News
Wild trout vs. hatchery trout - which side are you on?
By Tom Adams
KVAL News
Feb. 24, 2010
Video: http://www.kval.com/outdoors/fishhunt/84492077.html?tab=video
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - A trout is a trout is a trout, isn't it?
The answers to that question reveal a controversy over wild rainbow trout versus hatchery raised trout in the McKenzie River.
Some conservation groups argue fewer hatchery trout are better for the river and native trout runs. But for the people who make a living taking visitors on fishing trips on one of the West Coast's most popular destinations, hatchery trout and wild trout both take the bait.
State wildlife officials say they're doing a balancing act and taking steps short term to help native trout numbers.
"We took 5 miles of river from the Bellanger boat landing all the way to Hendricks Bridge and eliminated the fish stocking out of that section," said Jeff Ziller, fish biologist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
State and local groups, like the Native Fish Society, will team up on a study of that 5-mile section of the McKenzie to see if native trout numbers bounce back.
The results will help inform the state's fish plan for the McKenzie River. Final changes in management won't be made until 2011.
Matt Stansberry with the Native Fish Society, part of a pro-native trout protest at a recent state meeting on the fish plan, said anglers are passionate about wild trout.
"The 'redsides' in half the river are depressed, so that's why there's a lot of passion," Stansberry said. "The people really care about this river."
On the other side of the stream is Frank Armendariz, the owner of Oregon River Sports in Glenwood.
"Our passion for wild fisheries is as strong as anybody's, but we also understand that people need to make a living, and so do we," he said.
Armendariz said much of his business depends on the hatchery fish and the river trips they make possible.
