Jeff,

      Thanks again for all of your hard work that you have put forward on behalf of all of the sportsman of Virginia. We are blessed here in the Commonwealth with some of the finest river systems in the world. And to keep them in there pristine and productive nature for all of us to enjoy, this bill would be a huge help.

       I have been fishing the headwaters of the James regularly for the past fifteen years. About three years ago we had some of the best fishing that I had seen, and we were all excited about the future. Nothing else can compare to an all day float on some of the prettiest scenery that our state has to offer. I find it to be the best stress release  to deal with my busy life.

     But the following year our hopes were dashed by wide spread fish kills throughout the headwaters section that I call my home waters. The size and quality of our catches have plummeted, and the sadness of catching fish with sores and lesions have really been hard to bear.

      If we can get the bill passed as it is written now, I feel that it would be a huge asset to our streams and rivers. The loopholes that let this unregulated use of poultry waste spread all over the state needs to closed. I remember reading about all of the problems that you had in the Shenandoah watershed, only to see it show up in my area. To then hear that this poultry litter had been dumped in large quantity’s in my area also, and to then see the same problems show up is terrible. The figure that 80% to 90% of the poultry waste is applied outside of the regulatory guidance is totally irresponsible!

       This legislation needs to be passed to restore our rivers to where they should be, some of the best in the world. The future of our waters is at stake here, and I want future generations to enjoy them as much as I have.  
 

                                                                JAMESDW

                                                             Darrell Woolridge

5046 Pin Oak Dr.
Roanoke , Va  24019
 
JAMESDW