I grew up in mid Michigan. When I was a kid my family and the families of friends would head up north in the spring and join 100s of others doing what was called smelt dipping. Basically you'd stand in the river at night with nets and scoop net fulls of smelt out. We would dump them into 5 gallon bucks waiting on the shore. When we got as many as we felt we wanted we'd load up the car and head home. The woman then cleaned them to freeze. We ate them until the next spring. I haven't been for years.
My Dad would tell stories of doing the same when he was a kid in the '40s and '50s. My gma would save gunny sacks to put them in and the car would be so full that Dad would ride back home sitting on the bags.
Saving these fish isn't a new idea here in Michigan. Many may remember the flood that happened in Michigan because the DS decided not to repair the Edenville and Sanford Dams. When rains put a strain on the dams they refused to open the spillways because they wanted to support invasive fish and mussels.
The failure of these dams allowed these invasive species, such as lampreys, to enter upstream rivers, threatening native fish populations. Prior to the dam break, the dams had been blocking the upstream migration of invasive species from Lake Michigan. After the breach, invasive species had easier access to upstream waters, potentially outcompeting and preying on native species.
The point is I love to eat smelt. I understand what invasive species can do to native populations, yet many think at some point we need to put people first. What are the cost of repairing dams and conserving water so that we as Americans can make both convervation and peoples needs a priority?
Why can’t they net the fish and release them elsewhere?
Things are so screwed up and the gov’ts are responsible.
Yes they did! They lobbied for Federal funds for environmental purposes and then proceeded laundering those monies into their bank accounts!
Q said for us to "Watch California" and "Watch the water".......
They drove many farms and orchards out of the central valley by cutting off their water.
The Delta smelt. Clearly more important than humans. 🙄 Environmentalists suck.
The end result, or the end of the spectrum for an environmentalist is anti- human.
It smelts fishy to me...
I grew up in mid Michigan. When I was a kid my family and the families of friends would head up north in the spring and join 100s of others doing what was called smelt dipping. Basically you'd stand in the river at night with nets and scoop net fulls of smelt out. We would dump them into 5 gallon bucks waiting on the shore. When we got as many as we felt we wanted we'd load up the car and head home. The woman then cleaned them to freeze. We ate them until the next spring. I haven't been for years. My Dad would tell stories of doing the same when he was a kid in the '40s and '50s. My gma would save gunny sacks to put them in and the car would be so full that Dad would ride back home sitting on the bags.
Saving these fish isn't a new idea here in Michigan. Many may remember the flood that happened in Michigan because the DS decided not to repair the Edenville and Sanford Dams. When rains put a strain on the dams they refused to open the spillways because they wanted to support invasive fish and mussels.
The failure of these dams allowed these invasive species, such as lampreys, to enter upstream rivers, threatening native fish populations. Prior to the dam break, the dams had been blocking the upstream migration of invasive species from Lake Michigan. After the breach, invasive species had easier access to upstream waters, potentially outcompeting and preying on native species.
The point is I love to eat smelt. I understand what invasive species can do to native populations, yet many think at some point we need to put people first. What are the cost of repairing dams and conserving water so that we as Americans can make both convervation and peoples needs a priority?
These “environmentalists“ need to be put on tribunals as well
Hey Roger...."Fish lives matter". Idiot. If we don't have fish in our streams, how do humans eat? The circle of life, ya know. (Sarc)