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Felt Ban Coming to a Stream Near You?
May 19, 2010 -- Among the din and ruckus coming from the close of the legislative session in Montpelier, a wide array of bills and laws is being bandied about and fast-tracked toward approval.
Among the swirl of activity is H.488, a fairly innocuous bill that comes with none of the political baggage attached to some of the bigger, more contentious pieces of legislation.
H.488 has been passed by the House and Senate and is heading toward the Governor’s Office, where Gov. Jim Douglas will likely sign it or allow it to become law.
Before H.488 is officially etched into the legal landscape, however, Vermont anglers should know about it. Under the new law, feltsoled wading boots and waders will be illegal to use in Vermont waters starting April 1. Felt boots, while certainly not the only culprit in the spread of aquatic nuisance species and disease, have been linked to the transmission of didymo (or “rock snot”) and whirling disease. Felt absorbs and retains water. That’s a fact. Read the full story to get the details.
"Nobody — neither fishery officials in Alaska nor New Zealand nor the people who make wading gear— believe or claim a ban on felt boots will completely stop the spread of aquatic nuisance species or disease."
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