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Special
thanks to Tim Boring for the ideas, questions
and answers and the form letter. It's a good
idea! The form letter is below this FAQ.
short-term:
- how many gauges are effected by this cut in
the next 3-6 months?
2 each for use the Calfkiller and Tellico gauges
for whitewater but 26 total gauges.
Click here to
see the gauges (near bottom of the page)
But with the Calf and Telly it affects 31
virtual internet gauges!
- how much money are we talking about? what's
the ballpark amount?
$7000 per gauge, it covers half the amount. It
takes $14k per gauge per year
- is it reasonable to think the money can be
raised from private individuals and
boating/fishing organizations?
*
*editor note...it can.. but in must be given to
an local or state agency , according to the USGS
bylaws
- is someone coordinating this effort so that
we're not duplicating efforts?
Not that I know of, and that's the problem. We
need an accountant/banker person in our ranks to
help for accountablity. Or we could set up a
bank account and PayPal account
CLICK HERE
for a running poll-straw vote
long-term (1+ years out?):
- how to monitor funding of gauges so we don't
get caught offguard in the future?
- what long-term sources of funding exist? how
do we tap into them?
I have no idea :(
FORM LETTER Dear Lt.
Governor Ramsey: (or anyone else)
I've recently heard that funding for water
gauges maintained by the United States
Geological Survey are being put on the chopping
block and are slated to be shut down. I
understand that balancing a budget can be
difficult and appreciate the delicate balance
that goes into weighing the needs of a state and
the resources available to meet those needs.
As an example of what I'm talking about, here's
is a link to such a gauge:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?03518500
If I were in your shoes, I know what my first
question would be: it's a water gauge, what is
so important about that? For me personally,
those particular gauges (see the link above)
provides the level of the Tellico River near
Tellico Plains, TN., and Calfkiller outside
Dunlap Tennessee. During the winter months, many
whitewater kayakers from the East Coast area and
I make frequent trips to the Tellico River and
Sequatchie Valley to paddle. And we're not
alone. The
Tellico and
Woodcock Creek are a major destinations for
whitewater kayak enthusiasts on the East Coast.
I have friends from Ohio who make an annual trip
to the Southeast, and one of the highlights of
that trip is a visit to East Tennessee.
Also the
Sequatchie Valley is a special treat and need
the Calfkiller gauge to help predict streamflow
and water table levels in the surrounding area
is greatly needed. Without this resource ,
traveling to the area without predictable
streamflow would be almost impossible.
Needless to say, without these particular gauges
which we've used for years to know when the
Tellico River area creeks, and Sequatchie Valley
creeks are at a runnable level, many boaters
won't be making the drive up to the local
areas.
Beyond kayakers, however, there are other groups
that depend on these gauges too. The Tellico
watershed and Big Brush watershed is a popular
river fishing stream, and fisherman use the
gauge to know when safe levels exist for
fishing. I've also heard that the gauges are
used for warning people downstream of the gauge
about flooding.
I've heard from a USGS source that it costs
approximately $14,000 per year to maintain one
of these water gauges. Again, I don't have
specific data, but I have to believe that the
Tellico and Calfkiller gauge alone brings more
than $14,000 a year to the local area businesses
in the local areas. With that in mind, I
encourage you to consider funding the Tellico
and Calfkiller water gauges that are part of the
USGS system in the state of Tennessee.
I appreciate your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Your Name Here
Need more form letters...don't
like this one?
CLICK HERE
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Our hemlocks
are dying on the ridge due to the woolly adelgid
infestation. You can find out more at the Save
Our Hemlocks website:
http://www.saveourhemlocks.org/
To learn
even more
click here
The
Picture below is depressing to say the least... |
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