HB1417: relative to wild trout management.

HB 1417-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2024 SESSION

24-2342

08/05

HOUSE BILL 1417-FN

AN ACT relative to wild trout management.

SPONSORS: Rep. Read, Rock. 10; Rep. Porcelli, Rock. 19; Rep. H. Howard, Straf. 4; Rep. Kenney, Straf. 10; Rep. D. Kelley, Hills. 32; Sen. Watters, Dist 4

COMMITTEE: Fish and Game and Marine Resources

ANALYSIS

This bill makes a plan for wild brook trout management.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24-2342

08/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

AN ACT relative to wild trout management.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Wild Trout Management. Amend RSA 212 by inserting after section 21 the following new section:

212:21-a Wild Trout Management.

I. The department shall maintain a wild trout management program, whereby state fresh water bodies that native populations of wild brook trout, salvelinus fontinalis, are present, and that meet other criteria set forth by the department for inclusion in the program, shall be managed for the protection of self-sustaining populations of wild native brook trout.

II. Activities in such waters included in the program shall have the following restrictions, at a minimum, and the department may set forth additional restrictions:

(a) The department shall not stock fresh waters included in the program;

(b) The open water season shall not be longer than January 1 through October 15;

(c) Only single hook artificial lures and flies shall be used and all hooks shall be barbless or have all barbs pinched;

(d) All brook trout shall be immediately released unharmed to the water; and

(e) Fishing through the ice, from the ice, or from any object supported by the ice shall be prohibited.

III. The executive director shall prepare a comprehensive list of waters eligible for the program that have a self-sustaining population of wild brook trout in which the sustaining populations are most threatened and waters in which the sustaining populations are most likely to endure the effects of projected ecological change. The executive director shall review such list at least every 10 years with the purpose of expanding the list of waters in the program, and shall prepare a report detailing the list of waters considered and reasons for inclusion or non-inclusion in the program. The executive director shall send a copy of the report to the chairpersons of the standing committees in the house of representatives and the senate with jurisdiction over fish and game issues. The executive director shall also publish the report on the department's public Internet website. The first such review and report shall be completed by January 1, 2025.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

LBA

24-2342

12/3/23

HB 1417-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to wild trout management.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None

Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease)

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

Revenue

$0

Potentially Between $0 - $5,000,000 Per Year

See Methodology Below

Revenue Fund(s)

Fish and Game Fund

Expenditures

$0

Potentially Between $0 - $3,000,000 Per Year

See Methodology Below

Funding Source(s)

Fish and Game Fund

Appropriations

$0

$0

$0

$0

Funding Source(s)

None

• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] N/A

• Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] N/A

METHODOLOGY:

This bill would require the Fish and Game Department to prepare a list of waterbodies for inclusion in a program to protect self-sustaining wild brook trout populations by not stocking waterbodies that have wild brook trout and that “meet other criteria set forth by the department”. The Department states since the “other criteria” has not yet been determined, the actual impact to anglers and state revenues cannot be determined and notes it currently has a program to not stock 16 waterbodies that contain wild brook trout. The Department states that there is a range of no fiscal impact (if no additional waterbodies are added to the program) to a multi-million-dollar impact decrease to its revenue and expenditures if most of the stocking is discontinued. Beginning in FY 2025, the Department states impact on revenues could potentially be anywhere from $0 to $5,000,000 per year, and expenditures could potentially be decreased anywhere from $0 to $3,000,000 per year.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Fish and Game Department