Posted Saturday February 16, 2019 - Dated Announcement 

The board of directors of the F-M Walleyes Unlimited Inc. provides the following for your information and urges immediate action. If you agree with the importance of this issue we urge you to contact your legislative representation NOW!

ACTION ALERT

Please Act NOW to help PROTECT the North Dakota waters from

Aquatic Nuisance Species

The members and member organizations of the North Dakota Sportfishing Congress believe that one of the biggest threats presently facing North Dakota’s fishing resource is the introduction and spread of aquatic nuisance species (ANS), such as zebra mussels, Asian carp, and Eurasian watermilfoil.

The Sportfishing Congress has asked the North Dakota Legislature to authorize the Game and Fish Department do more to address the threat of ANS.  Senate Bill 2293 will create a special fund to support Game and Fish Department ANS monitoring and education efforts.

This past Thursday the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee adopted amendments that modified the funding sources for a state Aquatic Nuisance Species fund created in Senate Bill 2293.

The amendment removed the boat gas tax and the boat sales tax collections as funding sources, but retained the income generated from investment of the Game and Fish fund and the $3 per fishing license surcharge (except for seniors and disabled licenses). The amendments increase the out-of-state fishing license ANS surcharge and the waterfowl license ANS surcharge to $6.

The fund is expected to collect just over $2 million per biennium when fully implemented.

After the Committee adopted the amendments it gave the bill a 6 to 0 Do Pass recommendation. We expect the bill to be voted upon by the full Senate  the week of February 18, 2019.

We urge you to  contact your Senator as soon as possible to ask for a yes vote on SB 2293.

Contact information and biographies for Senators can be found here. If you are unsure of your elected officials, this link will help identify your district’s legislators.

Each underlined word above in this document is a direct link provided for your convenience. If you share in the importance of this issue, PLEASE ACT NOW.