On Monday, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Board of Commissioners held its 164th quarterly meeting at the Harrisburg Headquarters. While much of the meeting focused on routine property transfers, grant reviews and updates to regulations in response to requests from property owners, the big news centered on an ongoing conflict involving Class A Trout Waters.

Almost every meeting in recent history has shared a common theme — the addition of waters to the list of Class A Trout Waters. Dozens of waters have been added per meeting, with it not being uncommon for the number to be 90-plus new Class A Trout Waters being approved in a single sitting. While this may seem like a win for conservation and wild trout populations, there are two sides to every coin.

The flip side of this coin means that waters were being added at a rate that far exceeded the staff’s ability to honestly evaluate the long-term ramifications or public impact. Although the commissioners have the final say, it is unrealistic to believe any commissioner was fully educated on the specifics of each of these waters. They were approving almost any list that was presented and supported by the biologists. Most members of the public were unaware of the waters being added, and even fewer were aware of how to submit comments on the proposed rulemaking.

Eventually, things were going to come to a head, and that finally occurred earlier this year at a small stream in Potter County, known as Freeman Run. Freeman Run had previously been managed as a Stocked Trout Water; however, it was removed from the program in 2020 due to the documentation of high levels of wild-born trout. Once removed from the stocking program, Freeman Run was listed as a Class A Trout Stream, which includes a prohibition against future stockings.

Fast-forward, and the commission started fielding complaints from anglers regarding the lack of stocking in Freeman Run. Although the wild trout population has continued to expand, the wild trout do not provide the same fishing opportunities for anglers who had grown accustomed to taking legal fish home for their own use. Pressure mounted, and the commission started looking for a solution.

The solution was to return a small portion of Freeman Run to the stocking program, thus providing increased angling opportunities while still protecting the majority of the waterway’s wild trout populations. Of course, this is not as easy as it sounds. First, regulations prohibit the stocking of Class A waters. Second, fish swim, so stocking one section does not prevent impacting wild trout outside the proposed stocking boundaries.

After much discussion and multiple commission meetings, the commissioners have approved returning a portion of Freeman Run (Section 4) to the stocking program. To accommodate this, the commissioners also needed to approve a change to the Class A regulations permitting limited stocking for the purpose of studying the effects of stocked trout on wild populations. Interesting solution.

Of course, this change will not solve the problem; it just kicks the can down the road. As the study progresses, purists will continue to complain about the degradation of Class A waters, and others will push for similar changes to other waters. Meanwhile, commissioners will continue to approve extending Class A protections to additional waters.

The changes to Freeman Run are a done deal. The regulations changes have been approved, and stocked rainbows will be returning. Meanwhile, it is time for the commissioners to push the pause button. No more Class A waters. No more stocking of current Class A waters. Instead, take some time to reevaluate the process for proposing a Class A designation. Include a more thorough review of each water by staff and commissioners. Although this will slow the process in the long run, it will add more credibility to the program.