Ask Governor Brown to Remove Richard Rogers
from the California Fish and Game Commission
Rogers' voting record shows he is no friend to California's sportfishing community or the state's economy
from the California Fish and Game Commission
Rogers' voting record shows he is no friend to California's sportfishing community or the state's economy
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Background
At
a time when California faces record unemployment levels, Governor Brown
can take one simple action to remove a major impediment to the state's
economy – remove Richard Rogers from the Fish and Game Commission.
Even
though his term expired on January 15, 2011, Rogers continues to sit on
the Commission because the Governor has yet to appoint a replacement. Since his 2005 appointment, Rogers has been one of the most vocal supporters of the anti-job and anti-fishing
Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative. We urge Governor Brown to
take action and name a new commissioner to take Rogers' seat.
The
MLPA is a controversial program that threatens sportfishing in
California, and the businesses and 20,000 jobs that depend on it, by
unnecessarily closing large areas of the ocean to recreational fishing.
The MLPA is costing California jobs and harming communities and
businesses, while ignoring the real problems affecting California's
coastal waters, such as coastal development, habitat loss and pollution.
On
December 15, 2010, Rogers was one of three commissioners who voted in
favor of a wide-ranging array of marine protected areas, essentially
no-fishing zones, along the southern California coast. Other MLPA
regulations – which Rogers also supported – are already in place and
have cost jobs and fishing opportunity in California's Central and North
Central Coast regions. Because of the flawed nature of the MLPA
process, these regulations are currently being challenged in the courts.
The
Partnership for Sustainable Oceans believes that Governor Brown should
replace Rogers with a commissioner who understands his or her
responsibility to conserve California's natural resources, understands
the role of anglers in conservation and takes into account the impact of
regulations on California's citizens, its economy and jobs for working
families.
What You Can Do?
Click here to ask Governor Brown to remove Richard Rogers from the California Fish and Game Commission. Send your message today!
