Press Releases

Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement following a cooperative agreement that was reached to finally begin restoring rainbow trout stocking at Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery, which is located along the Colorado River south of the Hoover Dam:

“The agreement to restore rainbow trout stocking at Willow Beach is a win for jobs, Arizona’s economy and sportsmen throughout the country. Countless individuals, including Senator John McCain and the good folks at the Arizona Game Fish Commission, stepped up and deserve thanks for speaking out after trout stocking was arbitrarily terminated. I’m proud that our collective efforts will protect trout fishing in Mohave County and the surrounding regions for future generations and I was honored to play an important role in saving this worthwhile program.

“I am also grateful that it only took the federal government 16 months to resume a program it should have never terminated in the first place and only about 6 months to finalize a cooperative agreement that everyone supported. Inflating repair costs by $7.5 million in order to justify terminating the rainbow trout program so the Service could focus on producing humpback chubs and suckers is a serious violation of trust. This dishonesty jeopardized 1,700 jobs and $75 million in associated impact.     

“As such, I will not applaud the Fish and Wildlife Service for being forced to do something they should have done voluntarily. Closing fish hatcheries and terminating important mitigation programs throughout the country is a bad idea and as the Vice Chairman of the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans, you better believe I will continue to closely monitor these programs moving forward.”

Additional

In November 2013, the Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) arbitrarily changed the priorities for the five different propagation program categories and announced their intent to close propagation programs and possibly hatcheries throughout the nation in fiscal year 2015. The USFWS also terminated the rainbow trout stocking program at the Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery in Arizona in November 2013 so they could focus on producing humpback chubs and suckers. This shortsighted and arbitrary decision threatened 1,700 jobs and $75 million in associated economic output in Mohave County.

In order to prevent the Fish and Wildlife Service from terminating important fishing propagation programs at federal fish hatcheries throughout the country, Congressman Gosar introduced and passed through the House Natural Resources Committee, the Fish Hatchery Protection Act, H.R. 5026. This legislation successfully passed out of the Natural Resources Committee on July 30, 2014 and sought to preserve fish hatcheries and propagation programs within the National Fish Hatchery System and stipulated that only the Congress can authorize the termination or significant alteration of such facilities or programs.

During the July 23, 2014 hearing on H.R. 5026, Rep. Gosar grilled Deputy Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Steve Guertin, and received the initial commitment that if the broken water supply line was fixed, then rainbow trout stocking operations would resume at the Willow Beach Hatchery. Also during this hearing the Fish and Wildlife Service made clear that the agency failed to hold a public comment period and did not consider job losses or associated economic impact before terminating important recreational fishing programs. Deputy Director Guertin, admitted, “This was not our [the Fish and Wildlife Service’s] finest hour.”

Congressman Gosar’s September 4, 2014 letter to the USFWS in regards to the terminated rainbow trout fish stocking program at the Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery can be found HERE and the Fish and Wildlife Service’s October response indicating they will resume the trout stocking program can be found HERE.

At a September 10, 2014 Natural Resources hearing, Congressman Gosar secured a second commitment from USFWS Director Dan Ashe to reinstate rainbow trout stocking program and hand delivered 6 alternative solutions for repairing the water supply line that were all $8 million less than initial Service’ estimates.

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