(July 22)  he California Department of Fish and Wildlife will stock the county’s lakes and rivers with close to 100 tons of fish per year over the next decade as the result of an agreement ratified by the board of supervisors this week.
Under the terms of the agreement, the state agency will match the amount, pound for pound, of live fish the county will deposit into its lakes at the Cucamonga Guasti, Glen Helen,  Lake Gregory, Mojave Narrows, Prado and Yucaipa regional parks. county’s park division
According to Keith Lee, the director of the county’s regional parks division, “the regional parks department agrees to stock its lakes with fish at a total allotment annually that will match or exceed the annual fish allotment stocked by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, for a period that commences upon approval by both parties and ends on January 1, 2024.  This memorandum of understanding specifies that Fish and Wildlife will provide an annual allotment of fish (pounds), at no cost to the regional parks department, based on a requirement that the department at least matches that allotment of fish. During 2012-13 and 2013-14, the Department spent approximately $640,000 per year for trout and catfish combined (approximately 196,250 pounds per year), which exceeded the department’s match requirement of annual fish allotments.”
The regional parks department charges a fishing fee of $8.00 per person plus an $8 dollar weekday and $10 weekend park entrance fee per vehicle. The  total fishing fee and related entrance fee revenue received in 2012-13 for catfish and trout combined was $873,703 and for 2013-14 was $1,028,731. Fishing fee revenues that exceed the cost of purchasing fish help defray other costs, which include road maintenance, parking lot maintenance, gatekeeping,  and safety services.
The memorandum of understanding with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife approved by the board of supervisors this week continues a cooperative fishing program at the department’s parks that offer fishing.  Those parks include Cucamonga-Guasti, Glen Helen, Lake Gregory, Mojave Narrows, Prado and Yucaipa). The memorandum of understanding specifies that Fish and Wildlife will provide an annual allotment of fish expressed in pounds, at no cost to the department, based on a requirement that the department at least match es that allotment of fish, for the period ending on January 1, 2024, unless terminated sooner. According to Lee, “Working in conjunction with Fish and Wildlife provides a combined fish supply to satisfy ishing enthusiasts who patronize the county’s  regional parks that offer lake amenities. This [allows] the department to partner with Fish and Wildlife for the continued operation of the department’s fishing program in a fiscally prudent manner. The department previously had entered into similar cooperative agreements with Fish and Wildlife in 1981 and 1992. Each agreement was for
a term of five years with five-year automatic extension provisions. Although the state allowed the agreements to lapse, they still continued to provide fish for the department’s fishing program and expected the department to uphold its match.
Under this MOU, the department will be responsible to stock fish at specified parks, and at a level that meets or exceeds the number of pounds of fish that is provided annually by Fish and Wildlife.
Each year Fish and Wildlife determines its fish allotment by weight, and the department is required to match or exceed that amount. If the department does not match the weight of fish stocked by Fish and Wildlife, no additional stocking will be made by Fish and Wildlife until the commitment is met. Historically, the Department has stocked more fish than Fish and Wildlife.
During 2012-13 and 2013-14, the department stocked pproximately 196,250 pounds each year of both trout and catfish. The parks that offer fishing were stocked on a weekly basis by the department and supplemented by Fish and Wildlife at least once a month.