Budget Cuts Could Jeopardize Fishing in Oklahoma City Lakes

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Catching a prized fish could soon get a little tougher. Oklahoma City's budget issues have put the city's fish hatchery on the chopping block.

Every department in Oklahoma City has been asked to cut 12 percent. For the Parks and Recreation department, the cut equals $2.6 million. Critics said the hatchery should not be on the cut list.

"Frankly, the budget crisis we have right now, we don't have the money to continue to fund the fish hatchery," said Parks and Recreation Director Wendel Whisenhunt.

The H.B. Parsons Hatchery in Oklahoma City has six ponds that provide the environment for young fish, fry, to grow. The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation provides fry free of charge to the city. The fry have to be reared in the ponds until they are big enough to survive in the city's lakes.

Bob Martin, the fisheries biologist at the hatchery, has raised millions of fish to stock lakes like Hefner and Overholser for more than 27 years.

In addition to the future of fishing in Oklahoma City, Martin's job is also on the line. It would save the city $150,000 to close the hatchery, but the city would be losing big returns that make the $150,000 investment look small.

"If the city had to replace the fish we provide for free, to buy these fish, it would cost them somewhere in the neighborhood of half a million dollars a year," said Gene Gilliland with Oklahoma's Department of Wildlife Conservation.

The city also benefits from federal dollars the Department of Wildlife uses in the city because of their current partnership with the city.

"For every hour Bob and his staff puts in, we get a federal match. So for every dollar worth of time Bob puts in, we can get $3 worth of federal money. That money is used to do a lot of other programs around the city, particularly the close to home fishing programs. If the hatchery closes, all that matched funding goes away too," Gilliland said.

Without the hatchery, Gilliland said he cannot guarantee Oklahoma City lakes will be stocked with fish. That's because the city's lakes will significantly drop on the state's priority list for stocking without the hatchery. The state's own hatcheries do not have the space to raise enough fish to keep Oklahoma City at it's current fishability level without the H.B. Parsons Hatchery.

"Fishing will decline. There's just not way to get around that. When the fishing gets poor enough, they'll quit buying fishing licenses. They'll quit buying city fishing permits. They won't go to tackle shops. That's all a loss in revenue," Gilliland said.

Whisenhunt said he believes the city's fisheries can survive without the hatchery. He said other cities make it work and that fish will reproduce on their own. That is true for certain kinds of fish like catfish, but the reason anglers go to fish at Lake Hefner and Overholser are for the Walleye and Striped Bass Hybrids.

"Natural reproduction of Walleye and Striped Bass Hybrids is very limited. If you take stocking out of the equation, the fish population will decline fast," Gilliland said.

Whisenhunt said he doesn't have a choice but to include the hatchery in his budget cut proposal.

"In order to reduce our budget by $2.6 million, we are having to make reductions across the board. There will be a reduction in mowing, reduction in recreation centers, gymnasiums, reduction of administrative positions. There will be pools that won't open," Whisenhunt said.

Whisenhunt is scheduled to present the Parks and Recreation Department Budget on May 25, 2010. At that point, the city council has the right to ask for revisions and changes. Ultimately, the council has to approve the budget and any cuts.

The Hook and Hunt radio show will be discussing the possibility of closing the fish hatchery. Listen every Saturday morning from 5 a.m. until 7 a.m. at AM 1520 KOKC in Oklahoma City and voice your opinion on the matter by calling 1-866-654-5489.

Check their Web site for more station information and more details on the Hook and Hunt radio show.