Don’t take away motorboat rights

I’m writing in response to two recent articles regarding a petition to ban the use of outboard motors on the south fork of the Coquille River from Broadbent upstream. There seems to be a few “purists” who are trying to take away our rights.

There are far more boats with motors on most rivers than boats without. If it starts on the South Fork, it will spread to many other rivers.

I have been verbally attacked by one landowner, another “purist” from his boat, and once by an older fisherman on the bank who flew into a verbal attack and then hurled rocks (six to eight of them) at us while we were fishing. Any one of the rocks could have been fatal if they had struck one of us.

I have fished most of the rivers in this area and you see hundreds of friendly, nice and dedicated fishermen without a problem.

I sincerely hope that the Oregon State Marine Board does not chose to take away another of our rights. In the last few years, our license and tag fees have increased. At the same time, our seasons have been shortened, our salmon season canceled and the bottom fish limits reduced.

And, oh yes, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife listened to a few guides and fly fishermen, and now we can no longer keep a native steelhead, one a day, up to five a year on the Umpqua River system. This they later admitted was against their own research data.

This is just another example of what we pay more for and get less for our taxpayer dollars. It’s time for the fishermen to let The Oregon State Marine Board and ODFW know what we want regardless of our different opinions.

Larry Buckmaster

Myrtle Creek