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Over the last few days the California Department of Fish and Game has been required to stop stocking non-native fish in many lakes in Northern California, including a lot of those high mountain lakes in the Sierra Nevada, Trinity Alps, Trinity Divide, Russian Wilderness, and other places we all love to hike. The reason? To comply with a lawsuit filed by two environmental groups that want to protect threatened species.
Here’s a snippet from a recent Record Searchlight article about how one hiker-fisherman is affected:
For more than 50 years, when 68-year-old Carl Furrer backpacked to the dozens of high mountain lakes that pool in valleys above the north state, his fishing pole doubled as a kitchen utensil.
The Shingletown man says there are few things in life as satisfying as dining on a breakfast of brook and rainbow trout caught at first light.
That’s why Furrer says he’s both saddened and alarmed at a deal made this week by the Department of Fish and Game to stop planting millions of hatchery-raised trout in many of the state’s mountain rivers and lakes he’s fished for most of his life.
“It’s going to pretty much kill 90 percent of my fishing,” Furrer said.
California Department of Fish and Game on Fish Stocking Ban
Here’s a chunk of a Friday post from the California Department of Fish and Game web site:
Contact:
Jordan Traverso, Office of Communications, (916) 654-9937
SACRAMENTO – An order today signed by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Patrick Marlette will allow the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to stock more waters than would have been allowed under his Nov. 6 tentative ruling. The order is a result of weeks of negotiation among DFG, and the Pacific Rivers Council and Center for Biological Diversity, along with their counsel Stanford Legal Clinic.
“DFG fought hard in the negotiations to save its fish stocking programs,” said DFG Director Donald Koch. “We are pleased that the order allows us to continue stocking in a number of areas where the communities depend on fishing.”
The order, with some exceptions, has a broad prohibition against DFG stocking “nonnative” fish in “any California fresh water body” where surveys have demonstrated the presence of 25 specified amphibian or fish species or where a survey for those species has not yet been done. The order does not address the stocking of native fish into native waters.
The order lists exceptions to the prohibition regarding stocking nonnative fish, which include:
Stocking in human-made reservoirs larger than 1000 acres.
Stocking in human-made reservoirs less than 1000 acres that are not connected to a river or stream, or are not within red legged frog critical habitat or where red legged frogs are known to exist.
Stocking as required as state or federal mitigation.
Stocking for the purpose of enhancing salmon and steelhead populations and funded by the Commercial Trollers Salmon Stamp.
Stocking of steelhead from the Mad River Hatchery into the Mad River Basin.
DFG’s Aquarium in the Classroom program.
Stocking actions to support scientific research.
Stocking done pursuant to an existing private stocking permit or to be done under a new permit with terms similar to one that was issued in the last four years.
And more importantly, here’s a list released yesterday of which lakes will and won’t be stocked with fish.
Fish Stocking Ban Northern California Lakes: Siskiyou County
Here are the lakes around my home territory of Mount Shasta that won’t be stocked.
Siskiyou County and nearby:
Boulder Lake East Boulder Lake West Cabin Meadow Lake Caldwell Lake # 1 Caldwell Lake # 2 Calf Lake Campbell Lake Castle Lake Cold Creek Dobkins Lake Duck Lake Big Duck Lake Little Elk Lake Little English Lake Lower Fox Creek Lake Granite Lake Green Gumboot Lake Lower Hancock Lake Big Mill Creek Lake West Paradise Lake Rock Fence Lake Russian Lake Upper Sacramento River, South Fork Seven Lake Lower Sky High Lake Lower Sky High Lake Upper Taylor Lake
Telephone Lake Toad Lake Trail Gulch Lake Virginia Lake Waterdog Lake West Park Lake Lower West Park Lake Middle
Many Northern California hikers also love to fish, and for some folks, they hike primarily because that’s what they have to do to get to good fishing. I’m still educating myself on this issue and haven’t yet formed my opinion. On one hand, I think it’s important to protect threatened species. On the other hand, a lot of people get a lot of enjoyment in trying to snag those stocked fish.
How about you? How important to you is fishing in high mountain lakes? Will this fish restocking ban affect your hiking plans next summer? Do you agree with the ban? Why or why not?
I saw the writing on the wall when they stopped stocking Sespe Creek in 1998 because of this non-native species nonsense.
Environmentalism has become simply Neo-Paganism – An old religion with a new set of clothes.
They control politicians, the media, schools and the bureaucracies of government. It is too late to rid ourselves of this “State Religion”.
Their creed is simple;
“All forms of human endeavor are evil.
The only permissible interaction between man and nature is restoration, conservation, preservation and veneration.”
Unless you subscribe to their creed they simply don’t you in the out of doors.
Whenever my kids ask why they can’t fish or hunt in places we once did – Or why they don’t stock fish in streams and close more roads and campgrounds every year. I simply say to them, “They just don’t want you out there… There’s no “real reason” or logic. They only want folks in limited areas who will simply worship nature and nothing else is acceptable”
Get used to the locked gates and fences folks – It’s the future…
Several peer-reviewed published studies over the last 30 years have found that fish stocking actually decreases the number of fish and increases human impact to land adjacent to streams and lakes – resident fish are diplaced and move downstream. Introduced fish are not residents and eventually move downstream. Introduced fish, among other direct causes, repeatedly introduce diseases toxic to amphibians. Lakes once “barren” (of fish) that supported robust populations of native amphibians, now have stunted fish and few amphibians. I do not purchase a fishing license (nor fish) precisely to protest DF&G’s antiquated approach to ecosystems.
I’m interested in the long-term health of ecosystems. And I also want to know what the scientific consensus is about the impacts of human actions on ecosystems.
If that means fish stocking needs to stop at some lakes, then it needs to stop. I do think that should be balanced by continuing to stock lakes where the introduced fish will have only a minimal impact.
As an avid high lake angler this is a topic that interests me greatly. There is a lot of research showing impacts from non-native fish in high lakes. But the common thread in almost all those studies is that the lakes had very high populations of fish, Typically, they are full of naturally reproducing, stunted fish. Both amphibian and zooplankton populations are adversely impacted. But a long term study in the North Cascades National Park found that lakes where fish were stocked in low densities did not show the negative impacts seen in lakes with high densities of stunted fish. That is a very important finding. Careful stocking in low densities of fish that are not able to naturally reproduce can yield a high quality fishery and preserve native high lake biota.
But there is a key difference in native amphibians between the North Cascades and the Sierras. That is the mountain yellow-legged frog. The MLY frog needs the same deep water habitat that fish do. That contrasts with the most vulnerable amphibian in the North Cascades which is the long-toed salamander. The LT sally prefers productive, shallow, even seasonal ponds. I don’t know if low density stocking will work in MYL frog waters.
Losing the high lake fishery in California would be a major loss. It would be especially tragic if more careful stocking could preserve both the fishery and native species.
Has the DFG and the environmental alarmists ever considered that they are going to radically change whole eco-systems that have been established for years. This will cause considerable havoc on other species. I usually see a pair of bald eagles catching trout at these lakes that are stocked with trout.
The extremely successful comeback of the Eagle is attributed to (besides banning DDT) to a large supply of food being provided. I recently saw a pair of Golden Eagles in a valley south of Marysville, CA. I really think this is a bad idea, and I want some of my fishing license money back!!!
And not only that, is it such a good idea to being putting a financial burden on communities that rely on fishing tourism at a time when small communities are financially hurting.
[…] haven’t heard from anyone in Siskiyou County yet, John at the Northern California Hiking Blog put together a list of area waters that won’t be stocked with non-natives, and we’ll see how that sits with the locals (the statewide “no-stock” list can […]
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I saw the writing on the wall when they stopped stocking Sespe Creek in 1998 because of this non-native species nonsense.
Environmentalism has become simply Neo-Paganism – An old religion with a new set of clothes.
They control politicians, the media, schools and the bureaucracies of government. It is too late to rid ourselves of this “State Religion”.
Their creed is simple;
“All forms of human endeavor are evil.
The only permissible interaction between man and nature is restoration, conservation, preservation and veneration.”
Unless you subscribe to their creed they simply don’t you in the out of doors.
Whenever my kids ask why they can’t fish or hunt in places we once did – Or why they don’t stock fish in streams and close more roads and campgrounds every year. I simply say to them, “They just don’t want you out there… There’s no “real reason” or logic. They only want folks in limited areas who will simply worship nature and nothing else is acceptable”
Get used to the locked gates and fences folks – It’s the future…
Their creed is simple
Several peer-reviewed published studies over the last 30 years have found that fish stocking actually decreases the number of fish and increases human impact to land adjacent to streams and lakes – resident fish are diplaced and move downstream. Introduced fish are not residents and eventually move downstream. Introduced fish, among other direct causes, repeatedly introduce diseases toxic to amphibians. Lakes once “barren” (of fish) that supported robust populations of native amphibians, now have stunted fish and few amphibians. I do not purchase a fishing license (nor fish) precisely to protest DF&G’s antiquated approach to ecosystems.
I’m interested in the long-term health of ecosystems. And I also want to know what the scientific consensus is about the impacts of human actions on ecosystems.
If that means fish stocking needs to stop at some lakes, then it needs to stop. I do think that should be balanced by continuing to stock lakes where the introduced fish will have only a minimal impact.
As an avid high lake angler this is a topic that interests me greatly. There is a lot of research showing impacts from non-native fish in high lakes. But the common thread in almost all those studies is that the lakes had very high populations of fish, Typically, they are full of naturally reproducing, stunted fish. Both amphibian and zooplankton populations are adversely impacted. But a long term study in the North Cascades National Park found that lakes where fish were stocked in low densities did not show the negative impacts seen in lakes with high densities of stunted fish. That is a very important finding. Careful stocking in low densities of fish that are not able to naturally reproduce can yield a high quality fishery and preserve native high lake biota.
But there is a key difference in native amphibians between the North Cascades and the Sierras. That is the mountain yellow-legged frog. The MLY frog needs the same deep water habitat that fish do. That contrasts with the most vulnerable amphibian in the North Cascades which is the long-toed salamander. The LT sally prefers productive, shallow, even seasonal ponds. I don’t know if low density stocking will work in MYL frog waters.
Losing the high lake fishery in California would be a major loss. It would be especially tragic if more careful stocking could preserve both the fishery and native species.
Brian raises an important point. Who can address whether or not low-level stocking of non-native fish would harm the mountain yellow-legged frog?
Has the DFG and the environmental alarmists ever considered that they are going to radically change whole eco-systems that have been established for years. This will cause considerable havoc on other species. I usually see a pair of bald eagles catching trout at these lakes that are stocked with trout.
The extremely successful comeback of the Eagle is attributed to (besides banning DDT) to a large supply of food being provided. I recently saw a pair of Golden Eagles in a valley south of Marysville, CA. I really think this is a bad idea, and I want some of my fishing license money back!!!
And not only that, is it such a good idea to being putting a financial burden on communities that rely on fishing tourism at a time when small communities are financially hurting.