Warmwater stream and river fisheries in the southeastern United States: Are we managing them in proportion to their values?

We compared findings on stream and river fishing activity in the southeaste rn United States from the 1991 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wil dlife-associated Recreation with those on stream and river management progr ams in this region from a 1995 survey by Warmwater Streams Committee of the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society. Based on the 1991 nat ional survey, two-fifths of all anglers in the Southeast fished streams and rivers; almost one-fourth of the total number of days fished by southeaste rn anglers were in this water type; and more than half of all trip expendit ures, including those associated with lakes, reservoirs, and ponds, were ma de by stream and river anglers. In comparison, southeastern state agencies reported in 1995 that they allocated 10%-19% of their total fisheries budge t and an average of 5 people to programs that manage stream and river resou rces. Approximately one-third of the states had completed fish inventories of less than one-third of their streams and rivers. One-fourth did not have an active warmwater stream and river management program. States with high angler use and abundant stream and river resources tended to have well-deve loped management programs (e.g, Virginia, West Virginia), whereas states wi th low use and limited riverine resources had less-developed programs (e.g. , Oklahoma, Texas). The remaining states fell between this range. Given the substantial use of southeastern warmwater stream and river fisheries, we r ecommend that state agencies increase their emphasis on and proportionally allocate greater human and monetary resources toward managing these valuabl e resources.