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 | |  |  |  | | NORTHWESTERN OUTDOORS | | Brought to you by John Kruse |
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Monday, June 22, 2009 - 8:41 PM
Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell are again showing their disdain towards outdoors recreationalists who want to cast a line into alpine lakes at North Cascades National Park. The Park will no longer allow recreational fish stocking in some 42 lakes within the park after July 2nd, 2009, even though their own studies indicate there seems to be no harm in it, the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife is not opposed to the practice and volunteer groups are willing to continue stocking these fish.
Congressman Doc Hastings has passed a bill through the House of Representatives that would allow these fish to be stocked so anglers can catch them. He has passed a similar bill in the last two sessions of Congress. Unfortunately, Washington's senators have been unwilling to pass a similar bill, effectively killing the attempt to legislate continued fish stocking in this National Park, meant to be a place for people to enjoy the outdoors.
Repeated attempts to get any response from either Senator have been met with a chilly lack of response. It's unknown whether or not environmental lobbyists have gotten to the Senator or if they just don't care about the subject. Either way, hikers who like to fish will suffer as a result.
It's a shame that Washington's senators are turning a purposefully blind eye to this issue. It's even more of a shame that they are willing to throw anglers, who want nothing more than to go fishing in a pristine wilderness setting, under an indifferent bus.
JK
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SENATOR CANTWELL RESPONDS TO THE NCNP CRISIS
Dear Mr. Kruse,
Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about fish stocking in the North Cascades National Park. I appreciate hearing from you on this important matter and sincerely regret the delayed response.
As you may know, the North Cascades National Park (NCNP) is the last national park in the United States to allow unnatural introduction of fish into its bodies of water, a practice more commonly referred to as "stocking." In January 2009, the National Park Service (NPS) decided to end fish stocking there upon completion of an internal review that included a 12-year scientific study. NCNP has ceased to introduce new fish, and will begin the process of removing and killing the remaining introduced fish from previous years later this year. One of the stated reasons for this decision is that, when the park was chartered in 1968 by the US Congress, nothing was specifically mentioned in regards to stocking. NPS has expressed doubts that fish stocking is consistent with its mission to preserve the natural state of parks across the country. For over 40 years now, the NPS has stocked 42 lakes in the NCNP with fish for the purposes of fostering increased fish gaming by Washington State citizens. NPS has made it clear that they will only reverse their decision to end stocking if Congress tells them to do so.
To that end, on May 14, 2009, Representative Doc Hastings (R-WA-4) introduced H.R. 2430, a bill to authorize the NPS to continue stocking fish in NCNP, the Ross Lake National Recreational Area, and the Lake Chelan National Recreational Area. This bill was passed out of the House of Representatives on June 3, and is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, of which I am a member. Please be assured that I am working with my colleagues on the committee to make sure this bill receives consideration and I look forward to keeping your thoughts in mind as this process moves forward.
Thank you again for contacting me to share your thoughts on this matter. You may also be interested in signing up for periodic updates for Washington State residents. If you are interested in subscribing to this update, please visit my website at http://cantwell.senate.gov. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance.
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