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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.
DFG is preparing a list of waters where stocking will cease based on these parameters. It will be available on the DFG Web site early next week.
In October 2006, Pacific Rivers Council and Center for Biological Diversity, represented by Stanford Law students, sued DFG over fish stocking programs it has engaged in for more than 100 years, claiming that no Environmental Impact Report (EIR) had been completed for the programs. The result of the case was a court order requiring DFG to complete an EIR. DFG is engaged in the years-long and multimillion dollar EIR process, now scheduled to be completed in January 2010.
Due to delays in the EIR process, which involves combining the EIR with a federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), on Friday, Nov. 7 Judge Marlette told the department to negotiate with the petitioners to seek an agreement on terms for how and where DFG may continue stocking fish during the time it is preparing the EIR/EIS.
- Water bodies that WILL be stocked by DFG
from Nov. 24, 2008 through Jan. 1, 2010 (PDF) - Water bodies that will NOT be stocked by DFG
from Nov. 24, 2008 through Jan. 1, 2010 (PDF)
I recently recieved a 100 dollar plus citation for the crime of fishing with worms in a delayed harvest zone. The warden admitted that the zone notice was hard to see,and he in fact lowered the total charge price since in fact I was merrly food fishing and was only in possesion of about 8 bream fish.Now do not get me wrong, I understand that outdoorsmen need to abide by ceartain sensible regulations in order to assure the survival and or durability of fish and game populations which all outdoorsmen depend upon. I also understand that financial resources are needed in order to maintain stocking programs,pay for the maintainance of public lands,trails and the continuation of sound natural resource management practices.Now having said this I insist that it is absolutely absurd,immoral and should be crimminal for Fish and Game agencies to mannage the gifts of nature as if those gifts were man-made commodities whose primary purpose or reason for existance does not extend beyond the purly economic.I argue that when fishing with natural fishbait,”worms” in any given natural waterway can be considered and or treated as a crime,it is more than obvious that our natural resources are in fact not being mannaged as such,but in fact are being mannaged as economic resources for the benifit of not the general public,but for the convienience of the wealthier segments of our scociety.
There is something very wrong when people who are simply attempting to enjoy the blessings of our natural world by engaging in activities” which were free for tens of thousands of years” can be forced to pay not only for the right to engage in those activities,but also be forced to pay extra taxes”think trout stamps” as well as arbitrary fines and fees,even for activities that are in no way detrimental to enviromental well being or to the rights of others seeking to enjoy nature.I argue that the enities who are in fact responcible for the damage inflicted upon our natural resources should be the enities which arbitrarly pay for the maintainance of the remaining undestroyed resources and when possible the rehabilitation of damaged resources.Why on earth should a fisherman be subject to enourmous fines,” even for fishing with worms”while mining companies,logging interests and even second home developers are allowed to destroy entire trout streams,clearcut wildlife habbitat and often cause land previously available for public use to be enclosed and lost to the public,often without even the slightest of legal reprimend ?
I suppose I should not complain ,after all I am only a criminal caught redhanded fishing with real fishbait ! I suppose that as long as we have people in this country who believe that it is possible to be free,” even when a tax is placed upon the enjoyment of nature” things will not get any better.
Ditto to the legislators and bureaucrats being out of their minds.
Why buy a fishing license, if there is nothing to catch?
OH by the way pretty soon nobody will need to buy any fishing licenses because there will be only lakes that you pay entrance fees to get into and don’t need any licenses that will stay in business. All other lakes will have to follow soon if they want to stay in business ,nobody will be buying any fishing licenses as in 2010 it said to be going up more than ever. If it were up to these ignorant activists we would be overcrowded by animals that would destroy the land and water more than catching/hunting them and controlling the population.
What about the people diggin for gold in Azusa they are in the water moving rocks out of the water and vacuuming dirt out too, but NO they wouldn’t be the ones killing a damn frogs environment eh Stanford? It’s gotta be the Trout, Fn idiots. Way to go TERMINATOR GOVERNOR ,U WON’T BE BACK!!!!!
Fee hike after fee hike, year after year! I am really getting fed up with the DFG!!! The fishing license keeps getting more and more expensive! I WILL NOT BE BUYING A 2008 LICENSE or any year after until these idiots get a clue! I have to pay adventure pass, boat launch fees, expensive fuel prices, and now the annual license is going up!!!! Guess my children will just have to stay home and play video games because thats what the politicians want them to do. Sit at home and get fat and forget about the natural world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PISSED!
Concerned,
Has the government completely lost their minds!! They have shut down the deserts, forest and now the rivers and lakes. They have closed many small buisness and now more will be in jeporidy while turning small towns into gosttowns. What are these morons thinking about, they are completely out of control. I will not renew my fishing license next year and am urging all fresh water fishermen to do the same. Something must be done to educate these morons as they do not know what they are talking about. I have been up and down these rivers for over forty years and they have not changed and the animals are still here that were here befor. I can go on and on regarding the damage the do gooders are doing in the state of California but I do not have enough room on this document and I would sound like a raving nut like the ones that have created such problems in this state.
Bob Boop
Concerned