The American Fly Fishing Trade Association is urging its members to contact their local congressman and senator
regarding the current debate over revisions to the Energy Bill that could threaten fish and wildlife habitat, as well as water quality across the country. Timing is crucial on this issue as many congressmen are trying their best to pass a final Energy Bill before Congress recesses next month, AFFTA warned.

The crux of the issue involves the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the licensing of hydroelectric dams across the country. FERC renews these licenses every 30 to 50 years, and each time a dam comes up for relicensing, the process allows for input from state and federal resource agencies, conservation groups and the general public. Since 1986, FERC has been required to make consideration of recreational opportunities, conservation issues, and preservation of general environmental quality part of the decision-making process.

Many congressmen see these environmental considerations as an impediment to the business of creating energy and one version of the new Energy Bill currently being debated in Congress seeks to remove these conservation restrictions from the relicensing process. This would mean that energy production would be the only consideration for dam operators, putting at risk some of the great tail water fisheries of the West including the Green, the Bighorn, and the Colorado and anywhere else there is a hydroelectric dam on a trout river, AFFTA said.

Last week, the House-Senate conference committee met almost daily to resolve differences between the two chambers in order to pass a final Energy Bill. Both AFFTA and Trout Unlimited are lobbying hard to protect tail water fisheries.
Unfortunately, the Energy Bill is a huge document, and this relicensing issue is but a small consideration. There are disagreements between parties and between Congress and the White House, so there may be no new energy bill at all, which, AFFTA said, would actually be a good thing for anglers and the businesses that service them as it would mean the relicensing process would remain in its present form.

AFFTA and TU will continue to try and persuade members that maintaining these waters for anglers is important for local economies and for statewide tourism. AFFTA is based in Kelso, WA, and represents more than 400 fly-fishing manufacturers, sales representatives, retailers, outfitters and specialty media.