Posted on October 22 2006
Orvis, conservation groups and fly fishing purists are trying to discourage the state of Vermont from stocking the Batten Kill with sterile rainbow trout (see Public and Corporate Opinion Reverses Batten Kill Stocking Plans; note: the stocking plan hasn’t actually been dropped, despite the Boston Globe‘s reportage). Others say that when the river fished best for fly fishers, the river was heavily stocked. And some bemoan the loss of fishing for the “common man.”
It’s not a problem that is easily solved. “Vermont Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Wayne LaRoche is expected to decide sometime early next year whether to go ahead with the stocking plan, which is part of a broader plan to restore habitat on the river. The goal of the stocking is to put some fish in the river that people can catch while the wild and native populations rebound on their own. State officials know that no matter what they decide, people will be upset.” Article by Wilson Ring of the Associated Press.