OAR 635-500-0120: Objectives of Trout Management

The Department shall proceed with programs and other efforts to achieve the following statewide objectives, consistent with applicable law, agency policy and rule, and recognized funding priorities for the agency. The Statewide Trout Plan will provide specific guidance for the production, harvest and management of trout statewide, consistent with the following objectives: (1) Maintain the genetic diversity and integrity of wild trout stocks throughout Oregon: (a) Strategy 1 — Identify wild trout stocks in the state; (b) Strategy 2 — Minimize the adverse effects of hatchery trout on biological characteristics, genetic fitness, and production of wild stocks; (c) Strategy 3 — Establish priorities for the protection of stocks of wild trout in the state; (d) Strategy 4 — Evaluate the effectiveness of trout management programs in providing the populations of wild trout necessary to meet the desires of the public; (e) Strategy 5 — Update statewide physical and biological surveys of wild trout waters under a standard sampling program. (2) Protect, restore, and enhance trout habitat: (a) Strategy 1 — Continue to strongly advocate habitat protection with land and water management agencies and private landowners; (b) Strategy 2 — Identify irreplaceable habitat that supports stocks of wild trout and seek stringent protection of that habitat; (c) Strategy 3 — Develop an index with land management agencies for monitoring habitat changes; (d) Strategy 4 — Restore and enhance trout habitat and evaluate the effectiveness of enhancement projects. (3) Provide a diversity of trout angling opportunities: (a) Strategy 1 — Determine the desires and needs of anglers; (b) Strategy 2 — Use management alternatives for classifying wild trout waters to provide diverse fisheries; (c) Strategy 3 — Conduct an inventory of public access presently available to trout waters in the state. (4) Determine the statewide management needs for hatchery trout: (a) Strategy 1 — Summarize information on the current hatchery program and determine necessary changes; (b) Strategy 2 — Conduct studies to investigate methods to improve the hatchery trout program (e.g., migration behavior of yearling trout, resistance to disease, sterilization, competition, etc.); (c) Strategy 3 — Decrease dependency on hatchery trout for trout management; (d) Strategy 4 — Evaluate the effectiveness of hatchery trout management programs in meeting the desires of the public. (5) Enhance the public awareness of Oregon’s trout resources: (a) Strategy 1 — Promote values of Oregon’s wild trout resources; (b) Strategy 2 — Increase the involvement of the STEP program in the enhancement of trout; (c) Strategy 3 — Publicize Oregon’s trout management program through the ODFW Office of Public Affairs. [Publications: Publications referenced are available from the agency.]