Just finished a long conversation after lunch today (actually yesterday as this is posted) with a long time river and fishing friend and mentor.
He’s been a mentor in both the fly fishing and business worlds and has shaped a great deal of my thinking over the years in many areas. The family was so deeply impressed with him we named a barn after him on the old place north of Kalispell (Ed’s).
Ed’s the kind of guy that you’d completely ignore if he was in line in front of you at the grocery store. He’d be wearing scruffy jeans with a well worn twill work shirt in summer and most likely a scuffed up pair of insulated Carhartt bib overalls (he only wears the traditional light brown) in winter.
If you followed him to the parking lot you’d notice him climbing into a dirty F350 (unadorned flatbed with a welding rig). Trim and soft spoken, there would never be a single clue revealing that he’s got an 8 figure net worth. He’s often said one of his missions in life is to be invisible and he’s pretty damned good at it.
Ed was somewhat cranky. We chatted about the awe (insert fear or dread here as well) inspiring state of the US and global economies, the shrill thrum emanating out of Washington these days and the fact that the upcoming campaign cycle year will likely be one of the most contested and screechy any of us have endured in decades.
Ed shared he’s particularly concerned that as the economy festers, governmental spending continues at unsustainable levels and the nation’s debt burden becomes further unmanageable environmental protections will crumble. (His argument that we’re seeing all the above happen now is pretty much impossible to refute today.)
Life seems simpler over a burger and a beer some days; here are three things Ed argued fly fishers and recreationists better not loose sight of over the next months / year:
It’s all about the water, stupid. Fly fishers take clean water for granted as a foundational element of the sport. You don’t have to look very far to see all out assaults on clean water and water protections, from Pebble’s potential impact to fracking (Canada to Texas), the Gulf Oil Spill and thousands more examples.
Ed argues, as do many others, that clean water is the core issue around which all other environmental issues orbit. When there’s not enough (or not any) clean water, the rest of the game doesn’t really matter.
Add in the secondary but critical discussion of water shortages, both drought induced (the upper West over the past decade and Texas today for close to home examples) as well as dramatic overconsumption (research LA and Denver water supply issues for ready examples) and most will agree that clean water will become a bigger bone of contention as time passes.
Political and management water decisions made in the next year will have dramatic impacts for decades to come.
That said, simple economic math is beginning to rule the day. Ed argues that given the government’s (and not just in the US) love of spending and kicking the can down the road, simple principles of economic math are coming home to roost today. No one, not even mighty governments, can spend more than they take in year after year with impunity. And considering that job growth and development sucks, destruction of currencies and erosion of public trust in the systems are accelerating and only so much blood can be squeezed out of the taxation turnip, simple economic math will soon catch up with all the political budget / spending hyperbole and change the game dramatically.
Given that fact that dollars spent on conservation and environmental issues will unquestionably decline (in progress) Ed argues that sportsman and conservationists had indeed better stop squabbling over declining funding of their pet projects and unify in fighting the core battles.
Finally, and as a corollary to the above, don’t fall for the red shirt / blue shirt trap. Ed argues that the red shirt / blue shirt tussle divides and fragments the conservation and sporting communities at a time when a more unified effort is the only pathway to winning upcoming key battles. Ed’s comments are eminently quotable here:
“Both parties have shit on their hands when it comes to sins agains the environment and sheer economic stupidity. Folks bitching about how evil one party is over the other are falling prey to the useful idiot trap and miss the point entirely. We need to figure out how to do the right thing to protect key environmental treasures regardless of what party happens to be in power.”
