Opinion: Trout Unlimited clarifies position on Class A stream management in Pennsylvania
We appreciate that Mark Nale, the author of a piece in the Centre Daily Times (“Afield: Pa. Fish and Boat meeting sparks debate over wild trout stream regulations,” May 10), shares Trout Unlimited’s concern for Pennsylvania’s trout resources and for the recreational opportunities they provide.
However, Mr. Nale incorrectly implies that TU was the driving force behind a Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission motion this spring to manage all Class A streams as catch and release, artificial lures only. Had Mr. Nale reached out to us, he would have learned that commissioners on both sides of the question, both supporters and opponents, are TU members in good standing. Mr. Nale would have discovered that the official TU position on the motion being considered by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission was neutral on the issue, supporting and thanking the PFBC for providing a forum for a robust discussion of wild trout management.
Mr. Nale also would have learned that while Trout Unlimited has enthusiastically supported the identification and protection of Class A streams over the past decade — including the surveying of hundreds of unassessed waters to identify previously undocumented wild trout populations — we have not proposed one-size-fits-all fishing regulations on these waters. Fisheries management often requires a stream or stream segment-specific type of management to address localized issues in the most scientifically sound manner possible.
At Trout Unlimited, our mission is to bring together diverse interests to care for and recover rivers and streams, so future generations can experience the joy of wild and native fish. While our science-based position is that native fish are paramount and wild fish come second, many of us enjoy fishing for trout stocked in places where they don’t interfere with the first two.
Pennsylvania Trout Unlimited (PATU) chapters and members conduct on-the-ground restoration projects all across that state that protect aquatic habitats and organisms, improve water quality, and assure that our most vulnerable populations are protected. PATU’s 15,000 members in the Keystone State have been instrumental partners in these projects.
The improved health of streams in the West Branch Susquehanna River Basin is a great success story. By addressing abandoned mine drainage, TU projects have resulted in the restoration of dozens of miles of streams and rivers in the basin. In fact, the state recently noted that the upper 26 miles of the stream — a section that was essentially dead for decades — now supports wild trout.
Other TU projects address agricultural pollution, create and enhance riparian buffers, restore stream channels, streambanks and floodplains, and address stormwater pollution. TU’s Nonpoint Source Technical Assistance Program is a free service provided to eligible groups or individuals so they, in turn, can better plan and implement projects that reduce sediment and/or nutrient loadings caused by agricultural runoff and stream degradation across the Commonwealth. PATU members and leaders also advocate for conservation funding and clean water policies in the General Assembly.
Trout Unlimited also provides grants through the Coldwater Heritage Program to chapters to address issues specific to watersheds throughout Pennsylvania. Many of these grants are given to chapters in areas without wild trout streams and many of these projects are in watersheds that possess few, if any, Class A waters and/or tackle or gear restrictions.
Contrary to the author’s assertion that Trout Unlimited cares only for fly fishers, these projects benefit all Pennsylvania anglers, regardless of tackle and/or gear choices.
Identifying and protecting Class A waters is a critical part of Trout Unlimited’s mission, and we look forward to continuing to work with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the state’s anglers on the most effective way to manage these wild and native fisheries.