The five volunteer members of the Fish and Boat Commission’s Boating Advisory Board have released a joint letter expressing their support for Growing Greener and asking other boaters to join them in voting to adopt the bond referendum appearing on the May 17 primary election ballot.

Fellow Boaters and Anglers:

On May 17, Pennsylvanian voters will have the opportunity to approve a Growing Greener ballot measure that will improve the quality of life in the Commonwealth. Voters will be asked to support selling up to $625 million in bonds to provide for the maintenance and protection of the environment, open space, farmland preservation, watershed protection, abandoned mine reclamation, acid mine drainage remediation and other environmental initiatives. As members of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Boating Advisory Board, we support adoption of the Growing Greener ballot question.

More than 2.5 million Pennsylvanians go out on the water each year in boats. Boaters know that the water and the quality of their recreation is the result of everything upstream. Cleaning up mine waste, protecting and enhancing open space and improving water quality will have a positive impact on boating as well as fishing and other water-based recreational activities.

Growing Greener funding dedicated to boating and fishing infrastructure would provide a direct benefit to boaters and anglers. The PFBC manages through state ownership 62 public lakes, about 250 boating access areas and 14 fish hatcheries. The dams that create these lakes, the public access areas that allow people to reach the water and the hatcheries that provide fish to pursue are critical for the enjoyment of boating in the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, these facilities have a backlog of $153 million in capitol improvement needs. The PFBC’s day-to-day operating funds from boat registrations and fishing license sales and will never be enough – nor should they be the basis for paying all the costs of major projects for dams, access areas, hatcheries and other state properties.

The Growing Greener proposal offers the opportunity for the Commonwealth to reinvest in boating and fishing infrastructure. Therefore, we encourage all Pennsylvanians to join us in voting “yes” on May 17.

Signed,

Rex Beers, Philadelphia

Michael Lentine, Langhorne

Steven Ketterer, Harrisburg

Edwin Matheny, Greensburg

Thaddeus Piotrowski, Bloomsburg

5/13/2005