Bredesen preserves 127,000 woodland acres

Friday, 11/09/07
Bredesen preserves 127,000 woodland acres

copied from the Tennessean

Biologically rich land added to Frozen Head park

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD
Associated Press

KNOXVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen formally enacted Thursday what he called the largest land conservation initiative in Tennessee since the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was dedicated in 1940.
The land deal will preserve 127,000 woodland acres on the northern Cumberland Plateau, about 45 miles northwest of Knoxville. It will add to Frozen Head State Park and link it to the Royal Blue and Sundquist wildlife management areas across four counties.

That's about half the size of Tennessee's contribution to the 520,000-acre Smokies national park straddling the Tennessee-North Carolina border, but still significant.
The $135 million initiative will "create a swath of protected forest land for protection and public enjoyment that totals about 200 square miles,'' Bredesen said as he signed documents completing the deal in a ceremony in World's Fair Park.

"This is really a great day for Tennessee,'' he said.
The area is twice the size of Knoxville and considered one of the most biologically rich regions in the world. It is home to rare birds and other wildlife. Elk have been reintroduced nearby.
"It is the kind of place that once lost, we can never get back,'' said Scott Davis, director of the Tennessee chapter of the Nature Conservancy.
Just two years ago, most of these rolling hills were on the verge of being sold by timber companies for the value of their wood or development potential.
The state stepped in with the help of the Nature Conservancy and two conservation-oriented forest investment companies — Lyme Timber Co. of New Hampshire and Conservation Forestry LLC of Massachusetts.

Trees had been marked for cutting less than 100 yards from the entrance to Frozen Head, said Jim Fyke, state environment and conservation commissioner. Without this land deal, "Frozen Head's future could have been much different.'' Now those trees will be preserved.
Some 10,000 acres, including Love and Bird mountains, will be permanently added to Frozen Head. Conservation easements on 42,000 additional acres will ensure the land can never be developed and will be accessible to the public, though it remains in private hands.
And timber rights secured on 75,000 acres already owned by the state in the Sundquist Wildlife Management Area will give the state control to ensure sustainable forest practices, including limits on clearcutting and boundaries around streams.

Some oppose the deal. At Bredesen's urging, the state legislature appropriated $82 million for the conservation proposal. The Nature Conservancy pledged $13 million. The Conservation Forestry and Lyme Timber committed $40.2 million.

Not everyone was enthusiastic. State Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville and a member of the Senate Finance Committee, opposed the plan fearing it would take land off the local tax rolls and make property too expensive for local residents to buy for homes.
"You weigh that against the preservation and preservation won out,'' said Burchett, who attended the ceremony. "But I am not here to rain on his (Bredesen's) parade. He is very persuasive and has been a good friend. He definitely won.''

Bredesen ended the ceremony by challenging the environmental community and his administration to put together another major land conservation deal before his term ends.
"I got three more years and I invite you to bring me one more big one before I leave here,'' he said. "And we will see if we can make that happen, too.''

11/2 & 11/3/07 Dale Hollow Fishing

Caught three fish on Friday, 11/2 and one on Saturday 11/3. Dad also caught a couple Friday and Saturday. Dad and Charlie caught 10 fish on Wednesday and Thursday before I arrived. It was cold and clear overnight and was about 38 degrees both mornings. The afternoon was in the 70's...hot enough to get sunburnt, but cool and breezy enough for jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt. The water was in the low 60's. Most of the day the wind was almost nil. It was very easy to control the boat with the trolling motor, which in turn made it easier to concentrate on getting the grub and jig head to the bottom.

I attribute my success on this trip to the easier trolling motor job. If you look back at last year, my results were not as good and I believe this was in part due to the challenge of keeping the boat on course against stronger breezes. Interestingly, if you compare Charlie's results this year to the same weekend last year, his were opposite of mine. I think wind could also play a factor here...Charlie is very good at catching fish when dragging behind the boat. Stronger breezes translate into greater grub activity when dragging - not much, but think of the suttle bounces and dashes the grub would make on the lake bottom as the boat bounces and dashes in the wind and waves. Less wind and waves translate into less grub activity and could possibly result in fewer strikes.

The break, albeit only one day, from work at the Tennessean and gigging at the Full Moon Saloon was much needed. I haven't spent a couple of solid days on the lake like this in awhile. And, making it even better was the fact that we had the lake mostly to ourselves. The Fall colors were full scale, the silence in some of the coves was piercing and the fishing action was good. Just the way I like to remember Dale Hollow the rest of the year.

Most of the fish were caught on smoke grubs with quarter ounce jig heads. Charlie did throw pumkinseed for awhile, but it didn't seem to be the popular bait. I caugh a 4 lb 4oz, 21 inch fish on Friday - fish like these are the fish that make Dale Hollow the only place to fish.

Here is the proof:

First up - Dad with his three catches. This is the guy that blue prints our fishing trips to Dale. He knows the line to use, the bait, the hooks, the places to fish. I can't remember a trip we haven't caught fish on. However, I can remember several trips were others have not caught fish. I can remember last year at the tournament as we watched others weighing their catches, I was thinking our catches were competetive. Interestingly, he is still curious and concerned with what others say about lake tactics. If anyone should be advising anyone on how to fish Dale Hollow it should be him. However, also interesting, our tactics don't change. We did change hook size this year, but only because the smaller hooks were no longer available.

Below: This is the 4lb 4 ouncer...he was just over 21 inches. We are using a slighter larger hook than we did in years past and I think it is working to our favor. We don't seem to lose fish like we did in years past. Below: This guy was 3lbs 11 ounces. He was caught near the cottonwood tree cove. He was caught on Saturday morning. We revisited this location because the 4lb'er above was caught nearby on Friday morning.
Below: This was my first catch of the trip. I was glad to land anything at this point. So far my 2007 $136 hunting and fishing license had legalized one turkey and this little bass...not a good "price-per-unit" for the year. Don't want to discuss cost effectiveness of hunting/fishing licenses with the wife at this point.

Below: This was my third catch of the trip. He was caught in the "Kentucky Hole." We were in the shade of the nearby ridge, it was late afternoon and the sun was going down. He was 2lbs 11 ounces and 19 inches long. Here is Charlie with a catch from Wednesday or Thursday. To really get a full grasp of Charlie's fishing expertise, readers should check the Dale Hollow notes from the same weekend last year. This man rocks!