SEE BELOW. YOU COULDN'T MAKE THIS UP REALLY COULD YOU.  NOTHING EXCITING ABOUT THIS- JUST THE OLD GUARD SEEKING A NEW FUNDING STREAM FOR WUF WITH THE USUAL SUSPECTS IN CHARGE.
A' NEW ORGANISATION' WOULD INDEED BE A GOOD IDEA BUT IT'S ASSOCIATION WITH THE OLD ONE WILL ONCE AGAIN TURN MANY OFF THE IDEA.  ONCE BITTEN -TWICE SHY.   THE WYE NEEDS BETTER THAN THIS.


More to follow;

From: "The Wye & Usk Foundation" <admin@wyeuskfoundation.org>

Subject: Letter to Riparian Owners sent on behalf of Wye Catchment Conservators

Date: 25 Jul 2016 16:47:52 BST

To: "admin1" <admin@wyeuskfoundation.org>

Dear Owner,

I am writing to introduce myself and let you know about an exciting change in the way Wye riparian owners’ interests will be represented and promoted. After 60 or so years of existence, the Wye Salmon Fishery Owners’ Association (WSFOA) has been dissolved. Increasingly, it had been thought to have too narrow an approach for the needs of the river and its stakeholders in the 21^st century. A proposal to form a new, more inclusive organisation - the Wye Catchment Conservators (WCC) - has been put forward and agreed by the remaining WSFOA members.

The new body will seek to include everyone who owns any part of the river or its tributaries. The principal tenet will be to ensure that the environment of the Wye is restored to full health and is protected from the various threats that present themselves from time to time. It will represent all those who own parts of the catchment whether they are interested in coarse species, salmon, trout or even don’t fish at all. All owners have a shared interest, whether they fish or not. By joining forces under one owners’ association, our asset can be enhanced and protected. 

My family and I have lived on the banks of the Wye at Erwood for thirty years and I have fished the river for considerably longer. Having fished in my early youth in the Thames valley, almost from when I could walk, I also have a wide ranging knowledge of angling disciplines and have subsequently fished throughout the world. As the owner of a Wye beat I am acutely aware of the pressures facing us and hope to now play a prominent role in helping to represent all owners.

The WCC will be made up of the following categories of membership:

·       Associate Member: open to all riparian owners in the catchment. Will receive publicity and information in relation to the Association and river. There will be no membership fee for this category.

·       Full Member: Full Members will be entitled to vote at Association meetings and on other issues. There will be a subscription rate of either £45 for a salmon fishery owner or £20 for all other fishery owners.

·       Conservator: a Full Member who regularly contributes to support the work of our associated trust, the Wye and Usk Foundation. It is likely that Foundation Trustees will be selected from this group, as will the WCC committee.

·       Honorary Life Member: The committee will have powers to elect up to three members to this category who have rendered the association long and distinguished service.

For the last 60 years WSFOA members have been instrumental in raising the seed money required to initiate and run river restoration projects. This investment is now paying dividends with anglers of all persuasions acknowledging that the Wye’s fish stocks are in a significantly better state than at any time in the previous 25 years. However, we still face challenges in conserving our much loved river and it will be essential for the new organisation to continue the momentum already established by the WSFOA in partnership with the Wye and Usk Foundation. Although not mandatory to be a member of the WCC, the organisation will ask that the contributions made currently by a few owners be expanded and spread throughout the wider ownership.

This is a critical time for the Wye and its owners. Government funding has already been reduced and is likely to be further pressured by the recent move away from the EU. What happens to the environmental directives that have helped to protect rivers in recent times is uncertain. Owners need to be united as we face the possibility of being left behind in the political and economic upheavals of the next few years and forceful lobbying will be required. A strong, united organisation that represents all the hundreds of owners in the Wye catchment is the best way to do this.

WCC will send regular updates to its members with the latest news from the river and details of the current work. The inaugural meeting is planned for early September. In advance of that I am inviting you to join the new organisation, ideally as a full member. In the meantime, the draft Articles of Association for the WCC are enclosed. 

I would be very grateful if you would take the time to complete and return the attached membership forms and look forward to working with you in the interests of the river and all its owners. We don’t know everyone on the river – if you know any owners to whom the new association would appeal then please ask them to get in touch.  

Yours sincerely