| Abstrakt: |
The management of trout fishing in the National Forests of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia is a cooperative effort with Forest Service, the States, and Fish and Wildlife Service participating. The States execute the management programs, provide protection to the resource, operate creel checking stations where these are a part of the program, and sell the special permits. The Forest Service provides the general land management and maintains physical structures on the areas, such as rearing pools, checking stations, and residences for caretakers. Trout for stocking streams are provided by the States and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Special permits, which are required before fishing, are sold by the States. Half of the revenue received from the sale of special permits is contributed to the Forest Service to be applied toward payment of its share of the costs of the cooperative management program. During 1950, an estimated 88,058 man-days of trout fishing were enjoyed in the management areas of the four States. The cost of providing a man-day of trout fishing varied on the different areas, from $1.40 to $4.41. The revenue received also varied. General administrative costs by the States and Forest Service are not included in the estimate. Although natural reproduction provides a considerable proportion of the trout caught (55 percent in the Tellico, Tennessee, Area), periodic stocking of hatchery-reared trout is considered a necessary and worthwhile feature of the program. The agencies offering the program feel that it is a good investment in recreational use of wild lands. No claim is made that it is self-supporting, but it approaches that end more nearly than do most fish and game activities where no permit fee is collected and where less intensive management is exercised. |
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