tkwalker
04-30-2013, 11:22 PM
TWRA Reiterates Desire To Work With USACE For Solutions To Boat Restrictions Below Dams, But Will Not Enforce Permanent Restrictions ... This Statement is from Ed Carter, Director of TWRA, In reply to a release from the Corp that it will not be putting up Barriers but will be placing buoys and signs ... And the TWRA would be enforcing this action ..
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will continue working to reach a solution with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal agency’s plan to restrict boat access below Cumberland River dams, but will not provide enforcement to the Corps if it imposes permanent waterborne restrictions, according to the state agency’s executive director.
“We understand the Corps of Engineers wants our waters to be safe and so do we,” said TWRA’s Ed Carter. “However, we believe that creating restrictions below dams should be conditioned based and not 100 percent of the time. If there is a lot of water pouring through the spill gates, we can understand restrictions on hazardous days. Otherwise, our boating accident reports indicate anglers have a good safety record below dams and we do not see a rational reason to prevent them from fishing there.”
Carter noted that Tennessee has a mandatory life jacket law whenever anyone fishes or boats below a dam. It has been in place since 1989 and there have been six boat-related deaths below Cumberland River dams during that 24-year period.
The TWRA, which provides boating enforcement across Tennessee, has asked the Nashville District office of the Corps of Engineers to reconsider its implementation plan, but the Corps has continued to move forward and today issued a press release stating it would be “coordinating enforcement of the restrictions with” the fish and wildlife agencies in Tennessee and Kentucky.
“We definitely want to coordinate with them, but we want the Corps to continue allowing boat access below our dams as has been allowed for decades,” said Carter. “The TWRA commission, thousands of anglers, our U.S. Senators in Tennessee, all of our U.S. congressmen with Cumberland River dams in their districts, and both houses of our state legislature have opposed permanent restrictions."
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will continue working to reach a solution with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the federal agency’s plan to restrict boat access below Cumberland River dams, but will not provide enforcement to the Corps if it imposes permanent waterborne restrictions, according to the state agency’s executive director.
“We understand the Corps of Engineers wants our waters to be safe and so do we,” said TWRA’s Ed Carter. “However, we believe that creating restrictions below dams should be conditioned based and not 100 percent of the time. If there is a lot of water pouring through the spill gates, we can understand restrictions on hazardous days. Otherwise, our boating accident reports indicate anglers have a good safety record below dams and we do not see a rational reason to prevent them from fishing there.”
Carter noted that Tennessee has a mandatory life jacket law whenever anyone fishes or boats below a dam. It has been in place since 1989 and there have been six boat-related deaths below Cumberland River dams during that 24-year period.
The TWRA, which provides boating enforcement across Tennessee, has asked the Nashville District office of the Corps of Engineers to reconsider its implementation plan, but the Corps has continued to move forward and today issued a press release stating it would be “coordinating enforcement of the restrictions with” the fish and wildlife agencies in Tennessee and Kentucky.
“We definitely want to coordinate with them, but we want the Corps to continue allowing boat access below our dams as has been allowed for decades,” said Carter. “The TWRA commission, thousands of anglers, our U.S. Senators in Tennessee, all of our U.S. congressmen with Cumberland River dams in their districts, and both houses of our state legislature have opposed permanent restrictions."