LITTLE ROCK — As the federal government considers closing the Norfork and Greers Ferry national fish hatcheries, trout anglers are worried about the future of Arkansas trout fishing.
On Wednesday, at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s informal work session, Mike Armstrong, the AGFC’s assistant director, briefed the commission on federal budget cuts that could result in the closure of the Norfork hatchery. Armstrong said he believes if the AGFC expressed even remote interest in taking over operations at the Norfork hatchery, the feds might gladly sell it.
Armstrong brought up a more salient point about the federal government’s responsibility to maintain the hatcheries, which supply year-round trout fisheries to mitigate the loss of the native fisheries that existed in the White and Little Red rivers before the Bull Shoals, Norfork and Greers Ferrydams were built. Closing those hatcheries would exacerbate the dams’ negative environmental impact and would essentially constitute a breach of contract. In short, the feds might be obligated to keep the hatcheries running.
Bob Heine recently circulated a letter among the membership of the Arkansas Rivers Association expressing his opinion that closing the hatcheries would be ecologically responsible, and that the White and Norfork rivers should be managed to sustain naturally reproducing wild trout populations.
That’s unrealistic for several reasons.
First, the White, Little Red and Norfork rivers are highly modified, highly manipulated artificial ecosystems to which trout are not native. There are no wild trout there. At best, you could call them feral. Therefore, it is not possible to sustain a naturally reproducing population of something that, by definition, does not exist.
Jeff Williams, the AGFC’s trout biologist, also briefed the commission Wednesday about the genetic strain of trout stocked in the rivers. They are adapted for hatchery production and are conditioned to eat palletized food. They are not naturally averse to overhead shadows, which in the wild are usually cast by predators. Williams said they are working with a wilder strain of trout, the McGonaghy strain, that are harder to catch and might elude anglers longer than the current strain.
Second, a trout population supplemented only by naturally spawned fish would not long withstand the enormous fishing pressure on those rivers, which are cornerstones of our state’s tourism industry. Eliminating trout stocked from hatcheries would have a devastating economic impact in Heber Springs and in all the trout fishing communities in the White River watershed. Jim Gaston, owner of Gaston’s White River Resort, said he pays more in taxes each year, generated by trout fishing, than it costs to run the Norfork hatchery.
In his response to Heine, Greg Watts, president of the Arkansas Rivers Association, said that hatchery- supported trout fisheries are appropriate for Arkansas. Since we do not have free-flowing trout streams with wild trout like those in the Rocky Mountains, a “Montana” model wouldn’t be appropriate here.
Melissa Jones, a fisheries biologist for the AGFC,said that in fiscal year 2010, maintenance and operation expenses, plus salaries, at the Greers Ferry hatchery were $606,000, and $952,000 at the Norfork Hatchery.
“Excluding salaries, I estimate the M&O expenses which would include fish food, fuel, building and grounds maintenance and operational expense at Greers Ferry to be around $200,000 annually and around $315,000 at Norfork,” Jones said.
This is nothing new. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considered closing the Norfork hatchery in 1995 when then-director Mollie Beatty got the bright idea that the agency should not be in the recreational fishing business.
Considering the AGFC is looking to spend about $15 million to build a new fish hatchery to replace its Centerton hatchery and also to build a new regional office in Jonesboro, the AGFC probably can’t afford to take over the two federal hatcheries. On the other hand, the state can’t afford to lose them, either.
TURKEY STUDY
This year, the AGFC, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Wild Turkey Federation will begin a new study in Arkansas to learn more about the effects of early season controlled burning on nesting and poult survival. According to the NWTF, this will be the first major study in the U.S. concerning these issues, with a cost of about $600,000 over three years.
Results of this study will help the USFS adjust its controlled burning practices, if necessary. To that end, the AGFC has fitted 40 wild turkey hens with GPS devices to track their movements.
The AGFC and USFS have received many complaints in recent years about the effects of controlled burning on turkeys in the Ouachita National Forest.
Sports, Pages 32 on 02/20/2011