89–010 

Calendar No. 610 

111TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 111–324 

FISH STOCKING IN LAKES IN THE NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK, 

ROSS LAKE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, AND LAKE CHELAN NATIONAL RECREATION AREA 

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2430] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 2430) to continue stocking fish in certain 

lakes in the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National 

Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the Act, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof 

the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘North Cascades National Park Service Complex 

Fish Stocking Act’’. 

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

In this Act: 

(1) NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE COMPLEX.—The term ‘‘North 

Cascades National Park Service Complex’’ means collectively the North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan 

National Recreation Area. 

(2) PLAN.—The term ‘‘plan’’ means the document entitled ‘‘North Cascades 

National Park Service Complex Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan and 

Environmental Impact Statement’’ and dated June 2008. 

(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Interior. 

SEC. 3. STOCKING OF CERTAIN LAKES IN THE NORTH CASCADES NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 

COMPLEX. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the Secretary shall authorize the 

stocking of fish in lakes in the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. 

(b) CONDITIONS.— 

(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to allow stocking of fish in not 

more than 42 of the 91 lakes in the North Cascades National Park Service Complex 

that have historically been stocked with fish. 


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(2) NATIVE NONREPRODUCING FISH.—The Secretary shall only stock fish that are— (A) native to the slope of the Cascade Range on which the lake to be 

stocked is located; and 

(B) nonreproducing, as identified in management alternative B of the 

plan. 

(3) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making fish stocking decisions under this Act, the 

Secretary shall consider relevant scientific information, including the plan and 

information gathered under subsection (c). 

(4) REQUIRED COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall coordinate the stocking of 

fish under this Act with the State of Washington. 

(c) RESEARCH AND MONITORING.—The Secretary shall— 

(1) continue a program of research and monitoring of the impacts of fish 

stocking on the resources of the applicable unit of the North Cascades National 

Park Service Complex; and 

(2) beginning on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of this 

Act and every 5 years thereafter, submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

House of Representatives a report that describes the results of the research and 

monitoring under paragraph (1). 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 2430 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to authorize the stocking of fish in certain lakes in North Cascades 

National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and the Lake 

Chelan National Recreation Area. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The North Cascades National Park Service Complex (which includes Ross Lake National Recreation Area and the Lake Chelan 

Recreational Area) contains over 245 mountain lakes, of which 91 

have been historically stocked with fish. In some cases, the stocking of fish in these lakes dates back to the 1800’s. 

Fishing has been important to the area because of the recreational opportunities it creates. North Cascades National Park 

Complex estimates that 1,000 people fish in the mountain lakes 

each year. To allow for this, fish stocking is necessary because the 

mountain lakes are naturally fish free due to the steep creeks, waterfalls, and rugged nature of the valleys. 

There has been an ongoing concern over the issue of fish stocking 

in the North Cascades National Park Complex. The issue was discussed during congressional hearings on the designation of the 

park. At that time, verbal comments from the Secretary of the Interior and the Director of the National Park Service (Director) indicated that fishing and fish stocking would continue if the area became a unit of the National Park System. These statements, 

though captured in the North Cascades Study Report, were never 

codified in the enabling legislation. 

Since the park was designated in 1968, fish stocking continued 

under various agreements between the National Park Service 

(NPS) and the State of Washington. Continued stocking was authorized under a policy variance issued by the Director. The variance provided some guidance, but did not address long-term considerations and options which are necessary to best understand and 

manage the resource. 

In 1986, the Director, through the variance, directed North Cascades National Park Complex to study and monitor the issue for 

its long term planning purposes. In June 2008, the NPS released 

its Mountain Lakes Fishery Management Plan and Environmental 


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Impact Statement (EIS). The plan and EIS analyzed a range of 

management actions and alternatives for the mountain lakes. 

The plan identified four alternatives. Alternative B, the plan’s 

preferred alternative, recommends the continued stocking of up to 

42 of the lakes that have historically been stocked with fish. It also 

planned for the elimination of some fish populations from certain 

lakes while allowing reproducing populations to remain in others. 

Only non-reproducing fish can be stocked under Alternative B in 

order to minimize the risk of unwanted fish reproduction. Lastly, 

lakes that currently do not have fish would remain fishless under 

the preferred alternative. 

Legislation is needed to exercise the preferred alternative because the Park Service lacks the authority to implement all of required management actions. All of the lakes considered in the plan 

are in a designated wilderness area, and NPS Management Policies 

prohibit fish stocking in waters that were naturally fishless in such 

areas. Without legislation, the NPS will implement Alternative D 

of the plan. Alternative D ceases fish stocking and removes reproducing fish from the mountain lakes, wherever it is feasible to do 

so, to reestablish fish-free lakes again. 

The fish stocking program would be managed by the NPS and 

the State of Washington. Under the program, fish stocking would 

occur every 3 to 10 years and be tailored to specific lake conditions. 

Stocking would be done primarily by volunteers who backpack 

young fish in plastic containers to the lakes. Lakes that are too remote for backpack stocking, will be stocked using fixed wing aircraft chartered by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 2430, sponsored by Representative Hastings of Washington 

and others, passed the House of Representatives, on June 2, 2009, 

by a voice vote. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill on July 22, 2009. S. Hrg. 111–129. 

At its business meeting on August 5, 2010, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered the bill favorably reported 

with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in its open 

business session on August 5, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 2430, if amended 

as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During its consideration of H.R. 2430, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment strikes 

the findings section, adds a definitions section, and adds conditions 

defining where and what types of fish may be stocked. The amendment is described in detail in the section-by-section analysis below. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title, the ‘‘North Cascades National 

Park Service Complex Fish Stocking Act’’. 


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Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill. 

Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to 

allow continued fish stocking in the North Cascades National Park 

Service Complex. 

Subsection (b) defines the conditions under which the stocking 

may occur in up to 42 lakes within the North Cascades National 

Park Service Complex that have historically been stocked. The Secretary may only stock non-reproducing native fish, identified as native to the slope of the Cascade Range on which the lake to be 

stocked is located, and in accordance with management alternative 

B defined in the referenced fishery management plan and environmental impact statement. Stocking decisions are required to be 

based on scientific findings developed through research and monitoring and in coordination with the State of Washington. 

Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to continue research and 

monitoring of the impacts of fish stocking and requires the Secretary to submit a report of findings based on these activities five 

years after enactment of the Act and every five years thereafter to 

the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 2430—North Cascades National Park Service Complex Fish 

Stocking Act 

H.R. 2430 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. Based on information provided by the 

NPS, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2430 would have no 

significant effect on discretionary spending. Under the bill, 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. Enacting the legislation would not affect revenues or direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

H.R. 2430 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant Director for 

the Budget Analysis Division. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

H.R. 2430. 

The Act is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 2430, as ordered reported. 


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CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 2430, as ordered reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 

benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The views of the Department of the Interior were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on H.R. 2430 on 

July 22, 2009, which is printed below: 

STATEMENT OF DANIEL N. WENK, ACTING DIRECTOR, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to provide 

the Department of the Interior’s views on H.R. 2430, a bill 

to direct the Secretary of the Interior to continue stocking 

fish in certain lakes in North Cascades National Park, 

Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (hereafter referred to as ‘‘North 

Cascades Complex’’). 

The Department does not oppose H.R. 2430; however we 

would like to work with the committee on amendments to 

the bill. 

The National Park Service collectively manages North 

Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation 

Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area as North 

Cascades National Park Service Complex. All of the 245 

mountain lakes in the North Cascades Complex area were 

naturally fishless. Fish stocking in this area began in the 

late 1800’s. During this period, approximately 91 lakes 

were stocked at one time or another and 154 lakes were 

never stocked. This fish stocking provided the opportunity 

to fish in these mountain lakes. The issue of continued fish 

stocking arose in 1968 when the proposal to create the 

park was introduced. Although the enabling legislation 

does reference the requirement for a Washington state 

fishing license, it is silent regarding fish stocking. Stocking 

continued after the park was established. However, concerns over the ecological impacts of fish stocking in naturally fish-free waters continued. Then soon after the park 

complex was created, the National Park Service policy regarding fish stocking was revised to provide that fish 

stocking in naturally fish-free waters should not occur. 

Fish stocking was phased out in many national parks 

across the country to restore natural conditions and to preserve native species. In 1988, Congress designated ninety 

three percent of the North Cascades as the Stephen 

Mather Wilderness and 90 of the 91 lakes that had historically been stocked are within the Wilderness area. At the 

time the Wilderness was designated, Congress did not address the issue of stocking the lakes. 

The 2006 Management Policies of the National Park 

Service (NPS) allow for the management of fish populations when necessary to restore resources to their natural 


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state or reestablish a native species that has been extirpated. Stocking of other plants or animals is also allowed 

under certain circumstances. Specifically, the policies provide that ‘‘In some special situations, the Secretary may 

stock native or exotic animals for recreational harvesting 

purposes, but only when such stocking will not unacceptably impact park natural resources or processes and when: • the stocking is of fish into constructed large reservoirs or other significantly altered large water bodies 

and the purpose is to provide for recreational fishing; 

or • the intent for stocking is a treaty right or expressed 

in statute, applicable law, or a House or Senate report 

accompanying a statute. 

The Service will not stock waters that are naturally barren of harvested aquatic species.’’ 

The NPS appreciates the collaborative partnership with 

the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) 

at North Cascades Complex and throughout the State of 

Washington. Despite this strong working relationship, a 

number of challenges have historically arisen when trying 

to reconcile the missions and policies of the WDFW and 

NPS on this stocking program. However, multiple attempts have been made to negotiate a mutually acceptable 

outcome on this issue. For example, in 1987, the Assistant 

Secretary of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife and Parks, negotiated an agreement allowing fish stocking to continue in 

certain lakes while simultaneously conducting research 

into the ecological impacts of stocking. In 1991, the National Park Service entered into a Consent Decree to resolve litigation challenging the fish stocking program 

wherein NPS agreed to conduct research into the ecological 

impacts of fish stocking at North Cascades and then to 

conduct a NEPA review of the fish stocking of naturally 

fish-free lakes. 

A decade of research, conducted in the North Cascades 

Complex through Oregon State University and the USGS 

Biological Resources Division, documented in the North 

Cascades lakes where fish had been stocked in low numbers and could not reproduce, no statistically significant 

ecological effects to native aquatic species were detected. 

However, in self-sustaining populations, non-native trout 

can have significant effects on native aquatic organisms 

such as amphibians and zooplankton. 

In 2002, the NPS in collaboration with WDFW began development of a comprehensive Mountain Lakes Fishery 

Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement (Plan/ 

EIS). The purpose of the planning effort was to apply the 

results of the research and resolve the longstanding conflict over fish stocking in the mountain lakes. 

On November 26, 2008, the NPS issued a Record of Decision for the final Plan/EIS and selected the preferred alternative that would stop stocking and remove fish from 

lakes where significant impacts were occurring (49 lakes) 

but allow stocking of non-reproducing fish at low densities 


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to continue in up to 42 lakes, subject to additional monitoring. In this manner, the EIS found that the stocking 

would not unacceptably impact park natural resources or 

processes in some lakes. However, the Record of Decision 

(ROD) also notes that fish stocking in the Stephen T. 

Mather Wilderness does not meet the minimum requirements analysis conducted under section 4(c) of the Wilderness Act. In addition, the ROD recognizes that to be consistent with NPS policy, the NPS would need the legal authority to implement the preferred alternative. The ROD 

further provides and that if the legal authority was not 

provided to the NPS by July 1, 2009, the NPS, consistent 

with NPS policy, would discontinue the stocking program 

in its entirety and work to restore the natural ecology of 

all the mountain lakes. In the majority of lakes this would 

be accomplished through the combination of not stocking 

and continued fishing. Over time, natural mortality would 

remove the remainder. In lakes where naturally reproducing populations were found, the NPS would work to remove these fish. Realistically at least ten lakes are so 

large that no known removal techniques will work and fish 

populations will remain for the foreseeable future. 

The NPS is interested in ensuring that any legislation 

regarding fish stocking is guided by science and an understanding of the impact that such policy decisions would 

have on park resources. We recommend, for example, that 

any stocked fish be both native to the local watershed and 

be functionally sterile. And we request that the Secretary 

continue a program of monitoring the impacts of fish stocking in order to determine if further adjustments are needed to protect aquatic resources. We would welcome an opportunity to work with the Committee and the sponsors of 

this legislation on the language of these proposed amendments. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I 

would be pleased to answer any questions you or other 

members of the Subcommittee may have. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the Act H.R. 2430, as ordered reported. 

Æ 


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