Often good stories have a bittersweet side to them, I guess one could argue that there is always a silver lining to an otherwise undesireable tale too. I wouldn’t categorize removing trash from a watershed as an undesireable story, it falls more in line with being a positive experience, even though at the same time it is rather sad that we have to take part in something that seems so easy to prevent.
The 2021 First Annual Farmington River Cooperative Cleanup is now in the rearview mirror, and it was nothing short of an absolute show of force. People came out in droves to help give one of New Englands most visited rivers a well needed seasonal cleaning. 170+ people comprising 70 teams descended upon the river and did their part to remove a very considerable pile of trash from the river; an entire 30 yard dumpster’s worth. Read that again; An entire 30 yard dumpster’s worth of discarded items that very easily could’ve been properly disposed of, but were instead carelessly left behind was taken from the river.
This tremendous heap of garbage only took 4 hours to compile while every team hoped to win the bragging rights of the top team prize; the Golden Broom award. Although it warms the heart of many that a large contingent of people volunteered their time on a picture perfect April morning to pick up trash, it is also a cold reminder that we as people have a long way to go in our efforts to protect our environment.
Like anything, it can always be better and our hopes for next years Second Annual Cleanup is that we bring in many more volunteers, but also have the opportunity to clean up some different sections of river as well. To all of you who helped out, donated or even just helped promote the event we thank you all for your generocity and we hope to see you all next year. And to all of you out there who routinely pick up garbage on the river whenever you’re out there, your efforts are not unnoticed and we thank you as well for all that you do to keep the Farmington river a beautiful place to recreate.
Photos courtesy of Matt Vinick
Write comment (0 Comments)**UPDATE We are well on our way to making this a great event. As of 03/28/21 We have 17 Teams with 41 participants signed up!**
I am happy to announce the first annual cooperative Farmington river earth day river cleanup. This is a team event with prizes for all participants including the opportunity to win some wonderful prizes from many of the sponsors both fishing and non fishing related.
It’s simple, register your team by clicking the link in my profile, event starts at 9 and finishes at 3 with bragging rights to the team with the most trash as well as prizes for various other categories including largest piece of trash, grocery carts and many more. Team max of four participants, details on exact meeting locations will be announced the week of the event with team beats for sections of the river. The river cleanup will focus on the section from the dam to Collinsville.
After event round up outside at Brewery Legitimus in New Hartford for the raffle and have a craft beer with friends. Every participant will walk away with something. Give back a little to a watershed that provides us all with a wonderful place to recreate. Prizes from Simms, Vedavoo, Costa Del Mar, Montana Fly Company, Fishpond, Cortland Line Company, and many many more. EVERY PARTICIPANT WALKS AWAY WITH SOMETHING!!
Sign up your team now.
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*****UPDATE THE BILL IS OFF THE TABLE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE****
I write to you today to inform you all about a proposed bill that is on the table for this calendar year in the state of Connecticut. A very similar bill passed in the state of California recently, and curiosity has been alerted now that it is on the table here where I reside as it has the potential to affect the flyfishing and tying community.
Proposed H.B. 5031 AN ACT PROHIBITING THE SALE, TRADE OR DISTRIBUTION OF NEW ANIMAL FUR. On face value this does’nt appear to be so alarming, but the limited amount of information pertaining to the proposed bill leaves a tremendous amount of speculation and room for interpretation. The bill reads as follows:
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
Rep. Michel, 146th Dist.
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE SALE, TRADE OR DISTRIBUTION OF NEW ANIMAL FUR.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Respresentatives in General Assembly convened:
1 That the general statutes be amended to prohibit the sale, trade and distribution of new
2 animal fur.
Statement of Purpose:
To prohibit the sale and trade of new animal fur products in the state of Connecticut.
Surprisingly enough when I first posted about this bill on Instagram, there were in fact several fellow flyfisher’s and tiers who voiced similar concerns. There have also been a fair amount of naysayers including some rather notable companies in the industry that are for this bill. Some of the naysayers are taking the clear path of least resistance on the topic by simply assuming that this is only in regards to the use of animal furs in clothing because they have gotten “verbal” confirmation from one of the supporting representatives that this is what it is intended for. Well, that’s all well and good, but we all know how things left vague can be opened up for interpretation at a later date. This bill needs some serious clarfication or opposition until it is clearly articulated what it's purpose is intended to be.
I am sure many of you are rolling your eyes at me right now, but listen closely as you might change your mind. Think about what this could potentially mean for the sale of virtually every fur product used in fly tying; every fly that has fur in it’s construction that is sold by tiers and in fly shops. Head spinning yet? Good question I would say that it could be a detrimental blow to the industry if it were that far reaching as a majority of fly patterns utilize fur in their construction. Just sit and think about that for a second; deer hair, rabbit, fox, squirrel, beaver, cow, moose, just to mention a few. Think about all those packages of dubbing you have that are comprised of primarily rabbit, gone. Sick to your stomach yet?
So with a little research I was able to track down with the help of some of my other fellow fly tying friends some more information as to the origin and reasoning behind this bill. A recent online article describes the reasoning behind the bill and focuses entirely on the cruelty to animals that are held in fur farms for the sole purpose of harvesting their pelts. Look, I am certain that many of you including myself are against fur farms and the harsh conditions with which these animals are treated with this as well, but that doesn't mean the ethical utilization of animals via other means should be lumped into this bill.
It is ever so apparent that there needs to be more substance and clarification in this particular bill clearly illustrating that fur farms are the primary focus of this bill for the sale and use in clothing. This is a whole other ball of wax that we could get into at a later date, but just one of the very clear things that needs to be articulated in this proposed bill. You can read this article HERE.
What we all need to do is write the environmental committee for the state of Connecticut requesting that we are in opposition of this bill as it clearly needs more language articulating what this bill is intended for. Plain and simple it needs to be scrapped.
I have drafted a form letter you can all cut and paste and send to the environmental committee. If you are a fly shop, commercial tier or guide you can simply change the language accordingly in a few simple areas.
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE SALE, TRADE OR DISTRIBUTION OF NEW ANIMAL FUR.
Dear Senators of the Environmental Committee,
I am contacting you in regards to the listed proposed bill in regards to the sale, trade or distribution of new animal fur. I am a concerned member of the flyfishing community who fishes with flies that utilize fur in their construction as well as purchases materials that consist of animal fur. I see many issues for the Flyfishing industry on so many levels with this proposed bill as it could potentially impact not only several businesses including fly shops and other commercial tiers.
The industry has used furs from animals in the construction of the flies (lures) that we use to fool fish for hundreds of years. The economic impacts are not only far reaching, but this bill is rather short sighted in that it would have farther reaching negative environmental impacts that would force tiers to substitute all natural fur which is biodegradable and less harmful to the environment to strictly synthetic options which in turn are much more harmful to the environment as they require petroleum based industries to manufacture them.
This is only a small sample of the many questions and concerns that I and many others have about this proposed bill and I strongly oppose this bill for it's lack of clarification and language as it leaves too much grey area and room for interpretation and speculation. The economic and environmental impacts to the flyfishing industry from this proposed bill are short sighted and far reaching. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Regards,
This letter can be sent here:
If you are a resident of Connecticut you can also contact your state representatives and send them the same as it will at least get their attention and let them know you are concerned about the status of said bill.
As always I will keep you informed as things progress on this bill and please, share this with all of your fellow anglers and outdoorsmen.
Best,
-RS-
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