House Approves Fish Stocking In North Cascades

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House has passed a bill that would continue fish stocking in North Cascades National Park if the National Park Service determines it won’t hurt lake ecosystems.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., passed Monday. An amendment limits the program to 42 lakes and to fish that are sterile and native to the Cascade Range.

The park service had asked Congress to grant it legal authority to continue stocking trout in the North Cascades, a practice fishermen began in the late 1800s. Most national parks have discontinued stocking trout in lakes that historically had no fish.

The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate.