GOVERNOR STARTS FISHING SEASON IN CLARK COUNTY; CALLS FOR STRICTER AIR QUALITY REGULATIONS
Monday, May 9th, 2005 -- 2:27 PM
The 2005 fishing season began Saturday and Governor Jim Doyle made his first cast in Lake Arbutus in Clark County. "I'll fish for whatever I can catch," Doyle joked, when asked what he was fishing for. "I'll be happy with anything."
Saturday marked the 40th year that 'Wisconsin's' governor went fishing on opening day ? a tradition started in 1965 by then-governor Warren Knowles.
This year?s opener comes on the heels of reports that 'Wisconsin's' mercury pollution problem is growing. Doyle says Wisconsinites should eat lake-caught fish in moderation and he criticized the Bush administration's lax air quality standards.
"Even with coal-fired electric generation, the technology is there to reduce mercury admissions by 80%; the federal government is looking to reduce them by only 15- or 16% over the next five to ten years," Doyle explained.
"That's not right."
Wisconsin is downwind from Minnesota ? a state Doyle noted can increase mercury admissions under the new federal rules.
Doyle didn't catch a fish on Saturday.
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