|
|
|
|
John <fishes@brainerd.net> 8/30/2003 11:04:42 PM >>> August 30 2003 Mr. Payer, Please provide me with the documentation supporting your claim that "that approval [for longear sunfish] was intended to be only for ponds licensed for non-indigenous species" Also, please provide me with documentation that the koi importation permit in 2001 was for ponds on the west side of Rebel Road only as the documentation I recovered during the Data Practices Act request. There was never any discussion of the ponds that koi were to be stocked into nor do I see any indication of restrictions on the documents I received. I believe you will see that Minnesota statute treats species that are naturalized similarly to indigenous species. We'll just let the court make the ruling on that one this winter. FYI, I intend on filing another ethics complaint against you for allowing your staff to behave in such an unprofessional manner. I also intend on filing an ethics complaint against Mr. Goeman for his continued unprofessional behavior. It's no wonder that the public has such low regard for the MN DNR Fisheries considering how unethical behavior is protected and encouraged. Sincerely, John Reynolds Midwest Fish and Crayfish 26385 County Road 3 Merrifield MN 56465
---- Original Message ----- From: "Ron Payer" <ron.payer@dnr.state.mn.us> Cc: "Gene Merriam" <gene.merriam@dnr.state.mn.us>; "Linda Erickson-Eastwood" <linda.erickson-eastwood@dnr.state.mn.us>; "Mark Holsten" <mark.holsten@dnr.state.mn.us>; "Roy Johannes" <roy.johannes@dnr.state.mn.us>; "Steve Hirsch" <steve.hirsch@dnr.state.mn.us>; "Tim Goeman" <tim.goeman@dnr.state.mn.us>; <rep.dale.walz@house.mn>;
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2003 10:33 AM Subject: Re: Mr. Goeman Mr. Reynolds-In response to your first August 30, 2003 Email, the documentation that approval for longear sunfish was intended to be only for ponds licensed for non-indigenous species can be found in your 2001 aquaculture license sent to you on March 26, 2001. Longear sunfish are listed as one of the approved species for ponds licensed for non-indigenous species. If you need another copy of this license, please let me know and I will mail it to you. Tim Goeman has acknowledged that he erred in approving your importation permit for longear sunfish in May 2001 without specifying that the approval was limited to waters licensed for non-indigenous species. However, your permit application had incomplete information and there was some confusion at the time over which waters you had listed on your license. As stated in previous correspondence, we attempted to clarify these licensing issues with you at the December 2001 meeting and in follow- up correspondence on January 8, 2002. In response to your request for documentation that the koi importation permit in 2001 was for ponds on the west side of Rebel Road, koi are considered an ornamental fish and are exempt from transportation/importation permit requirements as provided by Minn. Stat., sec. 17.4985, subd. 3, paragraph 2. They are essentially unregulated by the DNR; therefore, we do not typically list them on aquaculture licenses nor would we specify on importation permits which licensed ponds they could be stocked in. In response to your second August 30, 2003 Email, I assume you are referring to the statement in the January 8, 2002 letter from Tim Goeman that "You should be aware that a "Live Fish Transportation and Importation Permit from this office is required for any Intrastate transfers or sales of live fish from ponds licensed for non-indigenous species." If so, we have addressed this question already in an August 5, 2002 Email from Roy Johannes, an August 11, 2002 Email from Roy Johannes, an August 16, 2002 Email from Roy Johannes, and a September 23, 2002 letter from Roy Johannes. Ronald D. Payer, Director Division of Fisheries MN DNR 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4012 Phone: (651) 297-4098 Fax: (651) 297-4916
September 12, 2003 Mr. Payer, Thank you for the response. Longear sunfish. You are correct that longears are listed on the pond approved for non-indigenous species. Fathead minnows and bluegill sunfish are also listed on that license along with every other species of fish found in Minnesota. Are you suggesting that all of those species are non-indigneous because they are listed on the non-indigenous license? If you look on the May 30 2001 document from Mr. Goeman you will see that he denied the importation/stocking of orangespotted sunfish solely because they were non-indigenous yet he approved the longears. If what you say is true then why did he deny orangespotted sunfish to my entire facility when my facility had non-indigenous licensed ponds available? Koi. I have a DNR document that states the koi were approved for ponds on the west side of the road. That strongly suggests an attempt to cover-up of Mr. Goemans arbitrary and capricious decision to cancel my non-indigenous license. It was not specified on the import/stocking permit as you say. Goemans statement. On the issue of Mr. Goeman's arbitrary declaration that I needed his approval to sell any of my fish anywhere in Minnesota. I asked Mr. Johannes on 8 separate occasions if the statement was correct or incorrect. The closest Mr. Johannes could come to contradicting Mr. Goemans incorrect statement was to say that the all-inclusive statement was general correct. This is false because the statement says EVERY FISH. I contacted the MN AG office and received assurance that the statement was incorrect. The person doing the transportation/stocking is the person needing the permit. It is also incorrect to imply that fish raised in ponds licensed for non-indigenous species are somehow treated differently than those raised in ponds licensed for indigenous only. The destination of those fish raised in non-indigenous ponds may be into watersheds where they are considered indigenous therefore Mr. Goemans declaration is false on both counts. Sincerely, John Reynolds Midwest Fish and Crayfish 26385 County Road 3 Merrifield MN 56465
John <fishes@brainerd.net> 9/27/2003 9:24:28 PM >>>
September 28 2003 Mr. Payer, I am still waiting for a reply to my September 12 2003 email question of whether the presence of fathead minnows and bluegill sunfish on the non-indigenous license means that they are non-indigenous (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/Payer91203.html ). I am also waiting for your explanation of why Mr. Goeman would deny the importation/stocking of orangespotted sunfish for my entire facility solely because they were non-indigenous (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/6101Goeman.html ) yet would allow the importation/stocking of longear sunfish and then later claim they were also non-indigenous. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, John Reynolds Midwest Fish and Crayfish 26385 County Road 3 Merrifield MN 56465
>From Ron Payer Mr. Reynolds-I had thought each of your questions had been answered. I would suggest you set up a meeting with Mr. Goeman to clarify your questions and to try to resolve any outstanding issues. Ronald D. Payer, Director Division of Fisheries MN DNR 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4012 Phone: (651) 297-4098 Fax: (651) 297-4916
John wrote: October 2 2003 Mr. Payer, I have received responses to the following questions but no answers. There is a big difference between a response and an answer. My valuable time would not be wasted if I didn't have to ask questions over and over. Thank you for your suggestion to meet with Mr. Goeman but I have no interest in meeting with Mr. Goeman or anyone from Fisheries. Unlike Fisheries staff I don't get paid for meetings or the time I miss at work. My unanswered questions are as follows. 1. Does the presence of fathead minnows and bluegills on the list of species approved for my non-indigenous ponds mean they are non-indigenous as you implied of longear sunfish in your September 12 2003 email? 2. Do you support Mr. Goemans statement that I need his office's permission to sell any of my fish produced in non-indigenous ponds anywhere in Minnesota? I filed a second legislative claim against Fisheries today so you should see it soon. I will also be filing a third if Mr. Goeman continues to refuse to issue a correct longear sunfish import/stock permit. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, John Reynolds Midwest Fish and Crayfish 26385 County Road 3 Merrifield MN 56465
John <fishes@brainerd.net> 10/14/2003 7:28:43 AM >>> October 14 2003 Mr. Payer, I am still waiting for an answer to my question. Let me rephrase question #1 since you are refusing to answer. Mr. Goeman denied the stocking permit for orangespotted sunfish in 2001 because they were non-indigenous on the same permit that he allowed longear sunfish. He now claims that the longear sunfish were only to be stocked into ponds licensed for non-indigenous species. If ponds were available for stocking orangespotted sunfish (and all other non-indigenous species) in 2001 as my license shows (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/6401license.html), as you admitted in your July 12 2001 email http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/71201Payer.html), as Mr. Hirsch admitted in his August 30 1996 letter (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/Hirsch83096.html) and finally 2 years later Mr. Goeman admitted to you (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/91203Payer.html) why were orangespotted sunfish NOT allowed? I continue to wait for an honest answer to this important question. There is no need to answer question #2 again. I believe you when you say you support Mr. Goemans arbitrary and capricious statement that I need his permission to sell any of my fish anywhere in Minnesota. That is the problem. Fisheries defends illegal arbitrary decisions that harm fish farmers just as vigorously as legal decisions. The Fisheries Management Team is in the process of proving that once again. Sincerely, John Reynolds Midwest Fish and Crayfish 26385 County Road 3 Merrifield MN 56465 P.S. It would not be necessary to keep repeating my questions if you would answer them the first time they are asked.
10/22/2003 Ron Payer wrote: In response to your question, the reason that orangespotted sunfish (OSS) were denied on your importation permit in 2001 was because your application was incomplete, in that you did not specify which licensed waters were going to receive the OSS and some of your ponds were not licensed for nonindigenous species. Although longear sunfish are also nonindigenous, they were approved because the risk was judged to be lower since these fish were found in the wild elsewhere in the watershed. However, as has been indicated in previous correspondence, longear sunfish should have also been denied based on their nonindigenous status and the statutory requirement to reject incomplete permit applications (Minn. Stat., sec. 17.4985, subd. 5). Ronald D. Payer, Director Division of Fisheries MN DNR 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4012 Phone: (651) 297-4098 Fax: (651) 297-4916
John wrote: October 22, 2003 Mr. Payer, I continue to be deeply disappointed in your attempts to avoid responsibility. I'm also disappointed in an agency that allows this type of behavior from top officials. If you look at Mr. Goemans letter dated May 30 2001 you will see that he states that "Orangespotted sunfish will not allowed at your facility..." (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/53001Goeman.html) He does NOT state that they will not be allowed in some ponds or most ponds but the ENTIRE facility. You personally stated that ponds on my facility were licensed for orangespotted sunfish in your July 12 2001 email (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/71201Payer.html). Furthermore in the August 30 1996 document from region manager Ed Feiler to then program manager Steve Hirsch Mr. Feiler states that my farm is no where near the 100-year flood plain and that he has no problem licensing my ponds for non-indigenous species. As you recall (and continue to support) Mr. Goeman stated that the reason he was denying the permit was because my ponds were within the 25-year flood plain. In case you aren't aware the 25-year flood plain is within the 100-year flood plain. Thus my facility is even further away from the 25-year flood plain. (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/Hirsch83096.html). Once again it looks like I will be forced to file another ethics complaint against you (your third). I will also be filing a second one against Mr. Wingate, a first against Mr. Goeman (although it's long overdue) and a first against Mr. Hirsch. Sincerely, John Reynolds Midwest Fish and Crayfish
11/5/2003 John wrote: I made a mistake. The ethics complaint I will be filing as soon as I can find time will be Mr. Goemans second ethics complaint. His first is http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/GoemanPayerethics.html Sorry for the confusion. Sincerely, John Reynolds
John <fishes@brainerd.net> 11/5/2003 8:43:54 PM >>> November 5, 2003 Mr. Payer, I am still waiting for you to answer why Mr. Goeman denied a permit for orangespotted sunfish for my entire facility in 2001 (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/53001Goeman.html) even though I was licensed for Orangespotted sunfish at the time (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/6401license.html) . You even stated such in your July 12 2001 email (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/71201Payer.html) and Mr. Hirsch was notified that my facility was no where near the 100-year flood plain (http://www.mndnrdocuments.org/Hirsch83096.html) 5 years before Mr. Goeman claimed that the permit was denied because my farm was within the 25-year flood plain. Are you refusing to answer my question? Sincerely, John Reynolds Midwest Fish and Crayfish 26385 County Road 3 Merrifield MN 56465
Ron Payer wrote: Ronald D. Payer Fisheries Section Chief MN DNR 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4012 Phone: (651) 297-4098 Fax: (651) 297-4916
John wrote: |