The Policy Column
Drue Banta Winters | AFS Policy Director. Email: [email protected] Imagine a world where fisheries professionals have enough resources to keep fish from sliding to extinction. Sounds like a fairytale, right? Given the challenges facing fish and the hurdles of navigating big ticket legislation through Congress, I would normally agree. Yet, we’ve never been closer to... Read More
By Patrick Shirey, AFS Resource Policy Committee Chair The impact of dams on aquatic ecosystems and fisheries is well established. For dams that have reached the end of their usable life, or that no longer provide societal benefits that exceed their costs, dam removal is often a desired management outcome for safety, cost efficiency, and... Read More
Having worked on the long‐term recovery of the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, I am keenly interested in how our country plans for future disasters. One of the primary lessons learned from the 2005 hurricane season was that mitigation saves lives and property and reduces the costs to taxpayers in the long run. Over the... Read More
One year ago President Trump released his first budget proposal to Congress. The proposed cuts caused much consternation about the future of important fisheries and conservation programs. After a long slow crawl, Congress finally sent a budget deal to the President’s desk this spring. With the increase in the budget ceiling passed in early 2018,... Read More
When I started my career in politics a little over 20 years ago, Google was in beta, mobile phones came in a bag, and dial‐up Internet was de rigueur. Newsletters were still transmitted via fax machine. Smartphones and social media were the stuff of dreams. In those two decades, significant advances in technology have transformed the... Read More
By Drue Banta Winters It will not be long before AFS will convene its Annual Meeting in Atlantic City. The frigid temperatures, polar vortexes, and all the snow this winter has left me dreaming of my joys of summer—beaches, boats, and opportunities to be on the water. Visions of outdoor adventures that the Annual Meeting promises... Read More
AFS had plenty of reasons to stand up for fish and aquatic resources in 2017. From the Trump Administration’s proposed budget cuts to conservation funding to the repeal of the 2015 Waters of the U.S. Rule (WOTUS), the Society has been working to ensure that Congress and federal agencies consider the best available science when... Read More
By Tom Bigford, AFS Policy Director This is my 51st and final column for Fisheries magazine, which is cause for celebration and angst. I will be retiring shortly after this column is published, leaving my policy director post at AFS. Other than tasks associated with my continuing role as past-president of the AFS Fish Habitat Section, my... Read More
President Trump’s push for a US$1 trillion infrastructure package offers an opportunity to pursue benefits for aquatic resources. Most infrastructure is inextricably connected to water. Read More
By Tom Bigford, AFS Policy Co-Director Regional approaches make sense when managing aquatic resources. Critters have no respect for state borders, turf battles, or regulatory jurisdiction. Ditto for air, water, and sediments. For those reasons, I am heartened by the recent progress by regional planning bodies to develop ocean plans for significant sections of our... Read More
