If you want a short cut to the proposed legislation in any legislative
session that may effect shells or their environment contact state
departments like Environmental Protection or Fish and Game.  Talk to the
Commissioner's office for each of these Departments.  They will have someone
who reviews proposed legislation and recommends pass/ought not to pass to
the appropriate legislative committee.
If any one wants this info for Maine I can help as I work for Dept. of
Enviro. Protection (but in the section that deals with underground oil tanks
not water quality).
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Eichhorst <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, January 28, 1999 1:13 PM
Subject: Re: [CONCH-L] FW: honest shell collecting, exporting, and dealing
 
 
>Gary,
>
>Thank you for the repeat of your article.  It is a needed perspective as
most of
>us were posturing for effect and overstating for gain (I include myself
here but I
>noticed Marlo has also softened, qualified, explained some of his earlier
>statements).
>
>To Ross and those looking for ways of DOING something, I offer one idea
that may
>help any organized effort to affect laws or regulations and keep them
rational.
>Bear with me a moment as I go off topic.
>
>In this state THE issue is water.  Everything we do eventually revolves
around
>this central issue and as we continue to grow it will become more and more
>critical.  This is often a difficult thing for newcomers to our state to
grasp as
>it is for those in states with water aplenty.  But consider, we will have
to make
>a choice this summer between water for farmer's irrigation (their very
life),
>water to keep an endangered subspecies of the silvery minnow afloat (its
life),
>water we owe to Texas and Mexico (yes owe, we have to let water go by us
that we
>need to keep a compact with people downstream), and water we are pumping
from the
>ground with no replenishment for urban use (much of which we use to pay the
>earlier mentioned debt).  Any legislative action of this issue is very,
very
>important to several groups who want an input into the legislative process
but
>cannot afford to sit all day every day while innumerable subjects get
bantered
>about.  Our legislature (and if we are doing it in New Mexico, I can't
imagine a
>state that isn't) puts all legislative activity on the internet.  I monitor
this
>and periodically do key word searches to get copies of every bit of
legislation
>that has anything to do with water.  This pile of stuff is condensed and
>summarized (which, thankfully I do not have to do) and sent to some 2,500
>individuals and groups who are interested.  They can then take action if
parts of
>the proposed legislation are counterproductive to whatever their big
interest in
>life is.  For us, on Conch-L it would be how these proposed laws would
affect
>shell collecting, or marine environmental stability, or whatever.
>
>This is a laborious task at times because if you haven't read through pages
upon
>pages of legal garbage, oops I mean proposed legislation, you haven't met
real
>boredom.  But this stuff is important and here is a means of keeping in
touch.
>This great electronic tool called the web or the internet can bring back
>representative government in ways approaching the town hall meeting.  This
could
>be done for every state (I assume -- yeah, I know what assume means).  In
this
>manner, a list like the incredible web page Bill Frank just started for
Florida
>legislation and regulations
(http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/wfrank/guide.htm)
>that concerned shells collecting could be kept up to date.  This could be
done for
>every state but it does require someone to do the initial digging and then
someone
>to write up and distribute a TIMELY list of the current legislative
actions.  By
>the way, I also check for legislation in my state on others areas of
personal
>interest like native reptiles and amphibians, fossils, land shells, etc.
>
>The biggest problem with staying abreast of this type of legislation is the
>plethora of international, federal, state, city, and county agencies
involved.  To
>get some idea of the complexity in just one state, again look at Bill
Frank's new
>web page.
>
>Okay, okay, I got a bit long with this one but, just trying to be positive.
>
>Tom Eichhorst in New Mexico, USA
>