone! USGS has been the "top of the list" resource for agencies of all the states to maintain healthy wildlife. In our fishery, they actively support the restoration of native species such as the Cisco, Bloater, Lake Trout and Salmon which at one time had abundant populations in Lake Ontario. Successful restoration and protection requires constant monitoring of the environment so that future generations can enjoy the great outdoors. It is far better to have a dedicated body of experienced scientists proactively committed and "at the ready" to solve environmental issues than have states seek out the lowest bidder of educational institutions that would have to start from scratch well after environment catastrophes strike. I urge you to vote against and convince your colleagues in congress to defeat any budget cuts to the USGS Science Center. Thank you EDIT: Sometimes that email format won't go thru. So just google their name and on their site will be a form to copy/paste the letter in. (also misspelled morelle. (e not i at end of name)

For anyone who doesn't know, if this goes thru, it will affect Tunison National Lab in Cortland NY, which operates the Oswego station. They operate the Kaho research boat which conducts the preyfish assessment as well as monitors Big-O eco/food web/invasive systems in Lake Ontario. Tunison is also the lab that investigated/"cured" the Thiamine issue as well as the VHS issue. When something affects the fish in Lake Ontario, Tunison is at the top of the list to investigate and cure. Tunison has also been "big time" involved with restoring/monitoring the Lake Trout fishery in Lake Ontario. Tunison has also been working to restore the Cisco and Bloater populations in Lake Ontario. The Ciscoes, which were once as abundant as the Atlantic Salmon in Lake Ontario are sought as an alternative food fish for the Salmons (Pacific & Atlantic) and Lakers. If we want abundant lakers, increased stocking, and larger Kings, we need to convince our congress men to oppose any funding cuts to the USGS biological programs.

YAY! Lamprey control back on! https://www.glfc.org/pubs/pressrel/2025_PR_TreatmentSchedule.pdf 11 Big O creeks/streams to be treated. https://www.glfc.org/temp/2025 Treatment Schedule.pdf

Spell checker turned off?...(muck).

THIS SUCKS!