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Each season, there appears to be a hot-button topic that gets the attention of Pennsylvania sportsmen and those who follow the activities of the PGC & PFBC. Usually, this involves deer numbers, trout stocking numbers or opening-day dates -- issues that have statewide implications. The fall of 2026 is a little different. This year's hot topic concerns steelhead.
Many Pennsylvania anglers have never heard of steelheads, much less caught one. However, those lucky enough to make the trip to the Erie tributaries that these magnificent fish call home will never forget their first steelie. On a good day, the number of fish and the number of anglers chasing these fish rivals the first day of trout season on even the most popular stream. Now fans of the steelhead want to know what the future holds.
As early as 2003, anglers began to worry. The commission needed additional funding, a bill to increase license fees was stalled, and unofficial reports claimed that three fish culture stations were to be closed. Fairview, the main location for raising steelhead smolt, was rumored to be one of the three. Thankfully, the closure did not come to be. But that did not lessen the concern. The worry shifted to the identified upgrades needed at Fairview to maintain full capacity.
The cost of maintaining and upgrading Fairview was one reason it was rumored to be on the chopping block in 2003. Even if a closure did not happen, those improvements would still need to be completed, or production would need to be cut. Those cuts were announced almost immediately.
The commission's goal of approximately 1,000,000 smolt per season was maintained by shifting additional production to the Tionesta and Linesville facilities, with Fairview dropping to a distant second in terms of smolt produced. But by 2024, that number was no longer sustainable. That year, smolt numbers decreased to approximately 800,000. In 2025, the number decreased even further to approximately 500,000 -- half of the goal. The decreases were blamed on resource constraints, but additional questions were raised after Fairview shifted some production toward increased brown trout production. Were steelhead no longer a priority?
In 2024, the commission announced approval of a $25 million improvement project at Fairview. In 2025, Executive Director Timothy Schaeffer assured anglers, guides, and local business owners that the improvement project would not only allow a return to the goal of 1,000,000 smolt but also enable Fairview to produce that number without assistance from other locations. That's great news for anglers and maybe the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is not the end of the journey.
As of today, the project is still in the planning phase. Once that review is completed, which requires involvement from several agencies outside the commission, construction will still be a thing of the future. First, there needs to be a solicitation of bids; those bids need to be reviewed; a bid needs to be accepted; and then contracts need to be drawn up. Only then can construction begin, and the current plans indicate the project will take between three and five years to complete.
Chances are, it will be 2030 or later before Fairview can sustain steelhead stocking on its own. The question for now is: will the numbers drop even lower until then?