Press Releases

Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after representatives from Mohave County, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) identified a plan to restore the trout-stocking program at the Willow Beach National Fish Hatchery:

“Today, common sense prevailed and Mohave County can once again rely on the trout-stocking program at the Willow Beach Fish Hatchery to provide economic growth, jobs and recreational fishing for its residents. I applaud the hard work and vigilance of the many individuals and groups who spoke out and took action to prevent the termination of this vital program.

“I am pleased to see the USFWS following through on its promise made to me during a September Natural Resources hearing stating that once repairs were made to the water delivery system at the hatchery, the trout stocking program would resume. The 1,700 jobs and $75 million in economic output for Mohave County generated by this program are too important to be threatened by bureaucratic red tape.”

The proposed solution would include construction of a floating pump-platform assembly at an estimated cost of $776,448. This proposal is essentially the same solution proposed by Congressman Gosar with support from the Mohave County office of Development Services.

Background:

According to the Mohave County office of Development Services “The Willow Beach Fish Hatchery cannot presently maintain continuous water supply and circulation of adequate quantity and quality necessary to rear trout to a minimum size suitable for release in supporting sport fishing recreation, which represents a longstanding recreational activity in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area”.

The letter confirming the reinstatement of the trout-stocking program from the USFWS can be found HERE.

The video of Congressman Gosar questioning USFWS Director Dan Ashe in a September 10, 2014 House Committee on Natural Resources hearing and the commitment he secured to reinstate the rainbow trout stocking program at Willow Beach can be viewed HERE.

Congressman Gosar’s 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.

The July 23, 2014 press release from the Natural Resources hearing on Congressman Gosar’s legislation H.R. 5026, the Fish Hatchery Protection Act can be found HERE. That legislation successfully passed out of the Natural Resources Committee on July 30, 2014. 

 ###