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Hatchery legislation awaits decision

The Mono County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to California Senator Darrell Steinberg (Senate President Pro Tem) this week opposing SB 1148, which continues to linger in the final days of voting on the Assembly Floor as the Legislature nears recess at the end of this month.

According to retired State Senator Dave Cogdill, SB 1148, sponsored by CalTrout, would shift funding prioritization away from hatcheries to wild and native trout programs. Cogdill worked hard to get Assembly Bill 7 passed in 2005, which supported hatcheries by creating the Hatchery and Inland Fishery Fund (HIFF). AB 7 dedicates 33 and 1/3 percent of the sport fishing license revenue to HIFF to support California’s fish hatcheries, the Heritage and Wild Trout Program, and other eligible activities. Cogdill believes SB 1148 would negate much of what AB 7 stands for by shifting priorities and funds to wild and native fish programs rather than hatcheries.

CalTrout on the other hand, has stated that nothing could be farther from the truth.

“CalTrout worked closely with then-Senator Cogdill to pass AB 7 in 2005,” stated CalTrout Conservation Director Curtis Knight in a recent letter to the editor. “That legislation set current hatchery production goals and funded the Heritage and Wild Trout program. Unfortunately the hatchery production goals set forth in AB 7 are not being met and the Heritage and Wild Trout program is still underfunded. By contrast, SB 1148 supports the hatchery goals set by AB 7 (it looks for a more efficient means of meeting them, including the use of private hatcheries), adequately staff and funds the Heritage and Wild Trout program, and proposes comprehensive management practices for all trout populations.”

The two sides have attempted to negotiate on the language of the bill, but as of the end of last week talks had broken down.

In an email, Cogdill stated, “Make no mistake about it, if SB 1148, as written, becomes law it is a major victory for Cal Trout, DFG, and environmental interests in general and a detriment to the general angling public.”

CalTrout had hopes that the bill would pass the legislature and head to the Governor’s desk by the end of this week.

In its letter to Steinberg, the Mono County Board of Supervisors stated its support of the long-term sustainability of the State Hatchery System by strengthening AB 7. The letter pointed to the closure of June Mountain as an extra need to support local angling.

“Our local economy can ill-afford another major setback with diminished hatchery trout production,” the letter stated.

The letter also reminded Steinberg that AB 7 was intended to provide the dedicated funding to the Department of Fish and Game to refocus on hatcheries while concurrently allocating up to $2 million annually to Heritage and Wild Trout programs.

“Most fishing license holders believe that their license dollars go toward making sure there are ample fish in California’s lakes and streams so that ALL anglers can enjoy a high quality fishing experience,” the letter said.

According to Cogdill, the list of influential opponents of SB 1148 bill is lengthy, but the vote would still be a close call.

If SB 1148 passes, the next and final effort for those in opposition would be to work for the Governor’s veto.

A shake up to Assembly Bill 7 (AB 7) would put California hatcheries under attack, according to retired State Senator Dave Cogdill, who carried AB 7 while serving in the State Assembly.

The blow comes in the form of Senate Bill 1148, which, if passed, would shift funding prioritization away from hatcheries to wild and native trout programs.

For Mono and Inyo counties this would mean a return to unstable funding for hatcheries, which translates into potentially less fish stocking for the Eastern Sierra.

In 2002, while serving as a member of the State Assembly, Cogdill received a call from Virginia Lakes Resort in Mono County notifying him that they had not received their delivery of fish from the Department of Fish and Game.

“When the operator called DFG they were told they would not be getting one,” Cogdill told The Sheet on Thursday, because of low funds. That was when the battle to have AB 7 approved began.

“With the amount of time it takes to hatch and raise fish, the hatcheries need stable funding to rely on to be able to continue to work,” Cogdill explained.

AB 7 earmarked one-third of sport license fee sales to be used first for hatcheries and then for wild and native programs to ensure the hatcheries would have the funding they needed.

But according to Cogdill, DFG was never in favor of AB 7 and since it was put into place in 2005, has never taken its planting responsibilities required by the law, seriously.

“DFG never met the quotas spelled out in the law of how much fish they were suppose to plant,” Cogdill said. “We need to put more teeth into AB 7, not change it.”

Now, CalTrout has sponsored SB 1148 to try to change the rules. According to Cogdill, the process has been done in an underhanded way. CalTrout originally creating a 10-page document, but later added 27-pages of content in a so-called amendment. The additional pages are where the gutting of AB 7 occurred.

SB 1148 is expected to go to the Assembly Appropriations Committee for a vote on Aug. 8. Cogdill felt the outcome would be 50/50.

“They [CalTrout] have kept it under the radar as much as possible,” Cogdill said. “It’s going to establish policy, so it needs thorough vetting.” But thus far CalTrout has failed to take Cogdill up on his offer to work together to create a better bill.

“The more light shined on SB 1148, the more opposition it receives,” he said.

Another concern of Cogdill’s is how SB 1148 would be managed if approved.

“It would establish a five member ‘hatchery independent science panel’,” Cogdill explained. “The five members would have five-year terms and would be expected to file annual reports to which DFG would have to respond to, publicly.”

Cogdill sees the panel as an “unaccountable body making heavy decisions. It will suck up money in studies, lawsuits and administrative duties and take it away from planting fish.”

Cogdill fears that this in turn could lead to increased fees for licenses, which have already jumped from $32 to $44 since AB 7 was put into place.

“It will cause license fees to be raised to a point where people can’t afford them,” Cogdill said. “It will depress the economy in Inyo and Mono counties.”

According to Mono County District 3 Supervisor Elect Tim Alpers, SB 1148 would be catastrophic for the Eastern Sierra, especially June Lake.

“June Lake depends on stocked fish as much as any other area in the Eastern Sierra, if not more so,” Alpers said. “It is the most concentrated area with four lakes close together that need to be stocked.

“The new bill would gut AB 7,” Alpers told the public in attendance at Tuesday’s Mono County Supervisor’s Special Meeting. “It would be another blow to the June Lake economy [in addition to the blow caused by the confirmed closure of June Mountain for the 2012-13 winter season].”

To get involved, the public can write letters to the Assembly Appropriations Committee voicing its opinion. Send letters to: Felipe Fuentes, Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee, State Capitol, Room 2114, Sacramento, CA 95814.