CHARLESTON, WV: "The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has informed the state of West Virginia that it needs to stop stocking trout in waterways with populations of certain endangered and threatened species.

“It just makes me blooming sick,” Justice said in a briefing on Wednesday…“Bottom line, we don’t want to be doing any damage whatsoever. But just to come in out out of the clear blue nowhere and say your trout stocking program is over if you don’t sign up to do all of this stuff and everything, your trout stocking program statewide is over. You know, it’s terrible.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service identified populations of candy darters, Guyandotte River crayfish, and big sandy crayfish in those waterways. All three are either listed as endangered or threatened. The Fish and Wildlife Service says that stocked trout could prey on those species at dangerously high levels and has mandated the state to stop stocking in those rivers. If the state ignores that mandate, it could lose federal funding for the entire stocking program.

Justice says that the West Virginia DNR disagrees with the Fish and Wildlife Service’s assessment, saying that stocked trout do not affect native species in a significant way. According to Justice, the Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision is part of a statewide trend of federal agencies tightening down on the state for what he believes are political reasons. The service is also delaying progress on a portion of Corridor H in Tucker County after a Rusty Patched Bumblebee was found nearby. Meanwhile, the USDA forced the State Wildlife Center to close due to an issue over a secondary containment fence. The center cannot exhibit animals until the issue is resolved and the center gets its new license.

Justice says it’s because of political differences between the state and federal government.

“I’m calling on President Biden to stop this all out war on West Virginia by his federal agencies,” Justice said in a press release after the briefing. “It’s so blatantly targeted at our state and our people because we happen to disagree on political issues. It’s just plain wrong."

https://woay.com/it-just-makes-me-blooming-sick-federal-mandate-to-end-trout-stocking-in-certain-greenbrier-nicholas-and-wyoming-waterways/