So I looked up the Center for Biological Diversity. It's based in Tuscon.

Okay, so save some roadrunners and snakes in the desert. Leave our fishing economy alone.

Here's what Wikipedia says:

The Center for Biological Diversity based in Tucson, Arizona, is a nonprofit membership organization with approximately 180,000 members, known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action and scientific petitions. The Center has offices and staff in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Oregon, Montana, Illinois, Minnesota, Alabama and Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suckling, Peter Galvin, Todd Schulke, and Robin Silver.

Sounds like meddlers.

And planting non-native fish in a river isn't meddling? :-P

OK, I get it. People love fishing. They want the environment shaped to their will so they can enjoy to do what they want.

And honestly, there's value in drawing people out into the outdoors. It fosters an appreciation for natural beauty, which hopefully instills a sense of conservation and contributes to us all wanting to having a beautiful, natural environment and all that lovely stuff.

I was thinking, why not just plant Golden Trout in the whole river, the way it used to be? But I suppose there's plenty of people who want to be able to eat what they catch and those are too small for that.

At first glance it seems like a "Why come mess with a good thing?" situation, but I won't say that's my opinion until I've heard the story from different sides.

There is a native rainbow trout in that part of the Kern River called Kern River Trout. So planting other rainbows is like planting their cousins. Mating with cousins is okay in the fish world, not so much in the people species.

And the reality is that if you plant Golden Trout in the Kern, the bigger fish will eat them. That's like fish cannibalism which is also okay in the fish world, not so much in the people species.

OMGosh, you mean the environmentalist finally did something to affect the liberals?  Not necessarily you Steve, but maybe.

I have caught hundreds of fish in the Kern in the last 5 years, and realeased all of them.  I fly fish and enjoy the sport more than killing a fish.  However I am not opposed to someone taking a fish to eat at all.  The stretch of the river from Kernville to Johnsondale is stocked often, esp. during the summer.  There may be some hold over trout in there but golden trout?  No way.  They are at the higher elevations and hard to reach spots, not in the upper Kern.   I enjoy the beauty of the outdoors and there is nothing more beautiful than a fighting rainbow trout in a clean river.  Guess what, I'm a conservative.  I might even understand the river better than a group from Arizona.

I am glad this happened (kinda) as liberal support for environmental issues is strong and it will show how far environmentalist  will go.  It always sounds good when they "save" a river somewhere else.  Well Kern residents, your river has just been "SAVED".  At least you can tell the fishing stories to your grandkids someday

This is really sad.  I fish in the Upper Kern all the time and it'll be sad to not make that stretch anymore due to the lack of fish.  I have never seen a Golden Trout in the upper Kern.  There are plenty in other areas... up near Bishop, for sure.  

The stupidity of this is what gets me.  Like a Tucson group has any clue what goes on around here?  Sounds like the usual conservationist, liberal garbage to me.

I too am very disappointed in the ruling.  

However, sadly there are more facts to this story that have been left out. There are 16 species  of fish that the enviromentalists are corcerned about. Two of them, the golden trout and hardhead, reside or have resided in the Kern River. I have personally landed two goldens below Fairview Dam in the last 5 years (probably lost or washed down in the extremely high spring melts).  Hardhead are small minnows that school on the fringes of the river. Because these 2 species reside in the river no stocking of non-native trout can occur because of this law suit. Sadly no resonable agreement could be negotiated.

Native species of trout can be planted. There has been a plan to rear native Kern River Rainbows at the Kernville Planting Base for years but they need a well water source (reliably clean and cold). Money was approved to drill the wells 2 years ago but DFG and US Forestry personell still have not made it happen????????????  Genetic studies to identfy the best brood stock in the Golden Trout Wilderness have been onging for years as well with no conclusion. Now all who enjoy fishing the river and those who will profit from it will suffer dearly. Another example of poorly run governmont agencies.  Let's hope they get their act together sooner than later. I won't hold my breath.

Hey I like fishing. Do a lot of it. But I do it for the recreation. If I want to do it for the economy. I’d fish at the many private, pay for fishing spots located all over California. Including Buena Vista Lake.

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that fishing is a sport. Catching is not. Get rid of all barbed hooks. Lower the limits. And increase Ranger supervision of these and other fishing laws. This would Help

I have never found fishing numbers to be ‘GREAT’ below the Johnsondale Bridge. For that matter Kennedy Meadows is not really GREAT.

BIG, Horse, Fish Meadows. Peppermint Creek upper and lower. Stoney Creek. And many more smaller creeks have much better results than the Kern. And these are the areas that the recreational fisherman tend to go. And these areas are the spots that provide the Kernville area with much of their business. Not the day tripper that is just passing through for a couple of hours on the Kern.

When You head to the back country. Kernville is the last stop for gas, water, Ice and other perishables. You stop at the Ranger Station for maps and Fire Permits. You stop for your last prepared meal at a restaurant.

Business will be down next year. But it will be because of the economy. Not the lack of plants. Sports Fisherman go for the fishing and the recreation. Not the catching.

If my fishing enjoyment was based on catching. I would have stopped fishing a long time ago. I love to fish. But I not very good at it.

Kind of like I love to shoot Hoops. But a slam dunk for me would be a 100 to one odds that ‘I can’t dunk‘. And hitting the backboard from 15 feet is a good shot for me.

P.S.

Keep the price of fuel below 2 Bucks a gallon and Kernville will prosper like no time before. No matter how good the fishing is..

Geez, you'd think they were planting piranhas instead of other trout. What a drag.