M
Mike
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Per the article provided earlier in this thread and the comment by the PFBC's Brian Barner, Area Fisheries Mgrs have been given the opportunity to suggest how they think the monies generated by each specific voluntary permit should be spent. This also allowed AFM's to suggest how these future expenditures could be documented for the angling public.
Regarding possible options for trout streams, my comments were strongly aimed at habitat and water quality enhancements, such as in-stream work, riparian buffer zone planting, which can be done relatively quickly due to no permits needed for out of the stream work, Agricultural BMP's, and mine discharge (sediment control or chemical water quality) enhancements, particularly to aid or expand projects that are already partially or fully underway in order to be able to initially report results back to anglers much more quickly than if brand new projects were being started.
I would also include dam removals as another option, as there is one project that will soon start and another being seriously discussed in Area 6 alone that are fully or partially aimed at trout. After dams are removed, habitat enhancement should often follow, but in my experience that aspect is sometimes short on funding.
Additionally, another thought would be to enhance portions of select stocked trout streams that also support wild trout, particularly those with Class A sections immediately upstream from stocked sections so that enhancements to the upstream stretches of the stocked sections might result in a downstream extension of Class A stretches if and when the biomasses responded favorably.
No man is an island, as they say, and my thoughts may or may not be in tune with those of others. Broad program priorities will undoubtedly be established at the administrative level, not by AFM's, but through this process AFM's will have had an initial and welcomed opportunity to participate.
Regarding possible options for trout streams, my comments were strongly aimed at habitat and water quality enhancements, such as in-stream work, riparian buffer zone planting, which can be done relatively quickly due to no permits needed for out of the stream work, Agricultural BMP's, and mine discharge (sediment control or chemical water quality) enhancements, particularly to aid or expand projects that are already partially or fully underway in order to be able to initially report results back to anglers much more quickly than if brand new projects were being started.
I would also include dam removals as another option, as there is one project that will soon start and another being seriously discussed in Area 6 alone that are fully or partially aimed at trout. After dams are removed, habitat enhancement should often follow, but in my experience that aspect is sometimes short on funding.
Additionally, another thought would be to enhance portions of select stocked trout streams that also support wild trout, particularly those with Class A sections immediately upstream from stocked sections so that enhancements to the upstream stretches of the stocked sections might result in a downstream extension of Class A stretches if and when the biomasses responded favorably.
No man is an island, as they say, and my thoughts may or may not be in tune with those of others. Broad program priorities will undoubtedly be established at the administrative level, not by AFM's, but through this process AFM's will have had an initial and welcomed opportunity to participate.
albud1962
Active member
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- Dec 3, 2006
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- 785
noticed that there wasnt a voluntary stamp for stocked trout which argubably costs more than $15 per angler. i also dont like how this voluntary program is being implemented. on the electronic licenses you have to manually uncheck them before you submit payment otherwise you are charged.
Swattie87
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Just an update...I purchased my 2019 license and did not buy the voluntary stamp. I strongly considered just buying it and reassessing for next year as several others have suggested, but I still think that's backwards from a public policy application standpoint, and I don't want to encourage more of that. As WT anglers being asked to voluntarily contribute to what is being pitched as a WT cause, we should be given reasonable information about how the newly raised additional funds will be apportioned up front. If such information becomes available, I can always add the stamp to my 2019 license later I suppose.
I've donated 3 or 4x the monetary amount of the WT stamp in the last month to other WT and FFing related causes. I'll sleep well tonight in anticipation of my traditional New Year's Day outing tomorrow. Given the rain we're going to get today, looks like it will be on a small WT stream.
Not looking to generate or engage in any further debate, we've all relayed our arguments, and I've appreciated those who have provided viewpoints in opposition to my own to consider. I did consider them, and thank you. Just wanted to relay my ultimate decision, and why.
I've donated 3 or 4x the monetary amount of the WT stamp in the last month to other WT and FFing related causes. I'll sleep well tonight in anticipation of my traditional New Year's Day outing tomorrow. Given the rain we're going to get today, looks like it will be on a small WT stream.
Not looking to generate or engage in any further debate, we've all relayed our arguments, and I've appreciated those who have provided viewpoints in opposition to my own to consider. I did consider them, and thank you. Just wanted to relay my ultimate decision, and why.
afishinado
Moderator
Staff member
Good stuff! Sleep well my friend...
Happy New Year to all....looking for the monsoons to end in 2019.
geebee
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i bought the License and paid the Voluntary Habitat enhancement fee.
it does not mention it anyway on the License though. i would of thought it would have on the back.
i wonder if they will publish the funding figures for each voluntary category.
it does not mention it anyway on the License though. i would of thought it would have on the back.
i wonder if they will publish the funding figures for each voluntary category.
FarmerDave
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Likely not fishing in PA this year, but was considering buying the non-res license anyway. Sort of a donation and just in case.
Now I am thinking just buy the voluntary thing and save a few bucks. ;-)
Now I am thinking just buy the voluntary thing and save a few bucks. ;-)
Dave_W
Moderator
Staff member
Agree that the voluntary permits should appear on the regular license just below the trout/salmon stamp. Should be an easy fix for the future.
I too am interested in seeing the results from these permits. I've long been in favor of voluntary permits such as these. I hope my optimism about their success is not excessive.
Fredrick
Well-known member
Why would you need to show that you paid for a voluntary permit ?
Is it like a merit badge of sorts, a badge of honor or like a FOP license plate were you get certain unsaid professional courtesies
. I thought we didn't have to display you license anymore ? If you need a meritorious ribbon for your donation id suggest they issue buttons like the SOS ones they are more fitting for display .
FarmerDave
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Fredrick wrote:
Why would you need to show that you paid for a voluntary permit ?
Is it like a merit badge of sorts, a badge of honor or like a FOP license plate were you get certain unsaid professional courtesies
I was thinking the same thing, cept I think you still have to display the license.
But those of you that want to be noticed for voluntarily paying extra, feel free to attach a gold star.
Nymph-wristed
Well-known member
I bucked up for mine and just made my own gold star! The problem with underfunded government strikes again, I think. The same folks who did the marketing/public relations and the IT for this initiative are about as effective as the folks who rolled out the Affordable Care Act without clearly selling the benefits and with a ****** website that crashed when the enrollment began. The Comish seemed more concerned that their vendor would be able to accommodate the new permits than clearly selling the benefits of the program to the consumer. Cart before the horse? Perhaps they can make it right on the back end.
PDFs, vague press releases, and YouTube videos with comments turned off? That's 1999 marketing! I hope that a lot is done on the back end to share the assessment that the PFBC does on these initiatives. In edition to new reports on how sales go and how the new money will be used, it would be nice to see the documentation behind these existing programs and the good they do/did before the potential budget increase.
Man, are folks going to be even more cynical about govt if this proves to be nothing more than a feeler to see how much we will pay.
Lastly, any movement on charging fisherman, hikers, birders, etc. to use SGLs? Or is this dead?
PDFs, vague press releases, and YouTube videos with comments turned off? That's 1999 marketing! I hope that a lot is done on the back end to share the assessment that the PFBC does on these initiatives. In edition to new reports on how sales go and how the new money will be used, it would be nice to see the documentation behind these existing programs and the good they do/did before the potential budget increase.
Man, are folks going to be even more cynical about govt if this proves to be nothing more than a feeler to see how much we will pay.
Lastly, any movement on charging fisherman, hikers, birders, etc. to use SGLs? Or is this dead?
Acristickid
Well-known member
Gold star - good one. This is from a guy who if he spent 5% of the time he posted on the internet doing stream improvement or writing letters for a good cause- many more problems would be solved.
There are doers and freeloaders.
There are doers and freeloaders.
FarmerDave
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You clearly know very little about me, and I clearly like it that way.
silverfox
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I agree that the commission needs to better engage their customers. Especially on these new voluntary permits. They operate more like a private business than a government agency in that they're almost entirely funded by sales of licenses and permits. So if they want to be successful financially, they need to market and sell their wares more effectively. Again, more like a private business than an underfunded government agency.
They should be more engaging on social media. Heck, send someone here officially to talk about this stuff (this site does probably house a good number of people who would buy these permits). By not, it fuels the speculation that they're withholding some important information about how the money will be used. Of course, if they're strapped for cash, maybe they don't have the budget for a full time social media guru.
I don't understand why they wouldn't be more forthcoming with information and even aggressive in marketing these voluntary permits. Of course, we're really just coming out of the holidays, so maybe some more information is coming soon? I sure hope so. I think they're missing an opportunity here to help generate some much needed revenue.
R
reelinron
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When I buy my license very soon I will buy a voluntary permit along with it. It's not like it's a small fortune. Sooner or later you gotta trust something or somebody..................I suspect it will make a small difference somewhere in our beautiful state, and while I would like to see some evidence of how it gets used, I will probably buy in again next year even if I don't.
I used to run a fishing club at the school where I taught. The PFBC sent a guy who gave the kids a nice talk followed by a casting lesson where every kid got to try spin cast, spinning and fly casting. The guy drove 70 miles with all this gear and did a real nice job with the kids. Sure it was his job, but he did a good job! Other than people who have seen this type of thing, nobody knew. Just because many didn't know didn't mean it never happened.
My 2 cents. Ron
I used to run a fishing club at the school where I taught. The PFBC sent a guy who gave the kids a nice talk followed by a casting lesson where every kid got to try spin cast, spinning and fly casting. The guy drove 70 miles with all this gear and did a real nice job with the kids. Sure it was his job, but he did a good job! Other than people who have seen this type of thing, nobody knew. Just because many didn't know didn't mean it never happened.
My 2 cents. Ron
K
KennettSteve
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Bought my license yesterday and the agent (shop clerk) didn't even ask if I wanted any of the voluntary stamps, just if I wanted a trout stamp. Not sure they are even aware of them
Mwheaps32
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- Sep 7, 2016
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That doesn't surprise me at all. I don't believe many anglers are purchasing them so their probably not telling them. In fact where I bought my license the store had just found out that they needed to charge for the book and they had given out several books for free with license purchase.
Nymph-wristed
Well-known member
Good point about the private business, silverfox. Either way, better marketing and easier to find info on the programs would have been nice. I need to see some charts and case studies this year, at least! Show me where the money goes so I want to buy one next year.
Dave_W
Moderator
Staff member
Not sure about the social media angle...
The recent re-design of the PFBC website seems to me to have been a ham fisted attempt to better connect with prevalent social media, especially Twitter.
Unfortunately, this website re-design has made it much less user friendly. Speaking for myself, I visit the PFBC website far less than I used to due to this new, poorly designed site.
Of course, this could be understood as evidence for the need for better handling of social media.
The recent re-design of the PFBC website seems to me to have been a ham fisted attempt to better connect with prevalent social media, especially Twitter.
Unfortunately, this website re-design has made it much less user friendly. Speaking for myself, I visit the PFBC website far less than I used to due to this new, poorly designed site.
Of course, this could be understood as evidence for the need for better handling of social media.
