BY DAVID A. KNEPPER
September 05, 2008 03:07 pm
—
Walden Pond, near Concord, Mass., will forever be remembered as a retreat of philosopher and writer Henry David Thoreau. While in his late 20s, he lived on its shores, in a rude cabin, from 1845 to 1847.
Thoreau explained that “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
Fortunately, we have our own “Walden Ponds” in Cambria and Somerset counties when we wish to escape from the humdrum of everyday life. They are God’s outdoor cathedrals that provide all of us with a sense of serenity and solitude to invigorate our minds and renew our spirits.
For fishermen, these waterways, such as the Quemahoning, or Que as it is known, have always been an angler’s delight.
No more do we have to travel to Michigan, North Carolina, or even New York to land the really big ones!
Recently, I stopped by the Richland fire station to meet with Jason Ober, the township’s assistant fire chief, to discuss the impact that fishing could have on our local economy.
When not fighting fires, Jason is a professional bass fisherman who competes in a number of national tournaments up and down the East Coast.
For someone like myself, who brags about catching a few crappies, Jason got my attention when he told me that our local waterways have some of the best bass fishing in the state and nation.
When I left Jason’s office, I was more confident than ever that we need to drop our economic hook into these unexplored “waters.”
Perhaps, county leaders need to join Jason some morning to not only get a few pointers on fishing, but also to have him share his thoughts on how best to develop this new economic market.
In a 2007 report produced by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Pennsylvania ranked 12th in the number of registered anglers in the nation. Fishing should be the next “bright star of our local economy” that needs to be explored and developed, certainly more than it presently is.
Jeff Crane, president of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, would agree that fishermen and hunters alike are overlooked as a constituency and as a substantial economic force.
“When you compare spending by hunters and anglers to other sectors, their impact on the state’s economy becomes more tangible,” Crane said.
“When sportsmen’s spending is thought of in business terms and compared to other sectors of the economy, it is quite remarkable.
“From small, rural towns scattered across our country’s landscape to the bottom line of Fortune 500 companies located in major cities, if you take away hunting and fishing you take away the equivalent of a multibillion-dollar corporation.”
He continued, “It is a fairly simple equation – hunters and anglers mean jobs in states and local communities that have made the effort to maintain their hunting and fishing opportunities. The economic impacts that sportsmen have on state economies should be a wake-up call to state governments to welcome and encourage hunting and fishing in their state.”
An upturn in new economic development, namely small-business development in the fishing industry within many of our smaller communities that are located near our waterways, could be a win-win situation.
Communities such as Davidsville, Wilmore and Beaverdale, for example, have the potential for new retail business development that would cater to fishing and hunting enthusiasts.
Finally, we could begin to welcome new sports enthusiasts to our region by erecting signage along routes 219, 53 and 869 that would help identify where these reservoirs are located – the Que, Hinkston Run Dam, Beaverdale and others.
Let us not assume that everyone has a GPS navigation system or surfs the Internet to locate these waterways. I got lost a few years ago when I thought I knew where the Que was!
Hopefully, someone will get the “bait” and begin a serious dialogue to move this new economic initiative forward. But for now, I am off for my favorite fishing hole to land some really big fish, and not crappies.
David A. Knepper of Adams Township has held several professional positions: Cambria County community and economic development specialist, school superintendent, principal and college teacher. He holds a doctorate in educational administration from Penn State. Presently, he is executive director of the Forest Hills Regional Alliance.
Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.
Photos
The Tribune-Democrat