Carbon Rule Testimony: EPA Hearing Washington D.C. May24, 2012 Docket# EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0660

Submitted By: G. Richard Mode Affiliate Representative, North Carolina Wildlife Federation 206 Wood lawn Drive Morganton, NC 28655

Members ofthe panel myna me is G. Richard Mode. I amfrom Morganton, North Carolina. I have been involved in wildlife conservation for four decades. During my adult years I have had the opportunityto serve as a volunteer leader with organizations that champion wildlife conservation. I served through all the volunteer leader offices in Trout Unlimited from loca Ichapter presidentthrough national president and chairman ofthe board. Currently I am asenior member of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation Board of Directors and serve as Affiliate Representative to Nationa I Wildlife Federation. During that volunteer service I
was blessed to receive the highest awards all three organizations bestow. In 2007 I received the Budweiser/ National Fish and Wildlife Foundation national Conservationist ofthe yearaward.

I reviewthat background only because as a lifelong angler and hunterand wildlife habitat advocate I have had the opportunityto communicate with and work with hundreds ofthousands of sportsmen and wildlife enthusiasts fromthe length and breathe ofour country. Like me theyspend theirtime outdoors and spend their hard-earned dolIars on the outdoors interestthey love. It is the very nature ofa passionate angler, hunter and wild life observerthatthey experience and observe
our natural world and wildlife habitats.

When you spend yourtime afield for a period ofyears it is easyto see the impacts of climate change on our natural world. It is the consensus ofthe sportsmen and the wildlife communitythat wildlife habitats are changing and changing quickly.

As a dedicated trout angler I have observed trout streams warming. Streams that
are marginally cold enough to maintain atrout population are warmingto a point they will no longersustain trout. Cold water scientists predictthat a small rise in temperatures will reduce the range ofthe Appalachian BrookTrout, North Carolina's only native salmonid species to a small percentage of its contemporary range.For almostfortyyears one of my family's favorite trips is to go to Eastern North Carolina to fish Phelps Lake for largemouth bass. We have always gone in June because this Pocosin, spring fed, natural lake was warm enough forthe kids to swim in and warm enough to wade wet and throw popping bugs to bass in the grass beds. The past two summers we went down afew weeks early. The water
was so hot it was uncomfortable to wade in. Bass were driven out oftheir normal feeding and nursery grounds in the shallow weed beds to deep water with no cover. The bass were nowhere to be found in cover. 

### fic:,n As an · duck hunter I have tracked migratory bird patterns forfortyfive years. For years we hunt our local wood ducks and mallards early in the season. Afterthey migrate awayfrom ourarea we usually have onlyfew ducks butthen sometime after Christmas the large flocks of migratory birds move into our area from up North. Overthe last few years those birds have come laterand later. Last yearthey did not come. It was the season that wasn't in thefoothills of Western North Carolina. A much anticipated trip to Southern Maryland the last week ofthe season in February was ca lied off when our host called and said "don't come, the birds are still doing the back stroke in Canada."

Conservative estimates ofsea level rise on the coast of Eastern North Carolina showthat we are going to lose 1500square miles of prime estuarine habitat. This is incredible wildlife habitat and supports a robust seafood nursery habitat and migratory bird habitat.

We currently have mercuryadvisories on fish consumption in North Carolina from The Great Smoky Mountainstothe Outer Banks. It's appalling that North Carolinians can not consumethefish theycatch due totoxins spewed intothe air.

Our loss ofthe special places and the special pursuits we hold dear and ourcall to protect them fromthe worst consequences ofclimate change and toxins is admittedlyself serving but these pursuits are also an economic driver in the state and serve aII North Carolinians. Two and a quarter million people hunt, fish and observe wildlife in the state. We spend 2.6 billion dollars a year in the pursuit of
our passion and create overforty six thousand jobs. Additionally outdoor recreation related tourism is a majoreconomic driver in the state. This business relies on a robust natural resources base to continue to attractvisitors.I have two GrandDaughters and another on the way. I want them to be able to experience the joys of wild North Carolina the way I have. Ido not wanttheir children to be drawing cartoons ofyou and me with our heads in the sand fifty years from now. I do not wantthem editing a caption overthe cartoon that says something like "you had the opportunity, why didn't you act?"

The sportsman and wildlife communityapplaud the development ofthese carbon rules, welcomethe mercury rules and hope you will proceed with speed to implementthese rules as the next stepto protecting wild life habitats and our natural world fromthe worst impacts ofclimate change and toxic emissions.