Senator Ron Wyden will be in Oregon this weekend, holding several town halls in the Willamette Valley.
The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association is asking members to attend the meetings to share with Sen. Wyden the importance of sportfishing on the economy. One of the key issues that is being discussed in Congress is how to handle public lands and the funding of purchasing more public lands.
Wyden will have a key leadership position this year, being the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. This means Sen. Wyden could help fund Oregon projects through the Land and Water Conservation Fund. This fund recently opened up areas around the Nestucca Bay and the Sandy River. In the 2014 budget, however, Oregon isn’t on the list of projects.
We would ask our members to attend the town halls, listed below, and remind Sen. Wyden that Oregon public lands help anglers and hunters have access to fishing and hunting grounds. Public lands also protect spawning grounds for fish. We are asking that he find a balanced approach that helps the timber industry, but also protects the important sport fishing economy in Oregon — where more than 11,000 jobs are dependent on our fish.
The town halls will be:
Multnomah County Town Hall Meeting
Saturday, March 1, 2014, 2 p.m.
Multnomah Arts Center
7688 SW Capitol Hwy
Portland, OR
Polk County Town Hall
Sunday, March 2, 1 p.m.
Independence Civic Center
555 Main St.
Independence, Oregon
Yamhill County Town Hall
Sunday, March 2nd, 4 p.m.
Chemeketa Community College
288 NE Norton Ln
McMinnville, OR
For more information about how you can help, call 503-631-8859 and talk to one of our friendly staff here at the NSIA.