01/17/14 – Hey – how am I supposed to know this is Friday not Thursday – I’m retired. So a day late but here goes.

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a bill that placed some needed restrictions on Gold Dredging here in Maine.  It was a first step and now it’s time for the next one.

Step two is LD 1671:
An Act To Prohibit Motorized Recreational Gold Prospecting in Certain Atlantic Salmon and Brook Trout Spawning Habitats

When I posted about the last bill I linked to a video showing some dredging.  Well, I kept looking and found more videos and after watching them I decide to make a short (about 2-minutes) showing some of the damage that these dredging operations can do – a condensed consolidation of what I saw on YouTube.

Check this out.

This bill needs some support from the fishing community. Believe me the Gold Dredger are organized and they will be there in force. There were plenty at the last hearing and they aren’t shy about speaking out. We need to be just as vocal and supportive of this bill as they are in opposition to it.

If you can attend the hearing and want to the time and location are listed below. If you can’t make it but are willing to send an email please send it to the Committee Clerk also listed below.

The hearing is Monday, January 27th, 1 pm, in room 216 of the Cross Building (right behind the Capitol building in Augusta, parking in the parking garage).

Jacob Stern
Clerk, Committee on Enviornment and Natural Resources
Maine State LegislatureCross Building, Room 216
207-287-4149
Email: [email protected]

To track the bill or find a PDF with the bill text follow this link.
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/b … =l&ld=1671