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Show fish weighing about 1.8 million pounds were stocked during the period July 1968 to July 1970. Over 80 percent of the fish planted were trout. The rainbow trout is the major hatchery species and is presently the most abundant trout species in the State. About 3.7 million trout are stocked annually in the streams, lakes and reservoirs within the confines of the Bonneville Unit. Approximately 3.2 million trout are released into reservoirs. Most of the trout destined for reservoirs are planted in Strawberry ( 2.0 million), Deer Creek ( 100,000), and Starvation ( 550,000) Reservoirs. The Upper Provo Lakes receive about 35,000 fish while stream plantings approximate 400,000 trout. The recent trend has been to reduce the amount of stream stock and rely upon natural reproduction to sustain fisheries. This approach is usually applied in sections of stream that are not heavily fished and/ or contain an adaptive species of fish such as the brown trout « , Currently the fisheries of Upper Rock Creek and Strawberry River are operated in this way. The August 1970 draft of the Utah Fishing Waters Inventory and Classification73 published by the Utah State Department of Natural Resources reported that there are presently about 395,000 acres of reservoirs and lakes in the State. Over 200,000 acres of this total are comprised of reservoirs over 500 acres in size. Utah ranks 15th among the 50 states in reservoir acreage. Utah Lake is the Statefs largest fresh- water lake and covers a maximum of about 96,000 acres. The Bonneville Unit area has about 16,000 acres of reservoirs most of which are contained in Strawberry Reservoir ( 8,400 acres), Starvation Reservoir ( 3,300 acres), Deer Creek Reservoir ( 2,600 acres) and Mona Reservoir ( 1,600 acres). The State has also inventoried streams. The present inventory includes 5,377 miles of stream of which 3,268 miles are classified as trout habitat. By contract Idaho possesses about 5,300 miles of trout streams and Wyoming lists 19,000 miles of trout water. Within the scope of the proposed Bonneville Unit there are roughly 175 streams stretching about 1,600 miles that qualify as trout habitat. Approximately 1,200 miles of these streams are in the Bonneville Basin with the rest being located in the Uinta Basin. About 40 miles of stream are located in United States Forests. ' Besides documenting the quantity of fishing waters the State has also studied quality. Each stream, reservoir and lake has been investigated and rated numerically ( 1 to 5) for esthetics, availability for use and capability to produce fish. Resulting values were then multiplied by factors of 1 for esthetics, 2 for availability, and 4 for productivity,, 132 |
