cheferson
09-17-2007, 06:52 PM
Battle shaping up over fishing pier
01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 16, 2007
Steve Medeiros, president of Rhode Island’s largest sport-fishing group, has launched a letter-writing campaign to bolster support for a new state park with a public fishing pier in North Kingstown.
The state legislature approved building a fishing pier on the site of the old Jamestown Bridge, but Medeiros said the plan “is under attack by local residents attempting to kill the project. Those who oppose the pier have held a fund-raising party and rallies, and vow to kill the project so they can have their ‘own’ coastline with no dirty fishermen and residents within their view!”
Medeiros’s group, the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, is a federation of 29 fishing clubs and conservation organizations with more than 6,300 members. Medeiros has sent e-mails to his membership list, urging everyone to write Gov. Carcieri to pursue the administration’s plans to build a state park at Plum Point in North Kingstown. The Department of Environmental Management has developed plans to build a fishing pier, accessible to disabled anglers, within the proposed park. The site is one of the best fishing spots in the state. This week, schools of bluefish were feeding there daily.
“This fishing pier and state park would benefit recreational anglers and the general public far in the future,” Medeiros told RISAA members. “We can not lose another public access because of [not-in-my- backyard] NIMBY locals. Your great grandchildren could find a future with no way to access the Bay. We must stop this attack now!
“Please contact the Governor and let him know that you support the Plum Point State Pier and Park and ask him to do the same.”
In a letter to Gov. Carcieri, Medeiros said, “This new state park would draw families all summer who would stroll the pier or sit to enjoy the beauty of the Bay, and would also become another tourist attraction, adding to the economy of Rhode Island.”
01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, September 16, 2007
Steve Medeiros, president of Rhode Island’s largest sport-fishing group, has launched a letter-writing campaign to bolster support for a new state park with a public fishing pier in North Kingstown.
The state legislature approved building a fishing pier on the site of the old Jamestown Bridge, but Medeiros said the plan “is under attack by local residents attempting to kill the project. Those who oppose the pier have held a fund-raising party and rallies, and vow to kill the project so they can have their ‘own’ coastline with no dirty fishermen and residents within their view!”
Medeiros’s group, the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, is a federation of 29 fishing clubs and conservation organizations with more than 6,300 members. Medeiros has sent e-mails to his membership list, urging everyone to write Gov. Carcieri to pursue the administration’s plans to build a state park at Plum Point in North Kingstown. The Department of Environmental Management has developed plans to build a fishing pier, accessible to disabled anglers, within the proposed park. The site is one of the best fishing spots in the state. This week, schools of bluefish were feeding there daily.
“This fishing pier and state park would benefit recreational anglers and the general public far in the future,” Medeiros told RISAA members. “We can not lose another public access because of [not-in-my- backyard] NIMBY locals. Your great grandchildren could find a future with no way to access the Bay. We must stop this attack now!
“Please contact the Governor and let him know that you support the Plum Point State Pier and Park and ask him to do the same.”
In a letter to Gov. Carcieri, Medeiros said, “This new state park would draw families all summer who would stroll the pier or sit to enjoy the beauty of the Bay, and would also become another tourist attraction, adding to the economy of Rhode Island.”