Adopt-A-Trout

[4WD School]

Please support the Rescue Tellico efforts.

http://www.sfwda.org/saveatrout/

You will receive a nice certificate for your very own personal trout that you will be saving from a Tellico River angler !

An individual trout in the Tellico River watershed will be named in your honor.

 

[Hltoppr]

Is there any other background? I couldn't find any other information regarding the "why" on the website. E.g. Is there a problem with overfishing? Illegal fishing? Riparian degradation from anglers?

-H-

 

[mtnbike28]

a guess...

I would GUESS this is an attempt o raise money to fight the closure of trails at Tellico. The argument might be the trails are hurting the watershed...

But just a guess.

 

[Michael Slade]

Do I get to eat said fish?

 

[4WD School]

Is there any other background? I couldn't find any other information regarding the "why" on the website. E.g. Is there a problem with overfishing? Illegal fishing? Riparian degradation from anglers?

-H-

Sorry. Yes, the US Forest Service has closed the Tellico OHV trail system in western North Carolina due to a threatened lawsuit from Trout Unlimited.

The Forest Service is worried about being sued under the Clean Water Act and therefore closed the trails to prevent an unfavorable court ruling.

Trout Unlimited claims that sediment from high water storm events is affecting Brook Trout habitat. An independent study shows excellent water quality in a watershed that supports Brook trout and a hatchery operation downstream.

The Southern 4WD Association is doing some fundraising for our legal costs in this battle.

 

[4WD School]

Do I get to eat said fish?

Sure. Why not. :chowtime:

 

[Hltoppr]

Ok, so....

We're not "saving" trout from anglers, but assisting in the legal fight to reopen OHV trails, which have been closed by the USFS in response to indications of riparian/watershed degredation from OHV activity; whether or not said degredation has been proven.

The original post lead me to believe anglers were causing damage.

Thanks for the update.

-H-

 

[4WD School]

You are correct

You are correct.

Most of the OHV folks in the Eastern US have been following this epic land use battle for the last few years.

The Southern 4WD Association, United 4WD Associations, and BlueRibbon Coalition have been working on this access issue for a while now.

The Adopt-A-Trout idea is a "tongue-in-cheek" fundraising effort.

Far more trout die from anglers than OHV trail users.

Its ironic that one of the last bastions of native Brook trout habitat is in a watershed that have had OHV trails for decades.