The City of Austin and LCRA are requesting a second permit for an additional 6400 Grass Carp for Lake Austin. The City has already released 4825 carp as of 4-29-04. As of the March vegetation survey there were 145 acres of hydrilla. This means that there are 33 carp per acre. This is more than enough fish to do the job judging from past experience. I am asking that all concerned anglers email Phil Durocher directly and ask him to postpone issuing a second permit for at least one year until the full effect of the existing carp can be evaluated. Proponents of the grass carp say that they do not want to eliminate all vegetation in Lake Austin, however their actions prove otherwise. Please tell Phil that Texas anglers will support his rejection of this permit and fight for his right to protect our resources. Thank you for your support. Please forward your email to me as well at cons@texas-bass.com so I can measure our response.
email Phil Durocher at phil.durocher@tpwd.state.tx.us

I just emailed him my message. Thanks Tim for keeping us informed as to the developments.

BUMP

My email has been sent requesting they collect 1 years worth of data before proceeding with more stockings! Thanks for the heads up.

Charlie

I have sent an email also. Hopefully, he will postpone the permit.

Message sent.

Surprise! I received an e-mail from Phil thanking me for my comments. JR

Below is Mr. Durocher's (TPWD) response (non-response??) to my e-mail. Is he a politician or what? I imagine this is the same reply everyone else is getting. Oh well, at least he acknowleged I (a fisherman no less) existed.

My email:
Dear Mr. Durocher,

Please, for the sake of all interested parties, please allow at least 1 year of growth and seasonal changes before stocking any more grass carp. If your own projected growth rates are true, the current stocking of carp are going to grow and begin devouring a huge amount of hydrilla. I believe that you need a entire years worth of data to make the correct decisions on managing the hydrilla. Thank you.

Mr. Durocher's response:

I appreciate your comments.

Phil Durocher

I got the same response. But hey, it was an acknowledgement - I appreciated the fact that he replied - he certainly didn't owe me one. Let's hope he gets enough to influence him.

I too got the same reply. Hope it makes a difference. Dont want another Lake Conroe.