|
|
Post by goosepondmonster on Nov 22, 2013 15:26:20 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Greenedog on Nov 22, 2013 21:11:42 GMT -5
Well, that just stinks.  They close the one area there that has been upgraded with a concrete ramp, etc? And what the heck is "wetland mitigation?" Sounds like Peabody found a way to get some fed money to me. Hopefully they'll stock Airline with more trout or find another local pit to stock next spring. |
|
|
|
Post by strippitman on Nov 25, 2013 8:55:21 GMT -5
One of the saddest things I have witnessed over the years in our state is the downsizing of Minnehaha FWA. At one time, back in the mid '80's, Minnehaha was a huge area littered with dozens of excellent pits...all of which were open to the public. Over the years the state has slowly given up our rights at this great place. I don't expect it to be much longer before Minnehaha becomes just a memory and no longer exists - which is just a total shame  . Minnehaha is place that is near and dear to my heart because of the hundreds of hours me and my grandpa spent on the pits there. Some of the best fishing I've ever experienced was within the boundaries of Minnehaha. It makes no sense to me why the state wrapped up money in putting in a concrete ramp at Island Pit only to turn around and have to give the rights back to Peabody Coal  One of the things that has always been a problem with Minnehaha is you never knew whether or not you were on public or private ground unless you were a local who spent a lot of time there. And since the boundaries have been shrinking a little bit each year, what was a public pit last year may be private this year. It had gotten to the point where you felt like you were taking a chance fishing anywhere (other than a few of the well known pits) cuz you just didn't know if a spot was still "public". |
|
|
|
Post by goosepondmonster on Nov 25, 2013 12:01:32 GMT -5
I always found it odd that most of the property was leased to the state.
I don't blame Peabody for making money while they sat on something I'm sure they intend to mine again in the future.
Speaking of, the west unit of the GSSF, is that state property or property leased from the mine?
|
|
|
|
Post by crappielady on Nov 25, 2013 12:54:25 GMT -5
Strippitman, We know all too well the greediness of Peabody. We have been fighting all year for our insurance that Peabody promised us when my husband hired in years ago. A lot of his salary went into that insurance, and now they are trying to take it away. Thank goodness we had a union to fight for us, if not we wouldn't have any insurance now. They don't care anything about people, just how to increase their billion dollar profits.
|
|
|
|
Post by Greenedog on Nov 25, 2013 19:38:21 GMT -5
Speaking of, the west unit of the GSSF, is that state property or property leased from the mine? Luckily for us, that has been purchased by the state.  From the DNR; The Dugger Unit is a 2,150-acre
tract of reclaimed mine land
in Sullivan County and is
owned by the Department of Natural Resources
, Division of Forestry. The 1,300-acre East
Dugger Unit was acquired in 1995, while the 900-
acre West Unit was acquired in 2001. These
parcels were given to the Divisi
on of Forestry after the DNR allo
wed the re-mining of coal from
140 acres of land in Greene-Sullivan State
Forest in 1985. Acquired from Peabody Coal
Company, the Dugger Unit was specifically reclaimed for recreation and natural resource
management.
Peabody Coal Company opened three Dugger
Unit lakes to public fishing in 1987. The
remaining lakes on the property were opened to fi
shing in 1995 (East) and 2001 (West) when the
area was acquired by the Department of Natu
ral Resources. The East Dugger Unit remains
closed to hunting, while limited hunting is a
llowed on the West Unit. Fishing access is
comprised of one or more boat ramps at ten of
the lakes. Several smaller lakes will remain
“walk-in only” lakes. All lakes within the D
ugger Unit are restricted to
the use of electric
motors. In addition, anglers may fish from
shore at most of the lakes (Sapp 2004). |
|
|
|
Post by goosepondmonster on Nov 26, 2013 8:42:19 GMT -5
Where exactly is the east unit? Is that the main part of the Forest?
|
|
|
|
Post by strippitman on Nov 26, 2013 8:52:48 GMT -5
Where exactly is the east unit? Is that the main part of the Forest? The East Unit and West Unit are all part of the entire "Dugger Unit" which is a few miles west of Dugger. The east unit includes lakes such as Goose, Long, and Bass. The west unit contains lakes such as Pump, West, etc. They are referred to as east and west because they were acquired at different times. They are not part of "the Forest" |
|
|
|
Post by goosepondmonster on Nov 26, 2013 11:53:04 GMT -5
That's what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure.
Isn't Goose the "box of chocolates" lake?
I've always wanted to catch a fish out of Skunk Lake, so I could say I didn't get skunked while fishing Skunk.
|
|
|
|
Post by Greenedog on Nov 26, 2013 19:09:17 GMT -5
Isn't Goose the "box of chocolates" lake? No, that would be West Lake. |
|
|
|
Post by Greenedog on Nov 27, 2013 9:11:37 GMT -5
It makes no sense to me why the state wrapped up money in putting in a concrete ramp at Island Pit only to turn around and have to give the rights back to Peabody Coal And it's not just the ramp either; there's a building that was once the headquarters for the local FWA's. I've checked in a couple deer there in the past. They also added a "modern" pit restroom there in recent years. I guess it makes since for Peabody to take back the most valuable piece of property there. I'm just glad that some of us were able to fish together there for a while last spring! Might of been our last time and we didn't even know it.  |
|
|
|
Post by strippitman on Nov 27, 2013 11:28:37 GMT -5
Great point about getting to fish together there last spring. None of us at the time realized that would be the last time we would fish there. Disappointing!
If you compare maps of Minnehaha from 20 years ago until now you'd be shocked at how much that area has shrunk since then!
|
|
|
|
Post by goosepondmonster on Nov 28, 2013 11:42:46 GMT -5
I emailed the local fish biologist to see what this means for the stocked trout. I'll post the response when he gets back to me.
|
|
|
|
Post by spainy79 on Nov 28, 2013 19:10:45 GMT -5
I haven't drove down the county road side yet but the highway entrance is not blocked off. I didn't drive back to the building to see if anything was posted either. I was going to but was feeling too miserable after the lunch I had today. If I get out tomorrow I'll check.
|
|
|
|
Post by goosepondmonster on Nov 28, 2013 19:36:34 GMT -5
I noticed when I drove by this evening that the Minnehaha sign is no longer out by the highway.
|
|
They close the one area there that has been upgraded with a concrete ramp, etc? And what the heck is "wetland mitigation?" Sounds like Peabody found a way to get some fed money to me.
. Minnehaha is place that is near and dear to my heart because of the hundreds of hours me and my grandpa spent on the pits there. Some of the best fishing I've ever experienced was within the boundaries of Minnehaha. It makes no sense to me why the state wrapped up money in putting in a concrete ramp at Island Pit only to turn around and have to give the rights back to Peabody Coal 
One of the things that has always been a problem with Minnehaha is you never knew whether or not you were on public or private ground unless you were a local who spent a lot of time there. And since the boundaries have been shrinking a little bit each year, what was a public pit last year may be private this year. It had gotten to the point where you felt like you were taking a chance fishing anywhere (other than a few of the well known pits) cuz you just didn't know if a spot was still "public". 
Just another night at work for me and Monty will be back here again bright and early. 
