I'm wondering what the purpose of the trout is.
Somebody thought they'd make some money off of them.
Stream of contention
By MICHAEL OVERALL World Staff Writer
1/21/2006
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Neighbors of Spring Creek want the stocked trout out
PRYOR -- Snaking through the wooded hills of Mayes County, the water in Spring Creek runs clear enough in some places to see the gravel at the bottom of the stream. You don't always have to catch a fish to see one -- just wade out a few steps and look down.
Until recently, a fisherman on Spring Creek was almost always hoping to spot a big-mouth bass, a fish that has been swimming in these waters for eons.
But for the last couple of years, the bass have been sharing the stream with another fish -- a newcomer that some environmentalists say is threatening to ruin one of the last undisturbed ecosystems of its kind.
That's why several landowners went to court Friday to get rid of trout.
"This isn't just about some fish in a stream," said Charles Shipley, an attorney representing a coalition of landowners from the Spring Creek area. "This is about saving a jewel of nature."
A Friday hearing in Mayes County District Court focused on a technicality -- coalition attorneys argued that state officials didn't properly consider public comments before issuing a permit to stock Spring Creek with trout.
But it was merely the first in what could be a long series of legal battles to stop the trout.
The gravel -- instead of sand or clay -- that can be seen at the bottom of Spring Creek identifies it as an "Ozark stream." Eastern Oklahoma has several Ozark streams, but most -- if not all -- of the others have been significantly altered from their natural state, often from pollution or the building of dams, Shipley said.
"Everybody generally agrees that we shouldn't cause the extinction of a species, right? Well, this creek is like an endangered species in and of itself. We're going to cause the extinction of a type of river system."
Spring Creek has remained pristine thanks, in part, to a group of landowners called the Spring Creek Coalition, formed more than 10 years ago to fight pollution and erosion, and to preserve the natural habitat along the creek banks.
Along with other efforts, ranchers in the coalition have fenced off several miles of the stream to keep cattle from wading into the water and causing pollution.
The group has been so successful at blocking pollution that scientists have used water samples from Spring Creek as a benchmark for comparing other streams.
"Spring Creek is setting the standard," said Jennifer Owen, whose family owns 1,600 acres of ranch land near the stream.
"This isn't rocket science. It defies common sense to introduce an invasive species into an undisturbed habitat."
Owen and other landowners are concerned that trout will begin to dominate Spring Creek, reducing the number of native big-mouth bass and, in the long term, altering the entire ecosystem.
State officials, on the other hand, insist that trout and big-mouth bass can coexist. In court Friday, Assistant Attorney General Scott Boughton cited reports that show little environmental impact on other Oklahoma streams that have been stocked with trout.
As far back as the 1990s, there was political pressure to stock Spring Creek with trout, but the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation resisted until a study could be finished, Boughton said.
"It was studied," he said. "And it was studied very carefully."
Trout were first stocked in Spring Creek two years ago so fly-fishing enthusiasts from Tulsa would have a convenient place to go -- it's less than an hour drive from downtown.
Officials hope that the economies of Locust Grove, Peggs and other towns near the creek will benefit from the increasing popularity of the sport.
For now, however, no more trout will be stocked in the stream while the court considers revoking the permit, officials said.
District Judge James Goodpaster could issue a ruling as soon as next week.
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Michael Overall 581-8383
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