MISSOURI  TROUT  NEWS

Wildlife Code changes take effect July 1

Changes include youth pricing for permits,

mentor requirements and nonresident permits.

JEFFERSON CITY  06/24/09 – Changes to Missouri’s Wildlife Code scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2009 will affect the availability and cost of youth and nonresident permits.  Other changes will affect areas where the antler-point restriction is in effect, urban deer hunting zones, the timing of the antlerless and muzzleloader portions of firearms deer season and the portion of southeast Missouri where antlerless deer permits may be used.

The Youth Deer and Turkey Hunting Permit, which has been around since 1999, will not be sold after June 30. The $17 permit entitles holders age 6 through 15 to take one turkey in the spring and one in the fall and one deer during any firearms deer hunting season segment. The Youth Antlerless Deer Hunting Permit also is being discontinued July 1.

Instead, young hunters – whether residents or nonresidents – will be able to buy regular firearms deer hunting permits at half the price paid by adult Missouri residents. Youth Deer and Turkey Hunting Permits purchased during the 2009 spring turkey season will remain valid for the fall firearms deer and turkey seasons.

The order of the muzzleloader and antlerless portions of firearms deer season is reversed this year, with the antlerless portion taking place Nov. 25 through Dec. 6, and the muzzleloader portion running from Dec. 19 through 29. The Conservation Commission changed the timing of these events at the request of hunters.

Also new this year is a requirement that youths be at least 6 years old to receive landowner permits. Reduced-cost nonresident landowner deer and turkey hunting permits are no longer available, and prices for nonresident hunting and fishing permits have increased.

Another set of changes is aimed at bringing consistency to requirements for mentors of firearms hunters who have not completed hunter education. Until this year, hunters as young as 17 could serve as mentors under the requirements for some permits, while other permits required 21-year-old mentors. In certain circumstance, mentors faced no age restrictions.

This year when mentoring a firearms hunter who is not hunter-education certified and not hunting on a landowner permit, all mentors, including landowners on their own land, must be at least 18 years old and hunter-education certified unless they were born before Jan. 1, 1967. 

Qualifying nonresident students may purchase resident permits this year, except lifetime permits.

New areas with the antler-point restriction include Ste. Genevieve County and the portions of Cass and Jefferson counties not included in the new urban deer zones. The antler-point restriction no longer applies to the portion of northeastern Franklin County now in the Urban Zone.

Archery antlerless deer permits now may be used in Cape Girardeau County, and qualifying air-powered guns may be used during firearms managed deer hunts.

Finally, deer hunting methods and seasons have been changed on some conservation areas in an effort to improve game management and hunting quality. Details of this and other regulation changes are explained in the 2009 Summary of Missouri Hunting and Trapping Regulations and the 2009 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations & Information booklet. These publications are available in July wherever hunting permits are sold or at www.missouriconservation.org.

-Jim Low-

Missouri Stream Team turns 20

This citizen-led conservation dynamo has room for

as many Missourians as love the state’s flowing waters.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO  06/10/09 –Missouri Stream Team turns 20 this month, and if you happen to be out on a Missouri stream the weekend of June 13 and 14, you are likely to see evidence of the trailblazing organization in action.

The Show-Me State’s citizen-led stream conservation movement traces its roots much farther back than two decades. However, Missouri Stream Team – a joint effort of the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the departments of Conservation and Natural Resources – did not come into being until 1989. On Feb. 1 that year, the Roubidoux Fly Fishers became Stream Team No. 1. Since then, an estimated 80,000 citizens have formed 4,000 Stream Teams.

The program passed the 4,000-team milestone recently when a new Wal-Mart Store in Jefferson City officially adopted the Moreau 50 Access on the Moreau River. Wal-Mart encourages employees to join Missouri Stream Team through the company’s Volunteering Associates Program, which supports such efforts financially.

Although some of the state’s 4,000 stream teams have disbanded, many still are pursuing their commitment to Missouri’s rivers, creeks and rivulets more than a decade after organizing. Old or new, dozens of Stream Teams are visiting their chosen waters this month, removing litter, planting trees, checking water quality, conducting public-education events and doing myriad other things to ensure clean, healthy running waters.

“We thought it was most fitting for Stream Teams to celebrate this double milestone by doing what they do best in the places they love best,” said Stream Services Program Supervisor Paul Calvert.

Missouri Stream Team will hold an event this weekend to let individual stream teams from around the state gather and celebrate their achievements and renew their commitment to stream conservation. The Stream Team Celebration Weekend will take place where it all began, near the banks of Roubidoux Creek in Waynesville.

“We are sponsoring a cleanup and float of the Gasconade River,” said Calvert, “a cleanup of the Roubidoux, a barbecue, live music, breakfast and educational learning stations on a load of river-related topics. After dark on Saturday, we will show a new Stream Team video celebrating 20 years of progress.

Calvert said Stream Teams have formed associations that demonstrate their ability to accomplish things on a huge scale. However, their biggest achievement continues to be the cumulative difference they make working on individual streams.

“Since we began keeping records in the mid-90s, stream teams have reported performing approximately 1.5 million hours of volunteer work,” said Calvert. “The actual number is much larger, because not every stream team reports all its activities. The benefit to Missouri streams is incalculable. This is citizen-led conservation at its best.”

The most popular stream team activities are litter pickups, water quality monitoring, presentations, educational projects and tree planting. Litter pickups have removed more than 6,000 tons of trash from streams and stream corridors.

When Missouri Stream Team began, there were only a handful of reportable activities. However, as teams became involved in increasingly diverse activities, the number grew. Today the program tracks participation in 34 activities, from adopting stream accesses and photo monitoring to watershed mapping and zebra mussel monitoring.

Innovations continue. Some stream teams have concluded that while removing trash from streams is necessary, a more productive approach is to work with law-enforcement agencies to stop littering and trash dumping.

Calvert says there is no such thing as a “typical” stream team. Stream teamers come from all parts of the state and all walks of life.

“The only real common factors are a love of streams and a willingness to give of their time and energy to care for them.”

Missouri Stream Teams has three components – education, stewardship and advocacy. This is a direct result of the first Rivers and Streams Conference, which was held in 1988.

“People told us then that they wanted to know what was right or wrong with water quality and stream health,” said Calvert. “They told us they wanted opportunities for hands-on work to fix the problems, and they wanted to be able to speak out about stream issues in an informed manner. We took those things as our role – giving citizens the tools they needed to do what needs to be done.”

The original Stream Team staff was bowled over by the groundswell of participation that followed the formation of Missouri Stream Team. The program’s growth dwarfed initial goals, topping 500 teams and 25,000 volunteers in its first five years. Twenty years on, Calvert and his staff continue to be amazed at the rate of growth.

“You would expect things to level off at some point,” he said, “but we are adding teams today as fast as we ever have. You have to wonder what the next 20 years will bring.”

 For help forming a Stream Team or finding an active one in your area, call 573-522-4115, ext. 3591, or visit www.mostreamteam.org.

-Jim Low-

Vision for Missouri outdoors emerges from summit meeting

Conservation leaders from government, NGOs and

businesses produced an outdoor vision for the 21^st century.

COLUMBIA, Mo. 06/09/09 –In a historical echo, Missouri conservation leaders met in Columbia May 28 and 29 and hammered out a vision for the state’s outdoor future. Outdoor education, water conservation and connecting families with the outdoors topped the list of priorities that leaders agreed should guide conservation for the next three-quarters of a century.

The meeting mirrored one that took place in Columbia 74 years ago. On Sept. 10, 1935, sportsmen and conservationists from across Missouri met in the ballroom of the Tiger Hotel to discuss the sad condition of the state’s forests, fish and wildlife. Before leaving, they formed the Restoration and Conservation Federation of Missouri. That organization, known today as the Conservation Federation of Missouri, spurred the development of a conservation program that remains at template for other states.

Approximately 150 people attended the Summit on the Future of Missouri Outdoors at the Columbia Hilton Garden Inn. Attendees included the directors of the Missouri departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, the supervisor of the Mark Twain National Forest, the field supervisor of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and representatives of dozens of nongovernmental organizations. Three state legislators, Sen. Frank Barnitz (D-Lake Spring) and Reps. J.C. Kuessner (D-Eminence) and Charles Schlottach (R-Owensville), attended the meeting.

The summit’s stated purpose was to chart a course for the next 75 years of Missouri’s air, water, forests, fish and wildlife and the economic and recreational and economic activities that depend on them. The first day of the conference featured speakers who framed the discussion of the outdoors in the broadest sense.

Gov. Jay Nixon kicked off the event, exhorting attendees to go beyond conservation.

“The air needs to be cleaner,” said Nixon, who received the Conservation Federation’s Conservation Legislator of the Year award in 1991, when he was a state senator. “The water needs to be cleaner and more plentiful, and more people need to appreciate the simple joy of the outdoors and the nature that we all share.

“I ask you to go beyond what people did when they got together the first Conservation Commission 75 years ago. If we aim that high and work together, then in a room much like this, after all of us are long gone, there will still be a group of empowered and impassioned leading Missourians who dedicate their time and resources to passing this planet on as a better place than they found it.”

Nixon emphasized the importance of getting more Missourians involved in outdoor pursuits related to nature. He also noted the need for conservation groups with diverse and sometimes divergent interests to focus on shared values.

Following Nixon’s address, Yale University Professor of Forestry and Environmental Science Stephen R. Kellert spoke about why outdoor experiences are critical to Americans’ individual, physical, social and economic wellbeing. University of Missouri Professor Larry Brown spoke about how Missouri’s social geography has affected the state’s natural resources.

Before the summit, organizers surveyed influential Missourians about outdoor recreation and conservation. Survey results provided a starting point for discussions about top outdoor priorities.

On the second day of the conference, attendees separated into working groups based on interest in the following topics:

·        Water

·        Air

·        Plants, animals and habitats

·        Outdoor mentorship

·        Conservation Funding

·        Education

·        Public land

·        Private land

·        Leadership structure

·        Stakeholder input

Each working group developed a list of important conservation actions for the next 75 years. During the final summit session, the working groups presented their lists to the full group, and all attendees voted on the entire list. The top 10 priorities emerging from this process were:

1.      Teaching Missourians about the outdoors

2.      Ensuring clean, abundant surface and groundwater

3.      Connecting families and communities to nature

4.      Supporting and funding outdoor resources and activities

5.      Conserving plants, animals and habitats

6.      Acquiring public lands for outdoor uses

7.      Helping private landowners

8.      Ensuring clean air

9.      Developing an organizational structure for outdoor leadership

10.   Promoting stakeholder input

Conservation Federation President Glenn Chambers said the consensus that emerged from the gathering of conservation leaders was “Get the message out that quality, healthy outdoors is essential for life.”

D.J. Case & Associates Marketing Research Director Dan Witter said the message he carried away from the gathering was, “We as a people may be able to survive without the outdoors, but we will be a terribly impoverished people – spiritually and physically – if we track that direction. In other words, 10 out of 10 people need the outdoors, not just hunters and anglers, but everybody.”

The Conservation Federation organized the summit in cooperation with Audubon Missouri, Bass Pro Shops, D.J. Case & Associates, the George C. Clark Missouri State Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, the Missouri departments of Conservation and Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy and the Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities.

-Jim Low-

2009-2010 deer seasons set

The order of Missouri’s antlerless

and muzzleloader seasons is reversed this year.

JEFFERSON CITY 04/27/09 –Most of this year’s fall deer and turkey hunting seasons and regulations will look familiar to experienced hunters, but this year’s rules also contain a number of significant changes.

The Missouri Conservation Commission set dates for all portions of the 2009-2010 firearms deer seasons last year. Those dates are:

·        Urban Zone Portion - Oct. 9-12

·        Early Youth Portion - Oct. 31-Nov. 1

·        November Portion - Nov. 14-24

·        Antlerless Portion - Nov. 25-Dec. 6

·        Muzzleloader Portion - Dec. 19-29

·        Late Youth Portion - Jan. 2-3

Starting July 1, the Youth Deer and Turkey Hunting Permit and the Youth Antlerless Hunting Permit no longer will be available. Instead, resident and nonresident youth will be able to buy regular deer and turkey hunting permits at reduced costs. Youth Deer and Turkey Hunting Permits purchased during the 2009 spring turkey season remain valid for the 2009 fall firearms deer and turkey hunting seasons.

This year’s archery deer and turkey season is from Sept. 15 through Nov. 13 and from Nov. 25 through Jan. 15.

At its April meeting, the Conservation Commission voted to extended the antler-point restriction regulation to some areas and removed it in others. New areas with antler-point restrictions include Ste. Genevieve County and the portions of Cass and Jefferson counties not included in the new urban zones. Urban zone boundaries no longer follow county lines, and areas included in the urban zone are not under antler-point restrictions this year.

Maps showing the new urban zone boundaries and areas where antler-point restrictions apply will be included in the 2009 Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations and Information booklet, which will be available in July wherever hunting permits are sold.

Qualifying air-powered guns – which first were allowed for deer hunting last year – may be used during modern methods managed deer hunts this year. The Conservation Commission added Cape Girardeau County to those where archery antlerless permits may be used.

This year, when mentoring a firearms hunter who is not hunter-education certified, all mentors – including landowners on their own land – must be at least 18 years old and hunter-education certified unless they were born before Jan. 1, 1967.

Reduced-cost nonresident landowner permits no longer are available. However, qualifying nonresident students may purchase resident permits, except lifetime permits.

Deer hunting seasons and methods have changed at some conservation areas this year. Details of these and other deer and turkey hunting regulation changes are explained in the Fall Deer and Turkey Hunting Regulations booklet.

-Jim Low-

Weather outlook favorable for spring dogwood display

Serviceberry trees already are in bloom, and redbuds are starting.

JEFFERSON CITY 03/30/09 –Spring began March 20, according to the calendar, but for many Missourians spring starts with the first blossoming of Missouri’s native flowering trees. State officials say prospects are excellent for a good dogwood display this year.

The serviceberry (Amelanchier arobrea),  redbud (Cercis canadensis)  and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) all are native to Missouri. Serviceberry trees – also known as shadbush -- bloom first, painting hillsides with splashes of bright white. Redbuds are next, sending out clusters of rose-purple flowers from late March through early May.

Dogwoods provide the season climax, normally reaching their blossoming peak in mid-April near the Arkansas border and two to three weeks later near Iowa. Pink dogwoods and other cultivated varieties often bloom earlier than their wild relatives. Even native varieties bloom earlier in cities, due to the warming effect of heat-retaining asphalt and concrete.

  Weather plays a critical role in determining when flowering trees reach their scenic peak, and weather also can dramatically affect flowering duration. Serviceberry trees, redbuds and dogwoods all can bloom a week or two earlier than normal if March weather is unseasonably warm, as it was in 2007. By the same token, a hard freeze, such as the one that struck early in April that year can put an abrupt end to flowering.

Similarly, cool weather can retard blooming. Rainy, windy weather can cause redbud blossoms to drop early, and hot, dry weather in April sometimes shortens the dogwood display.

The serviceberry showing has been excellent so far and is well advanced over most of the state. Redbuds are just beginning to bloom in central Missouri, and dogwoods appear to be only days behind. However, parts of the Ozarks seem to be behind these trends, and dogwood bloom could be slightly delayed.

Overall, this year’s weather seems favorable for a spectacular dogwood display. The long-range weather forecast from the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center indicated spring conditions consistent with the average date of last frost of April 6 in St. Louis. Slightly above-normal temperatures throughout much of March could cause dogwood blossoming to peak a little early in this area. Kansas City foresters say they expect a peak dogwood bloom in mid-April, barring a hard, late freeze.

Redbud and dogwood fans have several favorite drives that offer particularly good viewing. These include:

--Highway 19 between Montgomery City and Thayer;

--Highway 5 between Versailles and Gainesville;

--Highway 142 between Doniphan and Bakersfield;

--Highway 72 between Cape Girardeau and  Rolla;

--Highway 63 between Kingdom City and Thayer;

--I-44 between Eureka and Rolla;

--Highway 50 between Eureka and Jefferson City;

--Highway 60 between Poplar Bluff and Springfield.

For more information about flowering trees in Missouri, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/8417.

-Jim Low-

Conservation Action

March 2009

The Conservation Commission met March 11 and 12 at Roaring River State Park, Cassville.  Commissioners present were:

William F. “Chip” McGeehan, Marshfield,

Lowell Mohler, Jefferson City,

Don R. Johnson, Festus,

Becky L. Plattner, Grand Pass,

REGULATIONS

The Commission approved recommendations from the Regulations Committee to:

§         Remove the requirement for a cable restraint permit.

§         Permit bowfishing in commercial waters during all hours throughout the year.

§         Add thermal imagery equipment to the list of prohibited equipment while simultaneously in possession of any firearm, bow or other implement whereby wildlife could be taken.

§         Increase the daily limit and possession limits for squirrels from 6 to 10 and 12 to 20, respectively.

§         Increase the daily limit and possession limit for squirrels taken through falconry from 2 to 10 and 4 to 20, respectively, and expand the season to open the fourth Saturday in May and close Feb. 15, to match the regular squirrel season.

§         Remove otter and muskrat trapping zones and set a statewide season and harvest quota for otters.

§         Add Atlantic salmon to the Approved Aquatic Species List.

§         Remove chronic wasting disease related regulations from the Wildlife Code.

§         Clarify that a Special Use Permit is required to place a geocache or letterbox on a Department area, but not to search for a geocache or letterbox placed on an area.

§         Eliminate special provisions for waterfowl blinds at Thomas Hill Reservoir, and instead place them under the general requirements that blinds be constructed onsite only of willows and non-woody vegetation and that blinds and decoys be removed daily.

§         Remove Long Branch Lake Management Lands from the list of areas closed to waterfowl hunting after 1 p.m.

§         Prohibit the use of float tubes at selected Department-owned lakes.

§         Add Anthony and Beatrice Kendzora Conservation Area (CA) to the list of areas where firearms firing single projectiles are prohibited except during managed deer hunts or when using a twenty-two (.22) or smaller caliber rimfire firearm to take furbearers treed with the aid of dogs.

§         Change regulations regarding outboard motors, hunting, fishing and trapping on several community lakes.

ADMINISTRATIVE

The Commission:

• Presented Volunteer Service Awards to Sylvia Smith and Mike Mihalik for more than 2,000 hours of service and to Bob Ball and Charles Burwick for over 5,000 hours of service at Springfield Conservation Nature Center.
• Received a presentation from Fisheries Field Operations Chief Chris Vitello about Missouri Trout Park Partnerships.
• Honored The James Foundation for exemplary efforts in managing Maramec Spring Park and their role as the Conservation Department’s partner in management of the associated trout fishery for more than 50 years.
• Honored the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for exemplary efforts in managing Bennett Spring State Park, Montauk State Park and Roaring River State Park and their role as the Department’s partner in management of these important trout fisheries.
• Approved the purchase, with funds received from the trust of George Wade Shelton, of approximately 320 acres as a new conservation area in Dade County, and naming the area the Wade and June Shelton Memorial CA. 
• Approved the advertisement and sale of approximately 1.4 million board feet of timber on 741 acres of Sunklands CA in Shannon County.
• Approved the advertisement and sale of approximately 1.6 million board feet of timber on 596 acres of Angeline CA in Shannon County.
• Suspended hunting and/or fishing privileges of 34 Missouri residents for Wildlife Code violations and affirmed actions taken by Missouri courts suspending privileges of eight Missouri residents. Those whose privileges were suspended are:

            Lesley D. Ash, Brumley, all sport privileges, 7 years

Jason D. Ballard, Williamsburg, hunting privileges, 8 months,

Randy E. Barnes, Ellington, all sport privileges, 2 years

Richard L. Barrett, Excelsior Springs, all sport privileges, 1 year

Franklin D. Becherer, St. James, all sport privileges, 1 year

Devin L. Burkhiser, Unionville, hunting privileges, 1 year

William Z. Butler, Bolivar, all sport privileges, 1 year

Joshua L. Carpenter, Seneca, all sport privileges, 3 years

Brandon L. Chadd, Halltown, all sport privileges, 1 year

Darren L. Chumbler, Winfield, all sport privileges, 2 years

Eric C. Cockrum, Florissant, hunting privileges, 6 months

James A. Crutchfield, Moberly, all sport privileges, 2 years

Paul C. Davis, St. Joseph, all sport privileges, 1 year

Anthony L. Fisher, Macon, all sport privileges, 1 year

Matthew C. Friedrich, Boonville, hunting privileges, until 12/16/2009

Toby W. Friedrich, Wooldridge, hunting privileges, until 12/16/2009

Mark A. Gerlach, Centertown, all sport privileges, 1 year

Bradley A. Gruver, Cuba, hunting privileges, 1 year

Ryan N. Hopp, Luray, all sport privileges, 1 year

Paul G. Huddleston, Smithton, hunting privileges, until 12/4/2010

William R. Huddleston, Smithton, hunting privileges, until 12/4/2010

Jimmie C. Hughes, Cuba, all sport privileges, 1 year

Christopher T. Irvine, Savannah, all sport privileges, 1 year

Justin C. Jensen, Conway, all sport privileges, add 2 years to current suspension

Brian J. Johnson, Ewing, all sport privileges, 1 year

Francis J. Lamb, Bakersfield, all sport privileges, 1 year

Michael L. Matney, Dexter, all sport privileges, 2 years

Anthony T. Newman, Aurora, all sport privileges, 1 year

Alex W. Pilsner, Cape Girardeau, all sport privileges, 1 year

Michael R. Savage, Annapolis, all sport privileges, 1 year

Larry E. Sharp, Edwards, all sport privileges, 1 year

John Shepherd, Hannibal, all sport privileges, add 1.5 years to current suspension

Dustin T. Souder, Brixey, all sport privileges, add 3 years to current suspension

Melvin J. Spradley, Edwards, all sport privileges, 1 year

Phillip E. Stephenson, Macon, all sport privileges, 1 year

Roger R. Thornton, Carthage, all sport privileges, 1 year

Spencer P. Watkins, St. Joseph, all sport privileges, 1 year

Nathan D. Wolf, Amity, hunting and fishing privileges, until 12/4/2010

Micky D. Wyatt, Warrensburg, all sport privileges, 1 year

One juvenile, all sport privileges, until 2/3/2010

Two juveniles, turkey hunting privileges, until 5/11/2009

• Approved the suspension or revocation of all hunting and fishing privileges of 217 people who are not in compliance with applicable child support laws.
• Suspended the hunting and fishing privileges of one Missouri resident and 211 nonresidents under the provisions of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.
•  Suspended the hunting privileges of three Missouri residents and one Kansas resident who injured or killed other persons in hunting accidents. The suspensions are for periods of up to five years. The hunters must complete a hunter education training course before restoration of privileges.
• Set the next Conservation Commission meeting for April 16 and 17 at Conservation Department Headquarters in Jefferson City.

2008 rains affect 2009 trout stocking

Stocking will be down

10 percent in most waters.

JEFFERSON CITY 03/16/09 – The effects of last year’s record rainfall continue to be felt a year later, with an announcement that the Missouri Department of Conservation will reduce trout stocking.

2008 was the wettest year in Missouri history, with nearly 6 feet of precipitation falling during the year in some areas and more than 12 inches of rain falling in less than 24 hours in others. Conservation Department Hatchery Systems Manager James Civiello said these torrential rains affected trout hatchery operations in several ways.

The most significant impact came from the forced release of massive amounts of water from Table Rock Dam in Taney County. Prior to 2008, the most rapid release ever witnessed there was 31,000 cubic feet per second. Last year, the dam let as much as 47,500 cfs pass through turbines and flood gates.

“Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery sits right below Table Rock Dam,” said Civiello. “The enormous volume of water pouring into Table Rock Lake forced the Corps of Engineers into record releases in June, and that created less-than-ideal water conditions for trout in our facility.”

Civiello said the temperature of water flowing from Table Rock Lake through the hatchery reached 65 degrees at times. This is too warm to spawn trout eggs and keep hatched fish healthy. Water quality became an issue, too. As a result, the hatchery lost more than 30,000 pounds of fish to disease and parasites, compared to the normal annual loss of approximately 7,000 pounds. Most of these were 3- to 6-inch fish that otherwise would have gone to other hatcheries.

In most years, Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery produces approximately 1.3 million trout for stocking and smaller fish for transfer to other hatcheries, where they are reared to stocking size. Last year the number fell to 1.1 million.

Meanwhile, other hatcheries were experiencing rain-related problems, too. Bennett Spring Hatchery near Lebanon and Maramec Spring Hatchery near St. James both lost fish to floods that compromised water quality and washed fish out of rearing areas.

To compensate for losses, hatchery managers “pushed” small fish, feeding them more to hurry their growth to the average stocking size of 12 inches. While this helped keep last year’s stocking near target levels, it amounted to borrowing fish from 2009. The hatchery system no longer has enough fish in the pipeline to keep up with this year’s stocking goals.

Consequently, the Conservation Department plans to reduce stocking at Missouri’s four trout parks and most other waters by 10 percent. This includes trout management areas and Lake Taneycomo. Statewide, the cutbacks will result in stocking 180,000 fewer trout this year than expected.

“We stuck with the traditional stocking level for opening day at the trout parks,” said Civiello. “Since then, however, we have been stocking about two fish per anticipated angler instead of the usual 2.25 per angler. We should be able to sustain that level of stocking 12-inch fish for the rest of the year.”

One exception to the reduction is the trout stocking program at Fort Leonard Wood. Another is the winter trout fishing program at urban lakes, for which the Conservation Department buys fish from other hatcheries.

Civiello said he hopes to return to normal stocking levels in 2010. He said the agency will continue to monitor hatchery inventories, trout tag sales and other factors and make adjustments to minimize the effect on stocking.

-Jim Low-

Tim Smith is new conservation ombudsman

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