Fly Fishers (shoes) Serving as Transports for Noxious Little Invaders

[Liberal_in_LA]

Fly Fishers Serving as Transports for Noxious Little Invaders

By FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: August 15, 2010

Didymo in the Gihon River. Native to British Columbia, the microorganism has been found as far away as New Zealand.

Blame their boots — or, more precisely, their felt soles. Growing scientific evidence suggests that felt, which helps anglers stay upright on slick rocks, is also a vehicle for noxious microorganisms that hitchhike to new places and disrupt freshwater ecosystems.

That is why Alaska and Vermont recently approved bans on felt-soled boots and Maryland plans to do so soon.

“If you were trying to design a material to transport microscopic material around,” said Jack Williams, an expert on invasive species with the environmental group Trout Unlimited, “felt on the bottom of someone’s boots in a stream would be as close to perfection as you could find.”

The response among fishermen threatened with the loss of soles that cling to slippery rocks parallels the five stages of grief.

There is denial (the science is wrong), anger (why should I fall on my tail for the good of the planet?), bargaining (I will wash them, I will disinfect them, I will dry them), depression (I cannot afford new boots) and, finally, acceptance (I will go feltless if I must).

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/science/earth/16felt.html

[RandomThoughts]

1. I totally disagree with that comment.

I do not choose to think of acceptance as some stage, and only accept what I think should be. And do not plan on changing that.

So any post on people accepting things, depends on the individual, not some formula thought to be the same for everyone.


I won't accept what I do not accept. And accept what I think is better, And anything unacceptable is the same, so it does not matter until things are acceptable.

And currently there are things in my personal life that I do not accept, so things will change.


And I post that anytime someone says something silly like people have to accept things in some form because of some pattern.