The "My Bones Are Sore And Tired" Rag And Rant. Key of C, 3/4 Time, lol

When I woke up this morning, I was sore. Sore in the sense that I felt that this aging body had spent the previous day in some vigorous activity though knowing that it was the comment I made to NPS yesterday that had me tense. No Fishy For YOU!..LOL On today's agenda is re-spooling reels, tying some rigs and relaxing after the federal trials and tribulations.

So I begin to peruse the inter-web and I visit the website of a local tackle shop with which I am familiar and I see a debate about whether it's fair for one person to ask another "what have you done for access?" Subsequently, the individual that asked the question to another was being summarily bashed.

Another person I know and consider a friend, writes a post stating something to the effect that nothings been done about access because no lawsuit has been filed.

And quite frankly, both thoughts just piss me off.

So, excuse the rant, please.

Near the beginning of the year, a relatively small group of people got together donating their time, expenses, and efforts to compose what became the position statement of The Coalition For Beach Access. These people spent literally thousands of hours and thousands of dollars of their own money to establish a sensible option for management of Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area.

Once the DEIS was published by NPS, these same people, in some cases travelling from as far away as central Virginia at their own expense, met to hammer out a concise set of  "talking points"so that those who had neither the time or ability to fully examine the issues incorporated within the DEIS, could still make educated and effective comment.

Again, thousands of man hours and thousands of dollars of personal money were spent by these dedicated people in the fight to promulgate the first sensible approach in managing the Seashore. And as somebody that's been fighting this fight for a long time, when I was invited to join this group, I was humbled not just by the people that made up the group but the wealth of knowledge and experience with which I was suddenly faced.

I was only invited into this esteemed group toward the end. But, I will tell you, these people had been meeting several times a week since the beginning of the year and had managed to hammer out some extraordinary information and a definitive science based management policy. Something that neither NPS nor the assorted environmental groups that would deny access to ALL Americans at the Seashore, have ever been able to do.

So to say that nothings been done because no lawsuit has been filed is, quite frankly, ignorant. Not only did these volunteers spend their own time and money to provide you with sound science based information, they drove for miles at their own expense to hold public meetings in Hampton, Raleigh, Buxton, KDH, and Ocracoke to educate the people about the DEIS, something that NPS failed to do.

As it happens, the feller that asked "what have you done for access?" is one of the people who have donated so much of their own money and time to this cause for many years and surely went out of his way these last months as part of the group I mentioned.

Was the question "what have you done?" fair?

Damn right!

With all due respect, and I'm honestly not trying to offend anybody, seriously! If your savvy enough to locate a fishing forum here on Hatteras Island, and you profess knowledge of this place and publicly state that you are a proponent of access, then when somebody asks "what have you done for access?", you should be able to respond with examples rather than bashing the person that asked the question. Especially when that person has worked so tirelessly and at their own expense as did the individual in question.

Again, with respect to the individual that was offended by the above question, there's a tremendous difference between asking a question because you don't know the answer and asking a question because you're to damn lazy to look it up.

Its not up to me to figure out where you fit into that thought process but if you enjoy this Seashore I propose you involve yourself in the fight and process to save it for public access.

Tight lines,

Wheat