Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Interesting Read

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/oregon-man-sentenced-30-days-jail-collecting-rainwater-his-property

I thought this article was something some of you might be interested in reading.

That's the craziest chit I've ever heard of! So Oregon owns the rain and snow!

Interesting, sad, & crazy-stupid...

Doesn't surprise me, maybe when enough people get shafted up the wazooo things will change, property rights are almost nonexistent anymore.

I'm working on some private waters management workshops for the end of January 2013. They will primarily be directed at pond owners, and users of water for aquacultural and agricultural purposes in WV and PA, but we expect to have a number of attendees from Western MD and Northern/Western Virginia. I hope to have a number of experts there to help discuss this mis-mash of water ownership -- and fish ownership. It is extremely complex.

My guess is there is a lot more to the story that was posted.

For us, in this area, just a few feet can make an incredible difference in laws regarding water, agricultural practices and fish. Today, my wife and I travelled about
100 miles to a funeral in a rural area between Sunil's Pond and Todd L's place. We crossed state lines multiple times in WV, VA, MD, and a few times we were within feet of PA. We crossed the eastern continental divide more than once. We crossed many jurisdictional lines. Each has signs reminding people about which watershed they are in, and to be aware of the regulations.

Things have gotten better in WV in recent years due to the tireless efforts of a few. It wasn't too long ago that raising and selling fish was regulated by 41 state agencies. I think we are down to about a dozen.

Please don't turn this into a political discussion we need to moderate. But look hard at what you can and cannot do where you live. Not too long ago, Pond Boss writer Mark Cornwell wrote a very thought provoking piece in the magazine about who owns the fish in your pond, especially if you live in NY state.

Regards,
Ken

Ah NY. Not getting political or putting down NY but I did an article for an aquaculture newsletter a few years back before the VHS hysteria sheet hit the fan. It was on trout importation regs for all the Great Lakes and bordering states.

At that time I tried very hard to get the skinny on NY health testing regs for trout importation and talked to more than one official in NY. There basically were none or shall we say -- no agreement.

After the VHS thing hit the fan the powers to be in NY changed things 180 degrees. In fact they went off the deep end. Now fish that are not susceptible to a disease have to be tested for it. You have to test LMB for whirling disease. Or if I remember right (but don't quote me) trout have to be tested for lmb virus. There were other things that don't make sense but I can't remember them at the top of my head. It was so ridiculous a Dr. Egre, of APHIS, called someone in NY and asked why they were requiring testing for diseases in fish that were not required. The response was an arrogant, "Because we can."

Cecil -- I believe you too are an officer of your state's AA (Aquaculture Association).

A few years ago we could not legally pump sludge out of WV fish ponds onto our fields because it was considered hazardous waste handled by the Department of Environmental Protection, and others. Thanks to the efforts of several, fish manure is now in the same category as cow manure, and handled by State Department of Agriculture (farmers), rather than by the Dept. of Natural Resources (fish and game people -- game wardens), and others. We still have to deal with the environmental people -- but, I personally feel that is OK.

Through some very active members, we've made some major strides, along with cooperation in a few adjoining states.

Maybe it is time to organize a group of state AA officers into a national organization, those in the Great Lakes states, those of us east of the Mississippi, along the Mason-Dixon line, and to the Atlantic Coast.

As it now stands, I think I can sell you a fathead minnow or a creek chub, but you can't sell one to me without extensive costs.

I hope to have a multi-state meeting about this in January. Maybe we could include a tele-conference for those who cannot attend in person.

Ken,

Yes I'm the president.

As far as states getting together it's been done and being done at certain levels as far as health testing. Good idea. Perhaps we can band together. There is the National Aquaculture Association of which we are a member but I'm not that impressed by them. They actually are responsible for getting the ball rolling on the VHS testing which caused a lot of pain that didn't have to be.

So fish pond sludge couldn't be pumped into a field? What about the state hatcheries? What did they do or were they exempt?

Here is an update on the situation...

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/man-sentenced-30-days-catching-rain-water-own-property-enters-jail

Read article earlier. It's tough making a stand like that, I hope other media picks it up also.

From other things I saw, this guy had been found in violation before, and had ceased, and then started up again.

Not a clear cut case, IMO.