North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act

Background

The North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act is meant to continue the stocking of fish in some particular lakes in the North Cascades National Park. The lakes in question have been stocked since the late 1800s, prior to becoming national parks. The stocking originally began with local individuals transporting and adding the fish to the lakes, long before any level of government took over. Beginning in 1933, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife became responsible for the stocking. Volunteer groups, working with State and National Park Services biologists followed careful management plans. Fishing in these lakes, which, without fish stocking, do not have native fish, is an important part of the area's economy and tourism.

The North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act (H.R. 2430) was a similar bill to continue the fish stocking that passed the House in the 111th United States Congress, but failed to pass the Senate. Another identical bill (H.R. 2351) passed the House during the 112th United States Congress, but also failed to become law. The current bill (H.R. 1158) is the third attempt on this matter.

Since none of these bills have passed, the park is currently acting to remove existing, non-native fish populations from the lakes.

Provisions/Elements of the bill

This summary is based largely on the summaries provided by the Congressional Research Service and Congressional Budget Office, both public domain sources.

H.R. 1158 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to stock fish in lakes in three units of the National Park System in the state of Washington - the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (the North Cascades National Park Service Complex). Based on information provided by the United States Department of the Interior, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that implementing H.R. 1158 would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Under the bill, NPS would be responsible for monitoring the impacts of these activities and submit its findings to the Congress every five years. The CBO reported that it assumes that the expense of stocking fish would be borne by the state or other nonfederal entities as it has been since the three park units were established.

The North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to allow stocking in not more than 42 of the 91 lakes which have historically been stocked with fish. They are allowed to stock only fish that are: (1) native to the slope of the Cascade Range on which the lake to be stocked is located, and (2) non-reproducing, as identified in management alternative B of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (June 2008). The Department of the Interior must take into consideration relevant scientific information, including such plan and the information gathered under the research and monitoring program specified below, in making fish stocking decisions under this Act.

Procedural history

The North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act was introduced into the House by Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) on March 14, 2013. It was referred to the United States House Committee on Natural Resources and the United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. The bill was reported out of committee alongside House Report 113-68. On June 11, 2013, the bill passed the House by voice vote.

The North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act was received in the United States Senate on June 12, 2013 and referred to the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. On July 9, 2014, the Senate voted to pass the bill with unanimous consent. President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on July 25, 2014.

Debate and discussion

According to a 2009 article, related to a previous bill on this matter, the decision to no longer stock fish in these lakes was due to a belief on the part of park managers that "continued stocking with non-native fish species is contrary to their mission to manage the park and its waters unimpaired for the next generation." Many other national parks had already ceased their own fish stocking actions; then Superintendent Chip Jenkins believed that the North Cascades National Park was the only national park to continue to stock non-native fish in park lakes. The decision not to continue to stock the lakes with fish was part of a larger debate about what "natural" means in reference to national parks.

Several reasons have been given in favor of continuing to stock many of the park's lakes with fish. Some people argued that the historical practice should be continued, as it had been going on for over a hundred years. Others argued that the park director in 1968, when the North Cascades became a national park, promised the fish stocking would continue. Proponents also mentioned the importance of fishing in the park to the economy.