Wildlife Commissioner's contact info

[Don Miller]

As many of you know, the SOS, Delbert Hosemann is attempting to post a public waterway by calling it a non-huntable "Refuge".
Please email the following Wildlife Commissioners about your opposition and concerns on this matter. The Wildlife Commission is our last line of defense. Even if you have never hunted a public waterway, please take the time to send emails. If this goes through, ALL public waterways in Mississippi could be posted.

Chairman-Charles Rigdon
crigdon@columbusnissan.com
crigdon@gmail.com

Vice Chairman-Billy Deviney
wcdeviney@yahoo.com

Clay Wagner
clay.wagner@hancockbank.com

Bill Cossar
bill_cossar@yahoo.com

Scott Coopwood
scott@coopwood.net

[teul2]

Emails sent to each of them.

[teul2]

[Wildfowler]

If you send the commission members an email, I "think" you should request that they identify when they will follow up with you on the issue.

This is just a suggestion and that way you can follow up with them at that time if you haven't heard anything.

[rjohnson]

Just sent AG an email pleading the case of the public use. Doubt I get a response but everyone should do the same. If anyone wants an email template to send let me know and I'll type one up.

[teul2]

[rjohnson]

Emailed it you but here is what I threw together in just a few minutes. It's not eloquent but it's a voice that is hopefully heard. Use it as is or chop it up to your liking. If one of the lawyers on here wants to spruce it up and post a better version please do so.

Your Message:

I have concerns with an opinion your office may be giving soon. There is a proposed refuge for part of Six Mile Lake in Leflore County that Mr. Hosemann is backing. Mr. Hosemann received a land gift to the state for a property that covers land outside the banks of Six Mile Lake as well as land under the public water in the lake. In the deed to the State of Mississippi the owners of the property declare that it is a gift with the intention of all of the land becoming a wildlife sanctuary. It also states in the deed that "Fishing shall be allowed on that party of the PROPERTY which is a public waterway." Mr. Hosemann has asked the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries & Parks to declare this a wildlife refuge. When Mr. William Deviney of the MDWFP responded when asked about the refuge "we have ask the ag for a legal opinion about state waterways to determine what is our authority."

There has been not a single public hearing on this proposed refuge that I could find to attend. I am not sure if this is being pushed through hush hush by Mr. Hosemann and I'm not here to say that or argue the point. It is beside the point of this email though it sure seems odd. My concern is that they are asking for a precedent to be set that will allow privatization of our public waterways. The deed even says that part of the property is a public waterway which should alone be enough to disallow the property under the lake from becoming a refuge. I do not hunt or fish on this lake nor have I ever been on it. I do have friends that use this lake all your round for leisure and sport. If a precedent is set that the State can go through this process and declare public navigable waters private this will lead to eventually all of them being deemed private.

This proposed sanctuary will open the door to private landowners being able to donate a small portion of land under a waterway to be turned into a sanctuary which can in turn cut off the rest of the lake to public access. In the case of Six Mile Lake the proposed sanctuary will cut through the middle of the lake effectively stopping all public access to the sanctuary area as well as the northern portion of the lake. This similar situation could occur on almost any oxbow in the State.
I ask that you please consider this possibility of abuse a very high probability and do not allow the MDWFP or any entity to encroach on the public use of our waterways.
Thank you for your time! Your work for our State is greatly appreciated!!!

[teul2]

Sent.
Use this page to send the email.
http://www.ago.state.ms.us/contact/

[Trip]

Done

[rjohnson]

Here is a template for your wildlife commissioners. It doesn't include any finger pointing at any individual though the first revision did so.


Chairman Rigdon and members of the Wildlife Commission,

As a concerned citizen I would like to voice my opposition to the proposed refuge to be placed on the donated land at Six Mile Lake. I am a huge proponent of having safe havens for our wildlife particularly waterfowl. However I am not in favor of doing so when the refuge will cut off public access to a public waterway. The deed to this property actually states "Fishing shall be allowed on that party of the PROPERTY which is a public waterway." So the gifting landowners even acknowledge that this is a public waterway. I understand that you are waiting on the State Attorney General to give an opinion on your authority to declare this property a refuge. If the AG says you have the authority I beg you to follow all past precedents that public waterways and lakes are for public use and to follow the Equal Footing and Public Trust doctrine as well as the previous case precedence of Ryals v. Piggot and Dycus v. Sillers.

Allowing this to be turned into a refuge will set a very dangerous precedent for our remaining public waterways and lakes in our great State. This proposed refuge would cut off access to the middle of the lake as well as the entire northern end of the lake due to the inability to cross the refuge. This would allow future “refuges” to be petitioned for in the name of wildlife as a cover for cutting access to the public and privatizing entire bodies of water if there are no public access spots on certain sides of the refuge. This can allow landowners to donate very small sections of land that crosses lakes, get it turned into a sanctuary, and make the rest of the water which is public essentially private if there are no public access spots on the remaining portion of the lake. This can effectively allow all oxbows to be turned into private lakes due to the lack of access after the land donation and subsequent refuge status being placed on it.

I have heard there is a weir project being tied to this sanctuary. I have also heard that without the refuge the weir project cannot be completed. I contacted the Nature Conservancy who is in charge of the weir project. When the proposed refuge deal was being made the Nature Conservancy had no knowledge of the refuge. The representative of TNC said in no way is the weir project dependent upon the donated land becoming a sanctuary/refuge. The weir project will only fall through is there are any landowners that can show or simply say they will be negatively affected by the weir project. TNC has spoken with all landowners affected or potentially affected and gotten their approval to continue with the project. There is much spreading of false information on the two projects being tied together. Please do not believe that failing to give the donated land a sanctuary status will negatively affect other wildlife projects. Even if so the pressure from such should not a decision make.

Thank you for your time and your service to our great State!

Concerned citizen,

[LODI QUACKER]

In my opinion it needs to say that the lake boundaries and ALL navigable waterways be keep the the way they were declared in 2000-2001 when proper studies were done. No taking of any part of the lake and what has been deemed public water in the past. If it was then, it is now public, period!

To do so now with no additional studies is ludicrous.

[Deltaquack]

[rjohnson]

"The Mississippi Supreme Court in Dycus v. Sillers, in a case involving Lake Beulah in Bolivar County, ruled that “the public right to waters formed by an avulsion is as great as any other public waters” and suggested that all oxbows are public waters." -- http://www.ms-sportsman.com/details.php?id=120

Could be a different case you are thinking about or I'm simply misunderstanding it completely idk.

[BAY KINGFISHER]

Commissioner Wagner just emailed me back. His response to Ronnie's letter was the following:

"I agree with you. Thanks for contacting me!!"

[rjohnson]

From: Wagner, Clay [mailto:Clay.Wagner@hancockbank.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 9, 2015 2:05 PM
To: Ronnie Johnson
Subject: RE: Six Mile Lake proposed wildlife refuge

I agree with you. Thanks for your commentrs


So there is at least one member of the commission that agrees it is a bad idea.