Photo by John Dahlia/Preston County News and Journal
For 15 years, the community-based non-profit Trout for Cheat, Inc., has been quietly raising money and collecting government grants so they can purchase and release thousands of pounds of rainbow trout into the Cheat River.
This year alone, the group has been able to purchase enough trout to stage three releases since April. The most recent was Thursday, May 8, when approximately 2,000 pounds of trout were released into the Cheat River between Rowelsburg and Kingwood on WV Rt. 72.
The non-profit is able to do this with the help of an elimination dinner fundraiser and matching grant dollars from the state.
The drastic difference in funding this year means the non-profit can only purchase enough rainbow trout for four release events during the spring, three of which have already taken place. In the past they had enough money to stock the Cheat River up to nine times.
Clearly, stocking a Preston County river is a good thing for the environment, but also has a big impact on county and state tourism.
The question is, why haven’t the Preston County Commission, Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitor’s Bureau or any other government entity been willing to fund Trout for Cheat’s fish stocking activities? What they are doing is by definition in support of state and county tourism.
If they have been doing this for 15 years have they kept any records of the economic impacts? Being able to show how they are increasing the tourism and tourism dollars will play a large part in getting local government and quasi government support. As Federal dollars shrink local governments want to use funding available to the best return for the public.
Stocking an invasive species is clearly not a good thing for the environment. Is the Author serious? The Cheat River downstream of Elkins is a warm water river. Dumping thousands of pounds of trout that will only perish or stack up at cool water inlets to be netted out and should be classified as wanton waste. The River is rebounding from decades of industrial pollutants and has a very limited carrying capacity. Shouldn’t the state focus on making this another successful Smallmouth Bass fishery in the same way the New and Greenbrier River are destination fisheries that don’t need thousands of dollars in supplemental stockings. Wild fish are free… Zero dollars. Redirect this groups focus and fund raising abilities towards enhancing and restoring the watershed and the Cheat River will do the rest on its own.