Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Don’t ‘High Line’ Georgetown’s C&O Canal

The proposal knocks out a good fishing spot at the confluence of the creek and canal. Speaking as someone who for years only had a bike to get around, that stinks because I used to fish that spot all the time and there aren't that many places that are great for fly anglers within biking distance. For me, the canal, rock creek and the Tidal Basin were my only options.

But in all seriousness, the plan looks pretty good. The one thing that is worth thinking about is making sure anglers maintain access as areas develop. While I agree that giving the river more attention is good overall, I do get the sense that us anglers are sometimes viewed as nuisances like skateboarders were when I was a teen. I'm surprised how many times I've been hassled by a volunteer, random person or even a cop when fishing an urban location. People can act like you're out there up to no good when you're just trying to catch a dang bass. I know the angling organizations are focused on preservation of rivers and streams, as they should, but there might be an opportunity to expand beyond that to issues of urban access, the same way cyclists have gotten bike lanes over the years. 

I also hope the funding is far more titled toward private than tax money since the local businesses and real estate companies along the canal stand a lot to benefit. I don't think it's fair for taxpayers to subsidize different parts of town competing with each other (Wharf, waterfront, etc.). I feel the same way about stadiums and luring corporate HQs. 


On Wednesday, July 3, 2019 at 2:20:48 PM UTC-4, namfos wrote:
Miles:

Thanks for the digging. As to a Fletchers public/private partnership, we need somebody who can put us in touch with David Rubenstein of the Carlyle Group. ;-)

Mark

On Tuesday, July 2, 2019 at 9:43:42 PM UTC-4, Miles wrote:
 
I totally agree with Mark -- Congress should give NPS the funds to fix Fletcher's and take better care of the canal. But the push for this plan is coming from private enterprise in Georgetown, and it looks like the funding will be a public/private partnership. I reckon if we ponied up several million to fix Fletcher's, the government could find the rest. But we don't have that kind of pull.  

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