Wednesday Feb 13th will be the next meeting @ 4:30 pm and Ranger Rob of Casitas said so far it is to be held @ 1055 N Ventura Ave in Oak View, Ca. Ranger Rob and I talked for a while today and he stated that if Casitas closes next may be Piru, Castaic and Cachuma. It seems other lakes will be looking to see how Casitas handles this issue. It is a drag that the meeting starts early for those who will be working. It is very important that there is a large attendance of fisherman so we can show how important the lakes are to those of us who recreate on them. The last meeting went a couple hours so if you get off work @ 5:00 just get there when you can. Imagine Casitas did not allow you to bring your boat to fish and Piru, Castaic and Cachuma followed suit. What do you think would happen to Perris, Diamond Valley and other lakes? Those lakes are close to Lake Mathews that already has Quagga mussles in it and this could really take off like a snow ball down hill. I will request to speak at the meeting and I will be requesting that we do everything to keep the lake open while keeping the mussel out and if that means raising fees to pay for equipment to wash boats or fill whatever logistical needs are necessary I would support that. This is a very serious issue and has to be addressed. I feel that if we are to keep these lakes open we must show the water board that we are very willing to help them to make this happen. There is no easy fix to this and these meetings very well may determine the future for many years. If you can attend please do so and be polite. If you want to speak you can fill out the appropriate paperwork to do so. The rumors before the first meeting were pretty grim and that meeting I thought went pretty well. The board is a good bunch of people that happen to be in charge of one of our most precious resources and they do value our opinions, insight and suggestions. I suggest if you want to speak that you take the time to write down what you will say so you look professional and come off as respectable as possible. If the location changes I will post that when I find out. If you have any questions or need directions call me and I will assist however I can.
Peace
Richard Lund (LCL) Lake Casitas Locals
(805) 407-3331