The Wilderness Act and Fish Stocking: An Overview of Legislation, Judicial Interpretation, and Agency Implementation

Many high-elevation lakes in designated wilderness are stocked with native and nonnative fish by state fish and game agencies to provide recreational fishing opportunities. In several areas, this practice has become controversial with state wildlife managers who support historical recreational use of wilderness, federal wilderness managers who assert that stocking compromises some of the ecological and social values of wilderness, and different public groups that support one or the other position. Herein we examine this controversy from the perspective of the 1964 Wilderness Act, its judicial interpretation, the policies of the federal agencies, and formal agreements between federal and state agencies. Although some state stocking programs restore native fish populations, other programs may compromise some of the ecological and social values of wilderness areas. Further, although current federal regulations recognize state authority for fish stocking, judicial interpretation gives federal agencies the authority for direct involvement in decisions regarding fish stocking in wilderness. Where there are differences of opinion between state and federal managers, this judicial interpretation strongly points to the need for improved cooperation, communication, and coordination between state wildlife managers and federal wilderness managers to balance recreational fishing opportunities and other wildlife management activities with wilderness values. Received 28 March 2000; Accepted 16 August 2000.     

Local and Landscape Effects of Introduced Trout on Amphibians in Historically Fishless Watersheds

Introduced trout have often been implicated in the decline of high-mountain amphibian populations, but few studies have attempted to understand whether fish stocking also influences the distribution and abundance of amphibians throughout entire mountain basins, including the remaining fishless lakes. We examined this relationship using the relative abundance of long-toed salamanders (Ambystoma macrodactylum) and Columbia spotted frogs (Rana luteiventris) in fish-containing and fishless lentic sites in basins with varying levels of historic fish stocking. All lentic waters were surveyed for fish and amphibians in 11 high-elevation basins in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, Idaho, between 1994 and 1999. We found introduced trout (Oncorhynchus clarki, O. mykiss, O. m. aguabonita) in 43 of the 101 sites, representing 90% of the total surface area of lentic water bodies available. At the scale of individual water bodies, after accounting for differences in habitat characteristics between fish-containing and fishless sites, the abundance of amphibians at all life stages was significantly lower in lakes with fish. At the basin scale, densities of overwintering life stages of amphibians were lower in the fishless sites of basins where more habitat was occupied by trout. Our results suggest that many of the remaining fishless habitats are too shallow to provide suitable breeding or overwintering sites for these amphibians and that current trout distributions may eventually result in the extirpation of amphibian populations from entire landscapes, including sites that remain in a fishless condition. Received 28 March 2000;Accepted 2 January 2001.     

Wilderness Fish Stocking: History and Perspective

The stocking of trout in wilderness lakes of the western United States began in the 1800s. This practice was followed for nearly a century with the singular goal of creating and enhancing sport fishing and without any consideration of its ecological ramifications. Following the advent of a new environmental awareness in the 1960s, and thanks to new research that revealed negative impacts on the biota attributable to introduced fishes, traditional fish-stocking practices came under question first at federal land management agencies and later at their counterparts within the states. The highly utilitarian ethic that drove resource management until well into the 1960s was gradually replaced by one that acknowledges the value of all life forms and their ecological complexity, a view currently supported even by many anglers. The necessity for wilderness fish stocking is now the subject of widespread debate, especially in view of changing social values and priorities. Options for future generations cannot be preserved if introductions continue to erode the biodiversity of mountain lake ecosystems. Received 28 March 2000; accepted 30 May 2000.     

Characteristics and habitats of non-native plant species in the city of Chonju,southern Korea

Investigations on non-native organisms have become an important task of modern ecology throughout the world. The major objective of this study was to identify the characteristics and habitats of non-native plant species in Korean cities in order to derive conclusions on the success of biological invaders. The city of Chonju in southwest Korea was selected as a representative investigation area. All wild-growing vascular plants were recorded in the city on a total of 106 sample plots located in representative land-use types and within various distances of the city center. Frequency, origin, life forms, and plant families of non-native species were analyzed. Additionally, the percentage of non-native species along a gradient from the city center to the outskirts was investigated. We found that most common non-native species of the flora of Chonju are: (i) native to the Northern hemisphere; (ii) belong to the annuals; (iii) belong to the plant families of the Compositae or Leguminosae; and (iv) they perform best on sites that are continuously disturbed by human impact. In conclusion, non-native species play a significant role in enhancing biological diversity in urban areas.