Table 4.20. — Capacities of fisli iiatcheries to 



produce trout and warmwater fisfi in tlie 



contiguous United States and tine relationships 



to production requirements by section, 



1965 to 2000' 









Capacity as 





Capacity 



proportion 



Of 



Section 







requirements 





1965 



2000 



1965 



1980 



2000 





Millions 



of fish 





Percent 





Trout 













Northeast 



23 



37 



111 



115 



115 



North Central 



16 



45 



109 



85 



85 



Southeast 



4 



7 



96 



83 



70 



South Central 



3 



8 



34 



37 



28 



Rocky Mountains 













and Great Plains 



110 



204 



104 



106 



104 



Pacific Coast 



93 



196 



100 



93 



92 



Total 



249 



497 



101 



96 



93 



Warmwater species 













Northeast 



367 



511 



77 



98 



98 



North Central 



483 



891 



88 



87 



88 



Southeast 



91 



92 



89 



90 



88 



South Central 



89 



179 



16 



57 



67 



Rocky Mountains 













and Great Plains 



158 



296 



85 



76 



79 



Pacific Coast 



1 



4 



15 



55 



59 



Total 



1,189 



1,973 



63 



85 



86 



' In 1 965, 90 percent and 47 percent of the requirements for catchable trout and 

 warmwater species, respectively, were produced. 



Source; U.S. Department of the Interior. Fish and Wildlife Service. National 

 survey of needs lor hatchery fish. Resource Pub. 63. 71 p. Washington, D.C. 1968. 



To produce a sustainable increase in the numbers of 

 fish usually requires that the fish-producing acreage 

 or carrying capacity be increased. The fact that 

 hatchery operations are sometimes desirable suggests 

 the preservation of wild populations and their 

 habitats has substantial economic values. '' 



Managing Wildlife and Fish Use 



Given the many increasing demands on our wildlife 

 and fish resources, opportunities to manage use are 

 being more and more viewed as needs to limit use. 

 More people participating means a change in the type 

 of recreational experience. In the years to come, 

 either the numbers of people permitted to use the 

 resources will be limited, or crowding and lower suc- 

 cess ratios will follow. 



Sportsmen who wish to hunt several big game spe- 

 cies in some areas already must take their chances 



with lottery systems, particularly for elk, moose, 

 mountain goats, bighorn sheep, and antelope. For 

 other species, limits on season takes have become 

 more restrictive. These limitations are likely to con- 

 tinue to be necessary but they can sometimes be 

 relieved by applying good habitat and population 

 management practices more extensively. 



It has long been the custom to require licenses for 

 hunting and fishing, with the receipts used to enforce 

 regulations and to fund activities for improving habi- 

 tat and population. One approach that has been fre- 

 quently discussed, both to provide more adequate 

 funding and to limit use, is to increase basic license 

 fees or to add a surcharge for hunting in particular 

 areas. This issue is politically volatile and each pro- 

 posal has encountered opposition, primarily on the 

 grounds of equity, concern for impacts on total 

 receipts, and Federal-State jurisdictional disputes." 



Much higher levels of nonconsumptive uses are 

 possible in most parts of the Nation. Meeting such 

 demands generally amounts to providing nondestruc- 

 tive access and publicizing opportunities for wildlife 

 observation. In undeveloped areas, new trails often 

 can be constructed at low cost, perhaps with self- 

 guiding signs, and when one area is overused, others 

 can be publicized. However, because most wildlife 

 observation takes place near where people live, meet- 

 ing nonconsumptive demands frequently requires 

 providing permanent, hardened trails and sites in or 

 near urban areas. 



The general problem of limited access to private 

 lands is discussed in the next section, but this prob- 

 lem also is important on public lands. In some in- 

 stances, access must be limited to protect the wildlife 

 and fish resources or to protect fragile areas from 

 physical degradation. In other instances, improved 

 access is possible. In the past 25 years, 800,000 acres 

 of stillwaters and 2,000 miles of free-flowing streams 

 have become available for fishing through the pur- 

 chase and development of access sites. 



Opportunities for Cooperative 

 Activities on Private Lands 



Privately-owned forest and range lands play a 

 major role in providing key habitats for waterfowl 

 and in providing opportunities for hunting — espe- 

 cially for small game mammals, upland game birds, 

 and waterfowl — and for warmwater fishing. In 

 heavily farmed areas, particularly in the Great Plains, 

 fence rows and shelterbelts on private lands fre- 



5' Opportunities and problems associated with the artificial 

 propagation of salmonids are discussed by Cooper, E. L., E. O. 

 Salo, and H. Tanner. Salmonid management. Trout 15(1): Special 

 supplement, 32 p. 1974. 



" Hoover, R. L. User fees for hunting and fishing on public 

 lands. Publications DOW-RM-M-6-78, Colorado Division of 

 Wildlife, Denver, 65 p. 1978. 



148 



