Plans to Stock Vermont’s Batten Kill River Ended
By Tom Chandler on Sep 25, 2006 in Environment, Fly Fishing, News
An earlier post detailed Orvis’ opposition to Vermont Fish & Wildlife plans to stock sterile rainbow trout on the Batten Kill River, and generated some interesting comments.
Orvis - whose conservation arm had raised $100,000 for Batten Kill habitat restoration work - threatened to pull out of the project if the state stocked the river (one of the five remaining “wild” trout fisheries in Vermont) with rainbow trout, effectively creating a put-and-take fishery.
Habitat restoration includes returning woody debris to the river (Orvis photo).
According to a Vermont TV station’s Web site, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Wayne Laroche said the agency would bow to public pressure and abandon the stocking plans.
[sfx: deep sigh of relief]
Meanwhile, Back at the Batten Kill
A five-year study of the Batten Kill suggested that too many of the in-river debris had been cleared away (a common by-product of development), and the reduction in cover had resulted in lower fish populations and marginal habitat.
Orvis took the lead in raising funds to restore the habitat with the hopes that trout populations would rebound on their own once the habitat improved.
Close up of the restoration work on the Batten Kill. I’m ready to fish it. (Orvis photo)
Adding more fish to an already-stressed river wasn’t a very good idea, and I wonder if the strong public response wasn’t manifestation of a fear that the Batten Kill would be managed as a put-and-take fishery even after fish populations had rebounded.
With so many waters in the state of Vermont already allowing catch and kill - and only five manged on a sustainable “wild fish” model - it’s not hard to understand the public response, which ran four-to-one against stocking at a recent public meeting.
It’s a marvelous Monday on the Underground.
Technorati Tags: Battenkill, Batten Kill, resoration, Orvis, Vermont
James Hathaway | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply
Hi Tom-
Don’t celebrate yet! The actual decision won’t be made until OCTOBER 21. Some misleading headlines have led many to believe the proposal was dropped when it was not. I was even called by a paper for comment… and then called back again when it was learned that the reports were untrue.
We feel confident that the Batten Kill will remain wild, but we will not know for sure until the 21st.
Thanks so much for keeping this in the public view… we need to keep the pressure on to “keep it wild!”
Best,
James
Tom Chandler | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply
This is what happens when a writer uses a TV station as his reliable source…
Still, when the Director of Vermont Fish & Wildlife says you’ve won, odds are you’ve won.
If I remember, we’ll stage a countdown the week before the 21st, hoisting the fabled Western-Variation Slaw Dog the day it’s final…:-)
James Hathaway | Sep 26, 2006 | Reply
The countdown is a great idea…
To be clear, the commish said the odds of stocking are slim… he has not definitively stated they will not stock as he cannot while the proposal is still open for public comment (until OCT 21).
You can read more for clarification in today’s Bennington Banner here:
http://www.benningtonbanner.com/localnews/ci_4397144
Tom Chandler | Sep 26, 2006 | Reply
Interesting how the quotes have changed from one source to the next. Posted an update above (scheez).
James Hathaway | Sep 26, 2006 | Reply
Thanks, Tom… sorry about the confusion! I think the commisioner was initially misquoted (if not simply misunderstood)
pkb | Sep 27, 2006 | Reply
We’re trying to keep a log of all press coverage related to the Battenkill issue up-to-date on our chapter website (see below). If you’ve missed something and want to catch up, check it out….
As James mentioned above, the period for public comment is open until 10/21/2006. If you would like your voice to be heard and added to the public record, send an email to: Ken.Cox@state.vt.us
The Southwestern Vermont Chapter of Trout Unlimited
http://www.TUSWVT.org