Coast Guard Firing Zones on Great Lakes

[FreeByrd]

http://www.cleveland.com/sports/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1157100117274620.xml&coll=2


OUTDOORS NOTEBOOK
Coast Guard drills move in on anglers
Friday, September 01, 2006
D'Arcy Egan
Plain Dealer Columnist
Boaters on Lake Erie and around the Great Lakes could be booted from their favorite fishing holes so the Coast Guard can practice with machine guns and live ammunition, a new phase of homeland security.

The Coast Guard plans to establish 34 "safe zones" around the Great Lakes, including four on Lake Erie, for target practice. Two boats will be deployed for target practice. One boat will fire at a target with mounted automatic weapons and bullets that have a 1,500-yard range. The other boat will keep an eye out for wayward boaters.

The Coast Guard will broadcast marine warnings when target practice is planned. There has been no advisory as to the frequency of target practice. The four Lake Erie zones are all in areas where Ohio fishermen can be found throughout the year. The large zones, which appear to be five to 10 miles offshore, are northeast of Huron, northeast of Cleveland, between Fairport Harbor and Geneva and between Conneaut and Erie, Pa.

[perchjerker unlogged]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006609010484

[Boatnut]

Steve,
thanks for the interesting article. I wonder where a citizen can go to voice opposition to them about this?

Thats all we need....disrupting the great fall fishing off huron! hope they monitor 79 :)

[Boatnut]

Ok,
first here is link to map covering lake erie. http://www.d9publicaffairs.com/go/doc/443/131148/
maps for other lakes available also.
Looks like one heck of a big zone covering a lot of the sandbar from what i can see.

Go HERE for links to voice your concerns. http://www.d9publicaffairs.com/go/doc/443/131153/

I urge everyone to contact the USCG and voice your opinions!

P.S....dang..talk about gov't bureacracy!! i tried going to the link above...they give ya a link to email through a "docket management system". I scroll all the way to the bottom to the "USCG"..danged if i can find anything related. If ANYONE can find a good email link to complain about this, PLEASE post it!
Thanks,

[Gju42486]

dont get your panties in a bunch, its only one or two days a year.

[Capn Hooker]

I remember when the Air National Guard used to use Lake Michigan for target practice.

Hmmmm. Maybe they can pick off a few of those cigarette boats.

I wonder how long it'll take PETA to get involved with this because they might hit some fish.

Maybe we can drag the bottom and get some of that copper to sell and make jigs from the lead.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[TJ.]

I have no problem with this at all. I support the Coast Guard on this one.

[Boatnut]

okay..i did not read the one or two days a year. guess i got over excited. I can live with that..as long as its not during the hawgfest or the WC tournament! :) Wonder if they make kevlar PFD's? :)

[skeeter]

This reminds me of an experience that happened to me about 3 or 4 yrs ago. The tall ships were out in Saginaw Bay staging to all come into the river at once. I took off in my boat out 11 miles where they were. It was beautiful, just a beautiful site. I just shut the motor off sat there and just looked around me. All of a sudden I hear over a loud speaker "GET AWAY FROM THOSE BOATS"! I turned and looked behind me and here was a coast guard boat. Can't remember what you call them but it was one that looked like a big orange dingy. BUT the darn thing has twin 50's front and rear. I looked at them and I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I thought to myself, am I on Saginaw Bay or am I back in Vietnam. I am very serious. What a strange feeling it was to see the twins with guys standing by them waiting to warm one up. All I could think about was, our children and grandchildren will never know the real freedom we used to have before terrorists. Shocked Skeeter on Saginaw Bay.

Use the WALLEYE CENTRAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY "Skeeters Stuff" under marine supplies, it works! We pay big big bucks for our boats its NOT wise to cut corners when it comes to boat cleaning supplies.

http://www.walleyecentral.com/wcdirectory/yellowresult.p

[yah right]

This reminds me of an experience that happened to me about 3 or 4 yrs ago. The tall ships were out in Saginaw Bay staging to all come into the river at once. I took off in my boat out 11 miles where they were. It was beautiful, just a beautiful site. I just shut the motor off sat there and just looked around me. All of a sudden I hear over a loud speaker "GET AWAY FROM THOSE BOATS"! I turned and looked behind me and here was a coast guard boat. Can't remember what you call them but it was one that looked like a big orange dingy. BUT the darn thing has twin 50's front and rear. I looked at them and I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. I thought to myself, am I on Saginaw Bay or am I back in Vietnam. I am very serious. What a strange feeling it was to see the twins with guys standing by them waiting to warm one up. All I could think about was, our children and grandchildren will never know the real freedom we used to have before terrorists. Shocked Skeeter on Saginaw Bay.

Use the WALLEYE CENTRAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY "Skeeters Stuff" under marine supplies, it works! We pay big big bucks for our boats its NOT wise to cut corners when it comes to boat cleaning supplies.


You had as much legal right to be where you were as any other boat on the Great Lakes. I would have told the Coast Guard to open up and shoot me. Firearm intimadation of that sort by the Coast Guard should have been reported to your congressman or your U.S Senators plus the local news media in a New York minute. there have been no reported incidents of terrorists boats in Saginaw Bay I have heard of waiting to ram sailboats with explosives. Why did the Coast Guard use that kind of intimadation for protecting some sailboats? Who knows how these clowns think. All they are is kids with 30 year old petty officer making the rules as they go along. A sailboat is just another user of the Great Lakes no more no less. If the chickensmitts would have opened up on the real problems like this there would have been No bombimg incidents like the USS Cole in the Middle East. It funny how the U.S. treats its citizens and then kow-tows to the real enemies.

[Dacotah Eye]

I think the water balloons went out the door when the twin towers came down. Were you in a Tracker?}( :cheers:

[Juls_OH]

>P.S....dang..talk about gov't bureacracy!! i tried going to
>the link above...they give ya a link to email through a
>"docket management system". I scroll all the way to the
>bottom to the "USCG"..danged if i can find anything related.
>If ANYONE can find a good email link to complain about this,
>PLEASE post it!
>Thanks,
>
>
Above the map, at the link you provided above, there is an email address listed and it said:

For more information contact:
External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard
voice: (216) 902-6020
fax: (216) 902-6027
1240 E. 9th Street
Suite 2073
Cleveland, OH 44199
externalaffairs@uscg.mil

I would assume that you could voice your opinions there, or at least get the information as to where you can voice your opinions.

Personally, I don't have a problem with it. For the one or two days they will be doing exercises, there is plenty of other water to fish during that time. I would rather see them practice, in case we might need them someday, than send them out there when we need them...unskilled. I just hope they remember to practice on the less than calm days too. It would be a lot harder to hit a target while "floating rollers". ;)

Juls

[yah right]

I think the water balloons went out the door when the twin towers came down. Were you in a Tracker?

So many fish to catch and so little time.


I'm sure Skeeter's boat didn't have Arabic writing on the side nor does Skeeter wear a turbin with a black hood/mask, wave an AK-47 while playing that Arab yooodle music. The young punk 3rd class seaman that was behind those twin Ma-Dueces and the boat captain/petty officer would be instant news celebrities in the Saginaw and Midland Newspapers and the local Congressman would have some snot nose Annapolis Coast Guard district officer on a HOT seat. That military boot heel and bayonet crap went out in 1945. I would love to have been in Skeeter's position ..... a dream come true and a free plane ride to Good Morning America and Diane Sawyer.

[Dacotah Eye]

There were quite a few CG gunboats hanging around Nam, so I assume they know when to pull the trigger. lol:cheers:

[skeeter]

Is that kind of like giving free rides to the cubans and vietnam people then want to charge us if we get caught on an ice flow ice fishing??? By accident? I haven't but know some who have.


Use the WALLEYE CENTRAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY "Skeeters Stuff" under marine supplies, it works! We pay big big bucks for our boats its NOT wise to cut corners when it comes to boat cleaning supplies.

http://www.walleyecentral.com/wcdirectory/yellowresult.p