=NYS TU Council Chairman= [Hot Water]

http://www.riverreporter.com/issues/04-05-27/ed1.html
----------------------------

TU member challenges TRR columnist and NY State Council

Just what is the Complete Tangler smokin'? As a member of Trout Unlimited's
(TU) New York State Council, Clem Fullerton should know better than to
falsely state his organization's position.

His column, "Delaware River flows: A new day," in The River Reporter's May
20 issue, is one of the worst misrepresentations of facts I've read in a
long time.

Fullerton attended the May 16 TU meeting chaired by Rocci Aguirre, TU's
Catskills coordinator. I asked Aguirre what the purpose of the meeting was,
and why only seven or so of the 30-odd NYS chapters were there.

"There were only a few chapters invited-only chapters that have a direct
interest in the Delaware system," Aguirre explained. But this contradicts a
conversation I had with Ron Urban, TU's NYS Council chair, who said the
meeting was open to all state chapters.

In his column, the Tangler (Fullerton) writes, "at the end of the meeting
each [chapter] agreed to back the newly signed agreement," yet Urban and
Aguirre both said no TU decision on backing a flow plan had been made as a
result of the meeting.

Fullerton discredited a "group that calls itself Friends of the Upper
Delaware," claiming that it "arrived on the scene at the last possible
moment, and its biggest contribution to Delaware flows so far has been to
sow dissent amongst some TU Chapters."

He writes, "The newly signed agreement-despite any disinformation you might
have heard or received from Friends of the Upper Delaware-is the best hope
for the Delaware."

Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUDR) have been meeting since last
summer, and have been involved with Upper Delaware flows issues for years,
since many FUDR members were formerly with the Delaware River Foundation
(DRF)-many have professional knowledge of coldwater habitat, particularly
chief research director Bob Bachman, one of the country's pre-eminent trout
scientists.

These former DRF members did not agree with the direction of the proposed
plan before its inception in April, Mr. Fullerton, nor did they last week,
and they didn't want to wait around another three years for more studies to
show that a 225 cubic feet per second (CFS) minimum flow-with no guarantee
for cold water releases-is detrimental to the West Branch and Upper Delaware
main stem trout habitat.

Categorizing the proposed FUDR plan as "completely unrealistic," Fullerton
writes, "In the first place, there simply is not enough water in the system
to meet their [FUDR's] flows (600 CFS in warm months and 300 CFS in winter)
year in and year out." Yet according to Delaware River Master reports over
the past 40 years, the average monthly releases have been over 600 CFS from
Cannonsville alone. If you do the math, FUDR's proposed release plan would
lower the three reservoirs by only 17 percent, not including any inflow
water, rain or runoff from other sources.

FUDR arrived on the scene at the last possible moment? I asked Aguirre where
Trout Unlimited had been over the past two years. He attributed TU's absence
to the lack of leadership by its state council, citing a void between Nat
Gillespie's departure and when he came on board.

How's this for citing? In correspondence sent out by Urban on February 15,
2004, Urban wrote, "There is also at issue the Delaware River and newly
formed groups attempting to disrupt the progress that has been made over
river flows and temperature regimes. This is an ongoing battle and I ask
anyone approached by persons or groups from outside the NYS Council of TU to
forward all mails and correspondence to myself or Rocci at this time.

"We need to see that our council oversees the opinions and best practices in
and for the coldwater watersheds in NY. Not being influenced by
out-of-staters and others. As of this notice, Rocci and Leon from national
are actively engaged in the persuit [sic] of information and addressing new
agendas."

When Urban heard there might be a national magazine editorial written on the
Delaware flows issues on April 27, he contacted the magazine's publisher,
attempting to discredit FUDR.

"You see, the FUDR group wants to get all the free publicity for their cause
and damage the good work, scientific studies and other work that went into
the current three-year plan. I could tell you much more but the emails find
ways to people and I am cautious," Urban wrote.

In his May 3, 2004 TU letter to NYS Council members and friends, Urban
issued a "gag order."

"FUDR has not cooperated with me in coordinating communications with TU in
New York. They run and mail their own agenda with no respect to chain of
command or respect to your leadership in council. It is imperative that
communication between the chapters and FUDR is funneled to the chapter
president or designated ranking official and that individual directors and
officers not respond to FUDR directly or speak on behalf of the chapter or
organization as a whole.

"In the meantime, New York chapters should consult with me or with Rocci
Aguirre before taking any formal position on the issue, including writing to
any agencies or public officials. If we do not take this step, we run the
risk of TU chapters taking inconsistent positions, with inconsistent
information, as some have. This can affect our effectiveness on the issue
and our credibility as an organization."

Credibility? Here's what FUDR president Craig Findley has to say: "It is
very difficult to either communicate or to coordinate with TU when FUDR did
not receive the courtesy of a response to the four separate and verifiable
requests made collectively to both Mr. Urban and to Mr. Aguirre, from
February through April, specifically to discuss what should be our mutual
objective."

Urban has also referred to mailings by FUDR as "spam." I asked him about
this, and his response was that many of his chapters did not want to receive
any information about these issues; therefore, he considered it spam, yet
Findley advises that there has only been one request from any TU member to
be removed from the FUDR mailing list.

In response to Fullerton's May 20 column, Urban wrote to Findley, "Craig, I
know your frustration on this article. Please don't take it or refer to it
as an attack by TU. This was not, to my knowledge, authorized or approved. I
ask you, as a gentleman, to address these and any future matters to Rocci
Aguirre and myself as you did this morning.

"We want an amicable forward movement from May 16 forward for the Delaware
River dilemma. We know it won't happen tomorrow, but it will someday working
together harmoniously."

Aguirre also wrote, "Craig, I wanted to echo Ron's comments about the recent
article in The River Reporter. As Ron so clearly stated, it was our intent
to move forward from the May 16 meeting on a positive note and to move to a
new level of cooperation. I can personally assure you that I will address
The River Reporter matter and am working to keep all future dialogue open
and constructive.

"I look forward to a more direct means of communication with you and FUDR
and think that we are on the right road towards positive progress. I look
forward to meeting with you soon."

Working together harmoniously? In last week's TU/NYS Council newsletter sent
to over 8,000 TU members, Urban wrote, "Although they [FUDR] proclaim to
have chapter support, it is not true but created hearsay."

FUDR's Findley took exception, saying, "In the past couple of months, over
30 TU chapters and other organizations have endorsed the fisheries plan put
forth by the FUDR."

And still Urban persists, "We speak for you."

FUDR's research director, on the other hand, speaks for the river. "Just
think, 70 some miles of cold water! And blanket hatches," Bachman said.

Even Jim Serio, the Delaware River Foundation chairman, concluded, "I
suspect that [the recommendation] is going to be up in the 500 or 600 CFS
release in the summertime, just as the Friends are asking."

If everyone is agreeing that after three years of expensive studies, the
releases will end up near 600 CFS, why not come to the table and support
FUDR's current proposal?

For more information visit FUDR at fudr.org. Learn the facts and stop
listening to all the rhetoric. Lend your support by becoming a member of
FUDR, an organization dedicated to protecting and enhancing the largest wild
trout fishery in the east.

Larry Miri is a freelance writer who lives in Warwick, NY.