Stop The Closure Petition

[Trav]

Oh boy, why does every discussion on here turn into a nit pick ?

I stand corrected on the definition of "native"...I should have said "wild".

All the same, I believe the discussion is about the actual impact of losing these programs. To loose a fishery which can’t even sustain itself without a never-ending supply of tax money seems a no brainer to me.

This article emphasizes the economic outcome of the loss and I am saying the ramifications would be far less substantial than it claims. Tourism will not be affected by 300 million dollars because people will just fish for other species. Plus, how much of this so-called 300 million also incorporates the rest of the fishing tourism not oriented to trout?

There is more to the fisheries program than raising fish tank trout. Cutting 12 million dollars from the budget doesn’t mean they get 12 million less….it just means they have more money to better achieve other goals already in the works.

I only mentioned privatization of the hatcheries in the event the Government shuts the door on their funding, as an option to maintain the facilities. Have the people who really want it, pay for it.

As far as privatizing pushing up the cost to fishing?

Big deal…A person will pay hundreds of dollars on gear, hundreds more for lodging, fuel and food if they are coming in from out of the area, but they won’t spend 30 or even 50 dollars to catch a fish someone has raised to increase the chances for them to have successful trip?

Jeesh…some people even pay hundreds of dollars on a guy to show them how to catch them…people won’t think too much about the cost.

And Zach, privatizing hatcheries will help your bottom line. The private sector pays much better. Not to mention, if these cuts open the door to hiring more biologists for non-salmonidae species there will be a demand in the field you’re studying.

[Tim Smith]

I don't see a benefit in making hatcheries private. Making all our waters private would just blow. Look at the U.K. it's all clubs and such. With inflation and the loss of jobs (which losing these hatcheries would increase that rate as well) people just won't be able to fish anymore just because of the price!

Man, I'm about to go to college. I really don't want to have to split my budget (what little I have) between books, food, housing, my education, and trout. And what am I going to college for? As a Biology major with a Fish and Wildlife emphasis. The closing of these hatcheries is taking away my livelyhood without me even having a chance!

I'd love to keep these hatcheries.

Zach, as a practicing fisheries biologist I can assure you that it is more than possible to thrive professionally without federal hatcheries. Your interests as a biologist and the interests of the fishery are definitely not married to concrete raceways and if you're going to invest your life in that profession it's critical that you see that. Your livelihood and your fisheries are in considerably MORE danger if your only professional options revolve around government produced fish.

I might sign that petition, but there's no reason to assume the worst if the hatcheries take a hit.

As for the higher cost of fishing if the private sector takes a stronger role...you may be right, but economists normally take the opposite view.

[taxidermist]

If you will dig deep into the library of congress you will find.

Zero Native trout in the Ozarks. Zero!!! All are stocked period.

Now also while you are digging you will find a study showing that the COE knew the cold waters would kill most of the native fish and the other fact the lakes flooded the best fields along them. Part of the reason for stocking trout was to supply jobs lost due to the lakes flooding.

Smallmouth cannot grow well in the colder waters or we would be catching huge smallmouth these days after all it has been how many years????? Most of the smallies you catch are stunted smallie below Bull Shoals until you reach the mouth of Buffalo river and then still a lot of small dumpy smallies!

They are not coming back, you must get down below Locust Grove AR on the White River to find cool water fish like smallies.

Economics play a huge roll here. this program if stocking trout returns $94.00 for every ($1.00)dollar put into the hatchery.

I pay taxes in the form of Pittman/Roberston (hunting/firearms etc. Dingel/Johnson Acts You pay them too and they simply want to put our money elsewhere!!!

http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/fasport.html

http://www.fws.gov/southeast/federalaid/pittmanrobertson.html

I was also told that the guide assoc, pays for many of the eggs that get hatched. Dont knowif its fact but thats what a couple of the guides have told me.

[Gary Lange]

Those Internet Petitions are just about useless and not worth the time and effort put into the argument for or against. Nobody will ever read it or use it for anything. They are are a complete waste of time.

[taxidermist]

http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-budget-cuts-that-end-federal-funding-for-fish-hatcheries-2

Here from Obamas own website.

http://www.fws.gov/norfork/

http://recovery.doi.gov/press/bureaus/us-fish-and-wildlife-service/greers-ferry-national-fish-hatchery/

[Tim Smith]

I pay taxes in the form of Pittman/Roberston (hunting/firearms etc. Dingel/Johnson Acts You pay them too and they simply want to put our money elsewhere!!!

Agreed that the tailwaters don't have many options other than stocked trout...

...but Dingle-Johnson (Wallop-Breaux) money can go more places than hatcheries that will improve the fishery.

[eric1978]

Trout are only there to tide us over in the winter until smallmouth flows warm back up. They serve a financial purpose, but that is about it. The idea of getting hundreds of miles of smallmouth habitat back makes me giddy.

That smallmouth habitat isn't coming back unless the dams come down...and that ain't happenin'. The tailwaters would mostly be a waste of space without trout in them. I would hope, if the federal hatcheries were shut down, that MDC would pick up the slack at least a little bit, and continue to stock...and they could stock way fewer fish if they implemented C&R only regs.

http://www.change.or...sh-hatcheries-2

Here from Obamas own website.

What makes you think that's Obama's website? Because it's called "change.org?" It's not. It's just a liberal advocacy group that fights for social, economic, and ecological progress.

I'm really disappointed in the President blindly slashing puny bits of pork here and there just to grease the squeeky wheel...but what do you expect him to do when all everyone from one side of the political spectrum does is throw tantrums about government spending and federal programs? He's darn if he does and darn if he doesn't. I sure wish it wasn't one of MY main interests in life that might be affected, but someone's gonna lose when federal funds are cut anywhere...just happens to be us this time.

[drew03cmc]

If they continue to stock below Taney, they could leave SOH open and have THAT hatchery, and that hatchery alone function as the lifeblood of Taney. That is it.

Eric, you know I wasn't talking about Taney. I understand the COE screwed up (IMO) by building coldwater fisheries in a warmwater area. Trout are the only option for upper Taney, but on the Niangua, NFOW, Current, Eleven Point, Roaring River, etc. we could have more miles of smallmouth habitat, some of it marginal, yes, but more habitat nonetheless.

[eric1978]

If they continue to stock below Taney, they could leave SOH open and have THAT hatchery, and that hatchery alone function as the lifeblood of Taney. That is it.

Eric, you know I wasn't talking about Taney. I understand the COE screwed up (IMO) by building coldwater fisheries in a warmwater area. Trout are the only option for upper Taney, but on the Niangua, NFOW, Current, Eleven Point, Roaring River, etc. we could have more miles of smallmouth habitat, some of it marginal, yes, but more habitat nonetheless.

Eh, we've already had that argument. The trout don't do much if any damage to the smallmouth populations in the areas you mentioned...it's just not ideal smallie habitat. Yeah, there are some resident smallmouth there, and more probably migrate toward the springs in the winter, but generally they're not that interested in water that cold and infertile. Besides, they don't really compete for forage, especially with rainbows...and if some big ol' browns are eating up some smallmouth food, that's alright with me, because they're super-cool fish, albeit non-native.

I, for one, since I started fly fishing, really appreciate the diversity of species you can catch in the Ozarks. If it was up to me, I'd put the White River back the way it should be, but I see no need to eliminate the trout programs in the upper freestones. They ain't hurtin' nothin'.

[flytyer57]

…A person will pay hundreds of dollars on gear, hundreds more for lodging, fuel and food if they are coming in from out of the area, but they won’t spend 30 or even 50 dollars to catch a fish someone has raised to increase the chances for them to have successful trip?

Jeesh…some people even pay hundreds of dollars on a guy to show them how to catch them…people won’t think too much about the cost.

If these hatcheries go private, will the access to fish them also go private? Will we have to buy another trout stamp to support the fisheries? Will we have to pay a $50 access fee to fish every day so the private companies can be paid for their stocking efforts? All of the above will have a huge impact on the amount of people willing to come to the Ozarks to fish and may even force a lot of us who live here and normally fish the area to not be able to afford to fish.

Yes, I own thousands of dollars worth of fishing equipment, but I cannot afford to keep paying and paying just to go fishing.