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Port Clinton Kiwanis President, Susanna Tomaschek, left, welcomed Captain Peg VanVleet, right, to the Kiwanis\u2019 Aug. 19 meeting at Ala Carte After Hours. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)<\/p>\n
BY SHERI TRUSTY<\/p>\n
PORT CLINTON \u2013 When Captain Peg VanVleet, the founder of Blue Sky Charters, stepped before the Kiwanis Club of Port Clinton at their Aug. 19 meeting at Ala Carte After Hours, she talked about the fragile future of Governor\u2019s Fish Ohio Day, the annual event that brings local, state, and federal leaders and members of the media to Lake Erie for a day of fishing. Since Gov. James Rhodes started Fish Ohio in 1979, the event has been integral in educating political leaders and the community on the importance of protecting Ohio\u2019s greatest natural resource.<\/p>\n
For the last 25 years, VanVleet has organized Fish Ohio in collaboration with the Ohio Governor\u2019s Office and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s all about understanding. It\u2019s all about teaching,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Protecting Lake Erie is not something VanVleet simply talks about. It is something she lives. VanVleet is the VP of Environmental Issues for the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, is a member of the governor\u2019s Waterway and Safety Council, and is the director of the Great Lakes Sports Fishing Council. She has been fishing in Lake Erie since she was five years old.<\/p>\n
VanVleet said the public often does not understand the extent of the economic impact of Lake Erie. Each year, the lake draws millions of visits to Ottawa and Erie counties and generates billions of dollars across the state. For nearly five decades, Fish Ohio has highlighted annual economic data to legislators so they are inspired to keep protecting the lake.<\/p>\n
For eight years, Governor Mike DeWine embraced Fish Ohio and its benefits. Now, as Ohio residents elect a new governor this fall, the future of Fish Ohio is in question.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the new governor is as passionate about the lake as DeWine is,\u201d VanVleet said. \u201cThe ODNR has talked to both governor candidates. Both said they don\u2019t want to change Fish Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fish Ohio requires funding, but that funding is an investment with a strong economic return. VanVleet hopes the next governor will commit to funding Fish Ohio so Lake Erie protections will remain at the forefront of legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cLake Erie is important. It is an economic engine for the state. If we don\u2019t take care of the lake, it won\u2019t be here for our children and grandchildren,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to keep Fish Ohio going to keep the lake in front of our legislators. We have to keep taking care of the lake.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Port Clinton Kiwanis President, Susanna Tomaschek, left, welcomed Captain Peg VanVleet, right, to the Kiwanis\u2019 Aug. 19 meeting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":277021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[136,138,137],"class_list":["post-277020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-erie","tag-erie","tag-erie-headlines","tag-erie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=277020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/277020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/277021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=277020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=277020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=277020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}