December 4, 2008

Commentary
DFG trout stocking program
is and always will be a disaster

By JIM MATTHEWS
Outdoor News Service

The Department of Fish and Game apparently sees its job as the destroyer fishing in the state. In the past month, it has almost single-handedly killed trout fishing in many areas of California. Its inability to see the handwriting on the wall and address the problems pointed out in the current trout stocking lawsuit is a death knell for some rural communities that depend on the weekly plants in their region.
The agency’s decades-long foot-dragging is criminal, and businesses in little communities like Kernville on the Kern River near Lake Isabella are going to be seriously impacted by the stoppage of trout plants in the Kern. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other little towns across the state that will also see more businesses boarded up. Trout stocking was a key to many visitors coming to these towns, and the loss of this revenue will be the straw in these economic times that breaks many businesses’ backs. Yet the DFG was oblivious to all this.
Don’t blame the Pacific Rivers Foundation or Center for Biological Diversity for bringing the lawsuit. Blame the DFG for knowing this suit was coming and not doing anything about it. The DFG staff has known it was coming when the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) was passed in 1970.
I sat in meetings in the mid- to late-1970s where fishing groups were considering suing the DFG over CEQA and its trout stocking program -- essentially the very same lawsuit the DFG is trying to deal with today. Instead of suing, these groups tried to work with the DFG to get the agency to change how it conducted its trout business. These efforts led to the Wild Trout Program, which was and is a stepchild program that no one within the trout bureaucracy cares much about. The bureaucracy was about growing lots of domesticated, easy-to-raise fish and putting them out there for anglers to catch of baits that look and smell like fish pellets. They resemble trout about as much as miniature toy poodles resemble coyotes.
But the DFG never addressed the fundamental problems with the trout stocking program that have been pointed for decades by even its own biologists, even before CEQA.
It seems to me rural communities have legal standing to sue the agency for lost revenues related to the trout stocking program, which can be documented quite easily.
But even that can’t change what the DFG should have done and still won’t do now. In the Kern River example, the simple solution, that could have been implemented years ago, was to use the hatchery on the river to raise and plant native Kern River rainbows, instead of the domesticated, hatchery mutants they insisted on planting. Those non-native, genetically-different trout are dumped all over the state and they are the reason the lawsuit was filed. The DFG was screwing up centuries of natural adaptations in the Kern River natives by planting these other trout. The DFG also almost wiped out all the native golden trout with these hatchery genetics in this same watershed. Now they are wiping out a small community of businesses that count on anglers who come to fish for those trout. Things will only get worse.
If the DFG had been paying attention and managing trout fisheries and watersheds, we wouldn’t be in this position today.
I was wondering why I was getting red-faced and could feel my blood pressure shoot up as I was writing about this chronic problem, and then I realized I’ve been writing this same column with only minor variations for over 30 years. Why? Because no one is ever held accountable. And no one will be this time.
In the private sector, people would be fired if not sent to jail. In Fish and Game, game wardens can commit felonies (reduced to infractions) and only get busted a rank and allowed to retire at full salary (and then get a job as a consultant for a state representative). But a fishery biologist who says that trout shouldn’t be planted in a watershed because of native frogs or golden trout will get shushed and transferred to a hell-hole in the desert, learn to shut up, or just get out of the agency.
Nothing has changed in the DFG.

BALD EAGLE COUNT VOLUNTEERS: The San Bernardino National Forest staff is looking for volunteers to participate in this winter’s bald eagle counts on December. 20, January 10, February 14, and March 14. The counts have been conducted annually since 1978, and the data has tracked the long-term decline of the eagles in the Big Bear Basin where the numbers have dropped from 35 to 40 wintering eagles 30 years ago to just six to eight today.
While wintering bald eagle numbers have declined in the San Bernardinos, the birds are a major success story of the endangered species act, going from a listed species in danger of extinction to a bird that has now been completely removed from the list. Since 2002, there is even a pair of birds nesting successfully at Lake Hemet -- the first pair of birds rearing young in Southern California since the 1950s.
Counts are made at Big Bear Lake, Baldwin Lake, Green Valley Lake, Lake Gregory, Lake Arrowhead, and Lake Silverwood in the San Bernardino Mountains. They are also conducted at the same time at Lake Hemet in the San Jacintos. To volunteer and get more information, call Robin Eliason, a USFS biologist at the Big Bear Ranger Station, at 909-382-2832.
ED PARK DIES AT 78: At lot of hunters and fishermen knew Ed Park like a lot of you know me -- by the words you read. Ed was an outdoor writer who did blue-collar stories for all of the major outdoor magazines for decades and still was active almost right up until his death on Tuesday last week. Ed told sportsmen where and how to hunt and fish and how to make the most out of it.
I remember a story he did about coyote hunting where the ultimate goal was to make he and his wife fur coats, which were still fashionable back then but well out of the average person’s price range -- unless you did it the way Ed did, shooting, tanning, and sewing them himself.
He was a mentor of mine who encouraged me in the business while I was still in college in the early 1970s. Under Ed’s tutelage and tolerance, I was writing for Outdoor Life’s regional pages every month. With boundless energy, he once drove from Oregon to my house in his new diesel Volkswagen Rabbit, bragging about the 50 miles per gallon he was getting on his trip to visit all his regional writers. I never thought about it until just now, but I later bought a Rabbit.
The last time I saw Ed, he was bound to a wheel chair and didn’t have much use of his upper body either. For a man who had made a living leading a vigorous outdoor life, this must have been devastating, but Ed didn’t let it show that it bothered him. We chatted for a half-and-hour at the SHOT Show, and I watched him do a tape-recorded interview for a story. He refused to slow down.
You know him by his stories, I knew him by his inspiration.

OUTDOOR CALENDAR

DECEMBER 6 LEGG LAKES FREE YOUTH FISHING EVENT: A free youth fishing derby for kids five to 15 will be held beginning 7 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 6 at Legg Lakes in the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, South El Monte. Sponsored by the Los Angeles County Department of Recreation and Parks and the Daniel Hernandez Youth Foundation, the event is designed to give boys and girls who live in urban areas an opportunity to enjoy a fishing experience in or close to their own neighborhood. Rods and reels, tackle, bait and assistance is provided. Contact the Daniel Hernandez Youth Foundation at 562-865-3764.
DECEMBER 6 CALIFORNIA WATERFOWL IMPERIAL VALLEY FUND-RAISER: The Imperial Valley Chapter of the California Waterfowl Association will have its fund-raising dinner banquet beginning 5 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 6 at the Aspen In The Desert, 595 W. Main Street, Brawley. Tickets are $40 per person. Contact Hollis Daker at 909-615-6329, Frank Bailey at 760-359-0200, or Tom Homen at 209-587-0886 for more information. Web site: www.calwaterfowl.org.
DECEMBER 6 NORCO HUNTER SAFETY CLASS: A one-day, 10-hour certified hunter safety class will be held at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises, Norco. Classes are required for all first-time California hunters before a hunting license can be purchased. Cost is $35 per person. The 2009 class date schedule has not be set yet. Sign-ups are taken at all Turner's Outdoorsman stores. Contact Raahauge's at 951-735-7981.
DECEMBER 6-7 CONCEALED CARRY WEAPON COURSE: A 16-hour California Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) course is being offered by Firearms Training Associates at Mike Raahauge's Shooting Enterprises this Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $180 per person. This course meets the state requirement for 16 hours of training to qualify for a CCW (not valid in San Bernardino County). This is the final date for 2008 classes. Contact FTA at 714-701-9918 or 877-544-4867 for information about this class of the 2009 schedule. The web site is www.ftatv.com.
DECEMBER 20 BALD EAGLE CENSUS: Volunteers are needed to participate in this winter’s bald eagle counts conducted on December. 20, January 10, February 14, and March 14 in the San Bernardino National Forest at Big Bear Lake, Baldwin Lake, Green Valley Lake, Lake Gregory, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Silverwood, and Lake Hemet. To volunteer and get more information, call Robin Eliason, a USFS biologist at the Big Bear Ranger Station, at 909-382-2832.
JANUARY 5-6 BAKERSFIELD GUN SHOW: The Central Coast Gun Shows Bakersfield event will be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23 at the Kern County Fairgrounds, Bakersfield. The 2008 dates for the Bakersfield gun shows include April 5-6, June 21-22, Aug. 30-31, and Nov. 22-23. Information at www.centralcoastgunshows.com or call 805-481-6726.
JANUARY 10 BALD EAGLE CENSUS: Volunteers are needed to participate in this winter’s bald eagle counts conducted on January 10, February 14, and March 14 in the San Bernardino National Forest at Big Bear Lake, Baldwin Lake, Green Valley Lake, Lake Gregory, Lake Arrowhead, Lake Silverwood, and Lake Hemet. To volunteer and get more information, call Robin Eliason, a USFS biologist at the Big Bear Ranger Station, at 909-382-2832.

CALENDAR RESOURCES

For a complete list of HUNTER SAFETY CLASSES held throughout the state, including times, dates, and locations, go to the Department of Fish and Game’s web site at this address: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/huntered/classes.aspx.
For the rules and regulations on GRUNION RUNS, along with a complete schedule and the expected times of the runs, go to this web site address: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/gruschd.asp

CLUBS AND ORGANIZATIONS

The following is a list of hunting, shooting, and fishing clubs and organizations in Southern California with contact information and regular meeting dates:
976-TUNA ROD AND REEL CLUB: The 976-Tuna Rod and Reel Club meets 7 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at Bass Pro Shops, Rancho Cucamonga. At the December meeting a free trip to Palmas de Cortez in Baja will be given away. Contact Phil Friedman at 310-328-8426.
CALIFORNIA STATE VARMINT CALLERS ASSOCIATION: The California State Varmint Callers Association meets 7 p.m. the second Tuesday of each month at the Denny's just north of the 210 freeway at Irwindale Ave., Irwindale. Contact Steven Childs at 626-407-8826 or steve@sdchilds.com. Web site: www.csvca.com.
CANYON OAKS SPORTSMAN’S CLUB: The Canyon Oaks Sportsman’s Club meets the first Tuesday of every month at it’s clubhouse in Lakeview Terrace-Sylmar. The club has regular trap, skeet, smallbore, big bore, handgun, and Cowboy Action shooting events. Contact Gary White at 818-998-7240, Mike Totta at 818-362-2181 or Mike Nickoloff via e-mail at idpamike@yahoo.com.
CERRITOS ROD & GUN CLUB: The Cerritos Rod & Gun Club meets the second Wednesday of each month at Heritage Park in Cerritos. Contact Charles Sharp at 714-317-8290 or fish_90605@yahoo.com.
CLUB FISH: Club Fish, a 20-year-old fishing club, meets 7:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at the Izaak Walton League Clubhouse, Santa Ana. The clubhouse is located at the entrance to Riverview Gold Course. Contact Mike Cross at 949-854-5258 or m_r_cross@yahoo.com.
    DEEP CREEK FLY-FISHERS: Deep Creek Fly-Fishers meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month at the Izaak Walton League clubhouse in Fairmont Park, in Riverside. Go to www.deepcreekflyfishers.org to download a map to the club house. Contact Brett Browning at 909-793-8912.
HIGH DESERT FLY-FISHERS: The High Desert Fly-Fishers holds its monthly meetings on the second Thursday of each month at The Apple Valley Fire Conference Center, 19235 Yucca Loma, Apple Valley. Contact John Rose at 760-247-5966.
HIGHLAND PARK SPORTSMEN'S CLUB: The Highland Park Sportsmen's Club meets at 8 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of each month at 2035 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles. Contact Mauro Garcia at 323-254-0763 or incareal@juno.com.
NATIONAL VARMINT HUNTERS: The National Varmint Hunters meets 7:30 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at the Veterans of Foreign Wars club located on Grand Avenue, just west of 17th Street, Santa Ana. Contact Mark Harris at 714-655-6954 or mhitis1@yahoo.com or Terry Mathers at 714-299-9938 or coyote@jps.net.
NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION (HIGH DESERT CHAPTER): The High Desert Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation meets 6:30 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at the Apple Valley Gun Club, 16699 Stoddard Wells Rd., Victorville. Contact Dave Recce at 760-956-7092 or Dave Halbrook at 760-553-2794.
NATIONAL WILD TURKEY FEDERATION (ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER): The Orange County Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation meets 6 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at The Firing Line, 17921 Jamestown Lane, Huntington Beach. Contact Pat Ryan at 714-373-3688 or Casey Rasmussen at 714-377-5859.
ORANCO BOWMEN: The ORANCO Bowmen meet the second Tuesday of each month at the club range, 17504 Pomona Rincon Rd., Chino (Euclid Avenue one block north of the 71 freeway). The range is open to the public on Sundays 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 909-597-7582. Web site: www.oranco.org.
ORANGE COUNTY BASS CLUB: The Orange County Bass Club meets 7 p.m. the third Monday of each month at the Garden Grove Elk's Lodge. Contact Steve Pendergast at 949-651-8172 or prendergasts@netzero.com.
PLUNGE CREEK COWBOYS: The Plunge Creek Cowboys, a new Cowboy Action Shooting club in the Inland Empire, has shoots the third Saturday of each month at the Inland Fish and Game range on Orange Street in East Highlands. Authentic or replica firearms and garb required. Information: www.plungecreekcowboys.com.
PREDATOR CALLERS OF ORANGE COUNTY: The Predator Callers of Orange County meet 7 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month at the Denny's restaurant, 7490 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach. Contact Rickey Macy via e-mail at rickmacey@juno.com.
QUAIL UNLIMITED (HIGH DESERT CHAPTER): The High Desert Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 6 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at the Apple Valley Gun Club. Contact Cruz Garcia at 760-949-6334 or fathercruz@verizon.net.
QUAIL UNLIMITED (ORANGE COUNTY CHAPTER): The Orange County Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 7 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month at the Izaak Walton League Clubhouse (located at the entrance to Riverview Golf Course) in Santa Ana. Contact Craig Riedel at 714-282-1194 or criedel@mflex.com.
QUAIL UNLIMITED (RIVERSIDE CHAPTER): The Riverside Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 7 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at Prado Olympic Shooting Park, 17501 Pomona Rincon Road, Chino (one block west of Euclid, just off the 71 freeway). Contact Ron Gibbons at 909-902-9814 or gibbent@gte.net. Web site: www.quriverside.com.
QUAIL UNLIMITED (SAN DIEGO CHAPTER): The San Diego Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 6:30 p.m. the third Thursday of each month at DFG Headquarters at 4949 Viewridge Rd., San Diego. Contact David Preddy at davidpreddy@cox.net or visit www.sdqu.org.
QUAIL UNLIMITED (SAN GABRIEL VALLEY CHAPTER): The San Gabriel Valley Chapter of Quail Unlimited meets 6 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at Triple B Clays in El Monte. Contact Tim Bovard at 866-206-9070, ext. 6715 or sgvqu@onebox.com.
REDONDO ROD & GUN CLUB: The Redondo Rod & Gun Club meets 8 p.m. every Thursday of every month at its own clubhouse. The club has promoted hunting, fishing, sport shooting and the outdoors since 1948. The clubhouse is located at 2023 Vanderbilt Lane, Redondo Beach. Contact 310-379-7772.
RIVERSIDE VARMINT CALLERS: The Riverside Varmint Callers meet 7 p.m. the last Saturday of each month at Flo's Country Kitchen, Riverside. Contact Lance Cochrane at 909-919-4309 or Ray Gauthier at 951-785-4986. Web site:www.californiavarmintcallers.com/chapters.html/.
SAN DIEGO SPORTING DOG CLUB: The San Diego Sporting Dog Club meets 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at the Animal Medical Center, 600 Broadway, El Cajon. Contact Steve Sarmiento at 619-659-9393 or sssarmi@sbcglobal.net.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA VARMINT CALLERS ASSOCIATION: The Southern California Varmint Callers Association meets 8 p.m. the first Wednesday of each month at the Denny's Restaurant at Pioneer Blvd and Imperial Highway in Norwalk. Contact Granville Crow at 310-548-6221 or crowshot1@cox.net or Skip Gildner at 562-900-9020 or mtnhigh5@excite.com.
TEMPLE CITY SPORTSMEN: The Temple City Sportsmen meet the first Thursday of each month at the Temple City Civic Center in Temple City. Contact Jim White at 626-201-7782 or TCSPresident2006@yahoo.com.
TURNER'S OUTDOORSMAN ROD AND REEL CLUB: The Turner's Outdoorsman Rod and Reel Club meets 7 p.m. the second Wednesday of each month at Marie Calendar’s Restaurant, 2300 Foothill, Pasadena. Contact Richard Crowe at 626-960-9610.

[Want your event or club listed here? Send the information to Jim Matthews, Outdoor News Service, P.O. Box 9007, San Bernardino, CA 92427-0007 or e-mail it to odwriter@charter.net. Following the style used above for events and clubs makes our life easier and increases the likelihood of it being included here.]

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