Cosponsors Sought for Fishable Waters Act

Congressional supporters of the Fishable Waters Act are asking their colleagues to join them as original cosponsors of the legislation.

Rep. John Tanner, D-Tenn., expects considerable bipartisan support for the bill when it is introduced in the House of Representatives in late October or early November. Similar efforts to obtain cosponsors are underway in the U.S. Senate.

"Once the bill is introduced, we will be working within the conservation and agriculture communities to generate as much congressional support as possible," said ASA Vice President Norville Prosser. "We hope this will set the stage for hearings on the legislation early next year."

The Fishable Waters Act is the product of collaborative efforts between 11 fisheries and agriculture organizations and would amend the Clean Water Act to add a community-based watershed restoration program. The essence of the proposal is to directly address the largely unfulfilled "fishable" goal of the 1972 Clean Water Act through habitat protection.

Once passed, the bill would restore nearly four million acres of our nation's waterways for fishing.

A detailed summary of the Fishable Waters legislation is on ASA's Web site at www.asafishing.org.

American Sportfishing, Vol. 2, No. 8. November 1999.