516 A NATIONAL PLAN FOB AMERICAN FORESTRY 



primary purposes impelling the sequestration of such lands. The 

 public funds derived directly from the angler are thereby available 

 entirely for the purpose of improving angling. 



The extensive withdrawal of private waters from public fishing and 

 the growing popularity of angling has greatly increased the burden 

 which must be borne by the waters held in public ownership. Con- 

 sequently, it is imperative that a system of fishery management be 

 developed which will yield the greatest possible return from the money 

 and labor devoted to the improvement of angling conditions. 



FISHERY MANAGEMENT 



As a result of the continually increasing drain on the fish population 

 many waters which only a few years ago were well stocked with fish 

 are now seriously depleted. This is especially true in the national 

 forests and parks where the great influx of campers has resulted in 

 serious overfishing in the more accessible streams. Complaints that 

 the fishing is becoming poorer each year are heard on every hand, and 

 it is apparent that unless greater efforts are made to maintain the 

 supply of game fish many of our waters will become so depleted as to 

 furnish little sport for the angling fraternity. There can be no ques- 

 tion that the stocking of streams and lakes with artificially reared 

 fish has been of immense value in maintaining the supply of game 

 fishes, but it is evident, in many cases, that this alone is not sufficient 

 to enable us to reap the greatest benefit from our public waters. 

 Since true conservation consists not in hoarding but in using wisely 

 any policy of fishery management must have as its goal the greatest 

 production of fish for the use of the public. 



METHODS AVAILABLE FOR CONSERVATION AND UPBUILDING OF FISH 



SUPPLY 



Four well known methods are available for the conservation and 

 upbuilding of our supply of game and food fishes and should enter 

 into any well organized system of fishery management in forest 

 areas. These are: (1) introduction of fish into suitable waters in 

 which they are not native, ^ (2) artificial propagation and stocking, 

 (3) protection from overfishing and (4) improvement of streams and 

 lakes to provide more favorable conditions for fish. 



(1) The first method the introduction of fish into waters in which 

 they did not previously occur has been frequently utilized in the 

 past, and it is in this field that fish culture has achieved some of its 

 most notable triumphs. There are numerous instances where fish 

 have been introduced into new waters with extraordinary success. 

 The introduction of rainbow and brown trout in suitable waters in 

 our Eastern States is a case in point. This has been followed by the 

 equally successful introduction of the eastern brook trout in many 

 streams in the West. Other game fish such as lake trout and bass 

 have been successfully established in waters both east and west where 

 they were not native. 



Possibly some of the greatest achievements in this field have been 

 the successful stocking of streams and lakes in which, due to the 

 presence of impassable barriers, there were previously no fish what- 

 ever. Many of these waters now support a large fish population and 

 furnish excellent sport to the angler. In the high mountains of our 



