Conservation To borrow a phrase from Carol Burnett, "let's talk". Well, it's been awhile. Not because your conservation program has been in neutral, but because we have not written about our accomplishments. The following represents activities and projects that have occurred over the past year or so. Not just those of the State Conservation Director and other Federation officers, but including those of individuals and clubs around the State. What are not covered here are projects that have been undertaken by Federation members but not reported. While we do not know the extent of these activities, we sincerely thank our members for any and all such projects that provide protection and enhancement for the sport we pursue with vigor and enthusiasm. To make it easier to examine activities in areas of specific interest to you we, have lumped them together into a few categories. PARTNERSHIPS Partnerships are critically important to furthering our sport, helping protect the waters we depend on, and helping make sure they will be there for future generations. DCNR :  Among the most important partnership for us is that with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), specifically the Fisheries Section. We have worked with the biologists, marine police, management staff, and main office personnel across a wide spectrum of activities and issues. We worked with DCNR to enhance participation in their B.A.I.T. program. Essentially a survey of angler success across the State, we assisted by encouraging our clubs to submit B.A.I.T. survey forms following each tournament. Hopefully all of you are doing so. We provided input to the Fisheries Section regarding important research we felt needed attention as input to their annual budget process. We also discussed a broad array of issues with DCNR personnel in person, at meetings, or by phone. We will continue to look for ways to strengthen this key relationship AFA :  We maintain membership in the Alabama Fisheries Association. This group meets annually to discuss ongoing research and results. These efforts provide the foundation for many management strategies and plans. Because we are keenly interested in such decisions we provide support to AFA's annual meeting and keep up to date with their reports. Many of the members of AFA are the same fisheries management people we encounter throughout the year. We support and attend their annual meeting as time allows and will continue to monitor these important activities MSAPMS :  A long acronym for another key group we are involved with. The Mid-South Aquatic Plant Management Society is comprised of people in private companies and public agencies who are actively involved in research and management of aquatic plant species (i.e. "weeds" to us). Considering how important, or detrimental, weeds are to our sport, involvement with this group is a no-brainer. Being able to contact members to discuss new invasive aquatic plant species or new management strategies helps keep us on top of emerging issues and appropriate responses. AHFCA :  We have been members of the "Alliance" as it is often called since its inception. Its official title of Alabama Hunting and Fishing Conservation Alliance tells the story. Membership is comprised of representatives of the major hunting and fishing organizations in the State (we being the only fishing group). The mission of AHFCA is to encourage participation in hunting and fishing, protect access for these sports, and improve the image of our sports (a hotter issue right now for hunting than for fishing). We gather often to discuss strategies to meet the groups' mission and focus our combined forces to attack or support emerging legislation or federal or state agency activities. One key outcome of the Alliance has been the Boy Scout Hunting and Fishing Camporees. You can find out more about these functions from your Youth Director. Essentially Alliance representatives set up stations at which they talk about their specific activity to groups of scouts. These functions have been extremely successful and will likely continue into the future. CWP :  The Clean Water Partnership is a national program established to encourage and assist and with projects to improve water quality. The entire State of Alabama is covered by 10 watersheds. Teams have been established in each watershed to identify key activities, assist in gathering funding, and to monitor progress of these activities. We maintain active membership on two watershed teams and monitor the others. TRCP :  The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership was established a few years ago to provide a focus point for a wide variety of fishing and hunting organizations and general supporters concerned about protecting and enhancing these sports. The group has grown rapidly in number and in its ability to affect national legislation and programs. We have been signed on as members since 2004. As such we are called upon to contact legislators in support for or against proposed legislation or agency directives. This group helps us reach a level of activism associated with our sport that we alone could never achieve. NHI :  We have signed on as supporters of the National Habitat Initiative. This initiative was established to provide support for actions that protect or improve fish habitat across the country. Our B.A.S.S. national Conservation Director's serves as a member of the board for this group. We continue to monitor activities, comment on plans, and will take advantage of opportunities that arise because of the Initiative to make habitat improvements within the State. WEEDS - THE GOOD, BAD, AND UGLY Weeds are on the top of almost all Bass anglers list of good thing to have for better Bass fishing. That they are, unless in excess or of the wrong variety. Because of the potential downside of weeds and because other users of the water do not always hold a similar view of weeds, we continue to be involved with many issues, projects, and political outreach associated with aquatic weeds. The following is a brief summary of our recent involvement with weeds. Guntersville remains on top of the list of lakes with ongoing conflicts over weeds. Even with a nationally recognized weed management plan in place, disagreement over the extent and strategies for reduction of weeds remains contentious. In some areas, such as Spring Creek, hydrilla expanded so much that local homeowners could hardly navigate to and from their docks. A call was placed for greater weed control, a call which was fought by the fishing community. The oversight committee for the management plan was able to reach a tentative agreement on altering the current plan to quell the conflict. As long as these weeds continue to expand we will see such conflicts increase in number and intensity. We are fortunate to have a previous B.A.S.S. national conservation director sitting on the advisory committee. We maintain contact with G'ville issues and become directly involved as needed. Heading south we encounter an emerging weed problem on Lake Eufaula. Over the past couple of years hydrilla has expanded from very small clumps to cover some 2500 acres. The Corps are working to reduce the infestation, but progress appears to be minimal. The concern is the low average depth of Eufaula, which provides a good environment for significant future expansion of hydrilla. Anyone who has fished Seminole in the summer can imagine what Eufaula may look like. In addition to hydrilla we are seeing rapid increases in water hyacinth and water lettuce (very similar plant). These two plants are considered by aquatic plant specialists as the worst in terms of being detrimental to fish in the long run. We are actively engaged in this issue. We attempted to undertake a water hyacinth removal project on Lay Lake in 2004. The plan called for removal of all possible plants in an effort to reduce the infestation to management levels. We were not able to find the funds necessary to conduct the project. If you have fished Lay Lake recently the impact of this fast growing species is being felt in many backwater areas. Solid mats as far as 30-40 feet from the bank are not hard to find. Hopefully hard winters will help check expansion. Lake Jordan has another sort of problem. A common slime has infested many areas making fishing difficult and creating bad habitat for fish. We have commented on this problem, along with the local home owners group and anglers, and Alabama Power has recently undertaken a treatment program. Since this slime occurs naturally in many reservoirs, the treatment program along with natural elements may keep this slimy stuff in check. We will continue to monitor the situation. On the positive side, Federation members along with other concerned groups and citizens have undertaken a habitat enhancement project on Little Bear Lake. This project has received national attention as a prime example of local people coming together and working with the water owners (TVA in this case) to make a difference in fish habitat. We are proud of our members' efforts and plan to monitor this project and will look for ways to assist if needed. Also on the positive side (although way late in coming), a state wide Aquatic Nuisance Species task force was recently created. We are represented on the task force by our Conservation Director. This effort has long been needed to bring attention to the growing problem of invasive weeds and animals and their significant impact on our environments and economy. The task force was chartered to establish a baseline inventory of invasive species, define management strategies to cope with current infestations, and to establish guidelines and rules to prevent or deter future invasions. The list of existing species is too long to cover here, but most of us are affected by one or more in the waters we fish. We will continue to participate in this important effort and push for aggressive management plans and stringent rules to make future invasions less likely.