FUDR Weighs in on NY Trout Plan

FUDR has received numerous requests for guidance in developing comments on the NYSDEC Draft Fisheries Management Plan for Inland Trout Streams in New York State.

We have summarized our comments below  to assist you in developing your own comments on the Draft Plan.

Our complete comments can be accessed here.

NYSDEC will accept public comments on the draft plan until June 25, 2020. To see the plan and information on how to submit comments, visit the NYSDEC webpage.

How the Plan will Improve the UDR Tailwater Fishery

This plan provides many benefits for the wild trout fishery in the Upper Delaware River (UDR) from the tailwaters below the Pepacton and Cannonsville Dams to the main stem confluence and downstream to Callicoon, and the rest of the UDR watershed, including the Beaverkill, Willowemoc, and Neversink  basins. These include:

• Designation of the UDR Tailwaters as “Wild-Premier.”
• Prioritizing wild trout through integrated habitat restoration goals.
• Elimination of stocking in the Upper East Branch.
• Reducing the trout harvest limit to one fish in total on the East Branch, West Branch, and Main Stem.
• Grandfathering in existing catch and release stretches. 

Suggestions to Improve the Plan as it Impacts the UDR Tailwater Fishery

• The UDR Tailwaters are a highly unique New York fishery and should be managed as such.
• Unassessed/Unlisted tributaries of “Wild-Premier” reaches should automatically default to “Wild-Quality,” not “Wild.”
• The Statewide Plan should include provisions for the refinement of management practices based on evidence and recommendations from Wild-Premier Trout Management Plans.
• Retain existing special regulations in the East Branch and West Branch that prohibit angling to protect spawning beds.
• Fund a study to evaluate impacts of anglers in spawning tributaries and the impacts on young of the year trout.
• Fund the installation of educational signage where Redds are found.
• Extend the “Wild-Premier” designation on the main stem Delaware River Fishery downstream to Callicoon.
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) should prioritize Oquaga Creek for an upgrade from “Stocked” to “Wild-Quality.”
• FUDR believes that the NYSDEC Fisheries Bureau should be more assertive in their intra-agency communications and with the Decree Parties with regard to water releases to the UDR tailwaters with the protection of the wild trout fishery as the paramount management objective and concern.
• When fishing on “Wild,” “Wild-Quality,” or “Wild-Premier” reaches, anglers may only use single point hooks.
• The NYSDEC Fisheries Bureau should explore creative ways to enhance enforcement through diverse partnerships with conservation groups, anglers, landowners, and municipalities.
• The NYSDEC Fisheries Bureau should advocate for increased funding for improved enforcement in the NYSDEC budget.

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