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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Brian Weber (989) 892-4356 February 24, 2005
Terry
Miller (989) 450-8097
SPORTSMEN TO
APPEAL TO GOVERNOR
TIRED OF DIRTY FISH IN DIRTY WATER, SPORTSMEN TO ASK GRANHOLM TO
HELP CLEAN THE SAGINAW RIVER AND BAY
An effort to recruit the sports fishing
community in the battle over Saginaw River and bay water quality has
environmental group leadership pleased at the out pouring of concern. Brian Weber, outreach worker for the Lone
Tree Council, a watchdog group active on dioxin and other issues linked to bay
water quality said today, “He couldn’t keep the pen in his hand, fisherman
couldn’t sign up fast enough.” What they were signing was a petition to
Governor Jennifer Granholm urging her to take a more forceful stand on plugging
the sewage being dumped in area waters, more aggressive action on Dow’s cleanup
of dioxin, and making a clear commitment to protecting coastal wetlands. “There is an untapped reservoir of anger
around the fish and water quality in the area,” said Lone Tree Council
chairman, Terry Miller. “The
natural constituency is the sports fishing community, and Brian Weber has made
that connection. It is clear that
sportsmen are fed up with our waters being used as a toilet by both cities and
corporations.” The Saginaw River Watershed is the largest
in the state, twenty-two counties in part or whole. A butterfly shaped area covering 8,600 square
miles. The Saginaw River itself is
a turbid, 22-mile long waterway with four major tributaries – the Cass, Flint,
Shiawassee, and Tittabawassee. And
waters fouled by years of industrial use and combined sewage overflows. Weber, a Bay City resident and long-time
sports fisherman with three children has volunteered to work with the sports
community. He has visited bait
shops, gone out on the ice, and sat in angler meetings, and that was just the
first week. “I was told that five bait shops have
closed up in Saginaw, and my own children call the river ‘sick’, that’s not the
legacy I want to leave them,” says Weber.
“This area has so much economic potential with a clean river and bay,
it’s a shame if we don’t invest in it.” The group’s goal is to have 700 hundred
signatures to deliver to Gov. Granholm before the spring thaw and rains once
more plague the river and bay with raw or partially treated sewage, and the
threat of flooding spreads dioxin contaminated sediment both downriver into the
bay and onto residential properties.
At 430 signatures, that goal has passed the half-way mark, and the
campaign just started last week. “We live here, the river and bay are part
of us, we need to be responsible, and that may mean we have to make some
noise,” said Weber. “The petition
tells us there are a lot of people out there wanting to add their voices.” For groups wanting copies of the petition
or information, contact Brian Weber at (989) 892-4356 or Terry Miller at (989)
686-6386 |