The Eastern Sierra Trout season starts in under 20 days and uncertainty still hangs over Fish and Game’s trout plants, as employees scramble to evaluate many thousands of bodies of water in the state for potential impacts by trout on bird habitats.
The Center for Biological Diversity sued Fish and Game, in part alleging that rainbow trout eat the same insects needed by many species of birds and other creatures. So Fish and Game has to justify planting trout with no significant impacts.
Jordan Traverso of Fish and Game Communications said that the list of California waters on the Department’s website shows what waters are cleared environmentally to be planted with trout. Right now, DFG has listed 14 waters in Inyo and 29 in Mono, including Crowley Lake. Fish and Game could not tell us how many of our waters would not be clear for trout plants.
Ms. Traverso did say that evaluations in Inyo-Mono are ongoing. She said Fish and Game has focused on the high-traffic places first. She confirmed that this job requires a lot of manpower all over the State. She called it a major priority, and Traverso maintained that Fish and Game will plant the same amount of fish this season as last year.
In addition to hang-ups for Fish and Game planting, private hatcheries initially could not get permits to plant fish. You can check out DFG’s list of open waters on our website.
Fish and Game’s list of waters cleared for trout plants:
Inyo Bishop Creek Middle Fork
Inyo Bishop Creek South Fork
Inyo Bishop Creek, Intake II
Inyo Cottonwood Creek
Inyo Diaz Lake
Inyo Georges Creek
Inyo Goodale Creek
Inyo Independence Creek
Inyo Lone Pine Creek
Inyo Pleasant Valley Reservoir
Inyo Sheperds Creek
Inyo Symmes Creek
Inyo Taboose Creek
Inyo Tuttle Creek
Mono Bridgeport Reservoir
Mono Buckeye Creek
Mono Convict Creek
Mono Crowley Lake
Mono Deadman Creek
Mono Ellery Lake
Mono Glass Creek
Mono Grant Lake
Mono Junction Reservoir
Mono Lee Vining Creek
Mono Lee Vining Creek South Fork
Mono Little Walker River
Mono Lost Cannon Creek
Mono Lundy Lake
Mono Mammoth Creek
Mono McGee Creek
Mono Mill Creek
Mono Owens River, Section 3
Mono Reversed Creek
Mono Robinson Creek
Mono Rock Creek, Section 1
Mono Rock Creek, Section 2
Mono Rush Creek
Mono Saddlebag Creek
Mono Sherwin Creek
Mono Swauger Creek
Mono Topaz Lake
Mono Virginia Creek
Mono West Walker River, Section 2
Mono West Walker River, Section 3
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