BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

CANTON -- St. Lawrence County legislators on both sides of the aisle have concerns about the Department of Conservation’s decision to end the Walleye stocking program.

The program operated for roughly 40 years thanks to the St. Lawrence Valley Sportsman’s Club and the DEC who worked together to stock walleye in the Oswegatchie River.

In December, the DEC reported in a recent press release that because of that program, the walleye population has remained stable at higher levels for years now, in Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

That’s obviously welcome news for St. Lawrence County anglers, but St. Lawrence County Chairman Dave Forsythe is concerned ending the program altogether will leave the river vulnerable.

He said that if the population begins to fall off again and there is no program in place, it’s a four-year turnaround to get things back up and running, raising fry and introducing them back to the river.

To that end he’s hoping the DEC will be willing to give a presentation to the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators on Monday Jan. 27 where he is hoping to hear an explanation and a plan for monitoring the population going forward.

His concerns are aligned with Nicole Terminelli, D–Massena, who serves as a liaison on the Fish Advisory board.

Terminelli said she shares the same concerns as the Sportsman’s club and other individuals who have spent decades to ensure the walleye population is stable in the Oswegatchie River.

She fears that if the effort isn’t continued it could hurt fishing and tourism in the area.

Bob Flavin who represents the St. Lawrence Valley Sportsman’s Club and has long been involved with the walleye program and he also believes the decision to stop the stocking program warrants more explanation.

“They don’t feel it’s necessary anymore,” he said.

Flavin says that despite what the DEC officials say, many fishermen still believe the stocking is necessary. He worries that if a disease were to run through the population, there would be no way to counter it. He noted that such a situation has occurred with muskie populations in the past.

Flavin says DEC officials are expected to attend a Sports Club Meeting Monday, but the presentation isn’t expected to focus on the stocking issue.

Meanwhile, legislator Forsythe is hopeful the DEC can come to the county meeting prior to that and field some questions about ending what has largely been considered to be a very successful program.

“We just want to make sure we aren’t leaving our walleye population vulnerable,” he said. “We want to know if there is a plan in place going forward so that we don’t undo 40 years of work.

Forsythe said he is unsure at this time if the DEC officials will answer the request to attend the county meeting.

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