along
with the hordes of other obnoxious people....
Feel
free to go as fast as you want, SAFETY BE DAMNED!
Having a
boat doesn't mean one must be responsible, you know~
Southern
Oregon's Rogue River - once a proud, healthy and beautiful
monument
to Mother
Nature's generosity and bountiful treasure....
has
been overrun by a continuous, unrelenting ravaging of jet boats.
Full
of tourists, these large and noisy boats
slam through once serene
waterways...
While
over a loudspeaker, the operator boasts to passengers... on the marvels of
wildlife and natural scenic beauty all around.
churning
up once fertile spawning beds...
disrupting
once peaceful nesting grounds...
displacing
once abundant river life....
....
and the Moral of the story?
Greed
= Corruption = Exploitation = Destruction.
....
an old equation, but no less sad.
While
Oregon rivers face a seemingly endless barrage of commercial-tourist traffic,
there are also ever-increasing numbers of rafters, jet-skiers,
recreational boaters (who seldom exercise discretion in relation to courtesy,
speed or safety concerns), fishing boats, drift boats, canoers, random tourists,
shore traffic, bank fishermen and others crowding into a limited space.
And,
there's always a steady flow of idiots who trek out to the waterways.... unskilled...
unprepared... unaware... and drown.
Fishing
in Oregon....
once
a relaxing, yet completely thrilling experience.
Back
in the days of Zane Grey and Clark Gable, Oregon rivers were teaming with fish...
and one could find a peaceful place to catch their limit of Steelhead, Trout,
Salmon and Sturgeon. That was long ago. Nowadays,
that "relaxing experience" has devolved into a frustrating, stressful and often
confrontational event. Too many people, limited space and extremely dwindling
resources (fish) add up to a bad situation.
Ironic
indeed, that people move to Oregon in order to "escape" the mess at home.
The crowded conditions everywhere... the stifling traffic.... the pollution...
the crime.... the battle over limited resources... the high cost of living....
and, ultimately, the stress and aggravation in the grand
sum of it all.
A
bleak outlook.....
the
sad state of affairs... the disappearing fish runs.
Salmon
runs have been in rapid decline, due to issues including overfishing, pollution
and habitat destruction. New record lows in returns have been set in the last
few years, resulting in early season closures. A more recent and substantial
threat to the species has been attributed to water being diverted to corporate
farms, lowering rivers to dangerously unsustainable levels. Salmon are simply
unable to fulfill their natural, instinctual journey upstream to spawn, falling
victim to disease. Warm water from inadequate levels create parasitical contamination,
thus killing fish... and future generations of fish... in droves.
Water
Quality...
it
is really such a basic thing .
In
the absence of
clean water, not only will aquatic life cease to exist ~ birds, reptiles and
land mammals, including humans, will follow suit. Yet with a continual influx
of population, predominantly from California, Oregon's waterways are reflecting
the painful reality that pollution has taken its toll. At its present pace,
the downward spiral will exceed crisis levels within a few short years.
Yet...
they are creating in Oregon, that which they are attempting to leave
behind.
The
endearing qualities of The Beaver
State are rapidly vanishing.
*If
you're looking
for wide open spaces, consider Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Arizona,
Utah, Nevada and New Mexico.
