Class A Wild Trout Waters are the highest

biomass Biomass is a term used in several contexts: in the context of ecology it means living organisms, and in the context of bioenergy it means matter from recently living (but now dead) organisms. In the latter context, there are variations in how ...

class given to streams in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

by the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a sepa ...

. They are considered to contain the highest-quality naturally reproducing

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

populations in Pennsylvania. The first streams received their Class A Wild Trout Waters designations in 1983. There are now hundreds of such waters, comprising nearly of streams. Class A Wild Trout Waters receive certain legal protections. For instance, they are typically classified by the

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the agency in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania responsible for protecting and preserving the land, air, water, and public health through enforcement of the state's environmental laws ...

as High-Quality Coldwater Fisheries. Most Class A Wild Trout Waters are subject to standard statewide angling regulations by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The official definition of Class A Wild Trout Waters is "streams that support a population of naturally produced trout of sufficient size and abundance to support a long-term and rewarding sport fishery". These streams are considered to be the best

angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

streams in Pennsylvania and most of the state's 67 counties contain at least one. Class A Wild Trout Waters are virtually never stocked, although many were prior to receiving their designation. There are different total biomass criteria for different species and combinations of species, but for brook trout alone, the minimum is , and for brown trout alone, the minimum is .

History

The modern stream classification system of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, including Class A Wild Trout Waters, was developed with Operation Future, which marked a transition from recreation-based management to resource-based management, in 1983. Following statewide stream surveys in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission created a set of biomass standards for trout streams in the state. The first streams were designated as Class A Wild Trout Waters in 1983. At that time, 138 stream sections, totaling nearly of streams, were found to meet the criteria. As more streams were assessed, the number of Class A Wild Trout Waters grew rapidly. By 2005, there were 436 Class A Wild Trout Waters, totaling . By the end of 2008, there were 487 such stream sections, which together included of streams. By 2014, there were 510 Class A Wild Trout Waters, comprising of streams. In the 2010s, the fact that the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission was considering adding seven

urban stream An urban stream is a formerly natural River, waterway that flows through a Urban area, heavily populated area. Often times, urban streams are low-lying points in the landscape that characterize catchment urbanization. Urban streams are often Water ...

s to its list of Class A Wild Trout Watersthus ending stocking therecaused some criticism by anglers who believed that this would impact the quality of fishing in heavily fished streams such as Monocacy Creek and

Little Lehigh Creek Little Lehigh Creek is approximately long and is located in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is sometimes referred to as the Little Lehigh River. It is the largest tributary of the Lehigh River. The creek flows in a win ...

. However, the criticism was not universal, with proponents pointing out that a redesignation would provide extra protection for the streams. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission eventually decided to classify them as Class A Wild Trout Waters, but continue stocking them in the spring to satisfy angler demand. According to ''Pennsylvania Outdoor News'' Person of the Year Bill Anderson, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has become hesitant to classify streams as Class A Wild Trout Waters due to "'social' concerns".

Description and distribution

The official definition of Class A Wild Trout Waters is "streams that support a population of naturally produced trout of sufficient size and abundance to support a long-term and rewarding sport fishery". Class A Wild Trout Waters are the "best of the best" streams for trout fishing in Pennsylvania. They are distributed widely across the state. However, most are found in north-central and

Northeastern Pennsylvania Northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA or Nepa) is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the Pocono Mountains, the Endless Mountains, and the industrial cities of Scranton (the area's largest city), Wilkes-Barre, Pittston, Ha ...

, while very few are in the western third of the state. Some Class A Wild Trout Waters are located in the

Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos (), are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the nort ...

or the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley () is a geography, geographic and urban area, metropolitan region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton counties in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a co ...

in eastern

. As of 2009, 49 of the state's 67 counties contain at least one Class A Wild Trout stream. However, in that year, only nine counties contained at least of Class A Wild Trout Waters. Class A Wild Trout Waters are virtually never stocked with trout since they are managed solely for the propagation of wild trout. However, most current Class A Wild Trout streams were historically stocked with trout prior to the introduction of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's classification system. They may also be tributaries of streams that are stocked with trout. In 2014, there were 274 Class A Wild Trout Waters for

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

, comprising of streams. There were 163 such stream segments for

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

, making up a total of of streams, and 62 Class A Wild Trout Waters for both brook trout and brown trout, totaling . There were only 11 Class A Wild Trout Waters for

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

, making up of streams.

Criteria

In order to be listed as Class A Wild Trout Waters, a stream must be surveyed by Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission biologists with "approved protocols" to determine that it meets the relevant standards. The official designation is carried out by the Board of Commissioners. The criteria for Class A Wild Trout Waters vary by species. For

, a biomass of , including at least of brook trout less than long. Additionally, brook trout may not make up less than 75 percent of the total wild trout biomass. The requirements are the same for

except that the minimum brown trout biomass is . For a stream to be Class A Wild Trout Waters for both brook trout and brown trout, the combined biomass of both species must be at least and the biomass of each species must include at least of trout less than long. Neither species may make up more than 75 percent of the total wild trout biomass. The criteria for

are considerably simpler: the only requirement is that the biomass of wild rainbow trout less than long must be at least . There is only one stream in Pennsylvania that is Class A Wild Trout Waters for brook trout and rainbow trout: Roaring Run. There are several rankings with lower biomass requirements in the

's classification system: Class B Wild Trout Waters, Class C Wild Trout Waters, Class D Wild Trout Waters, and Class E Wild Trout Waters.

Legal significance

The

designates Class A Wild Trout Waters as High-Quality Coldwater Fisheries, provided that there has been an adequate period of public comment and participation. This provides such streams with extra legal protections under the federal

Clean Water Act The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution. Its objective is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters; recognizing the primary respo ...

. Thus, any activity involving discharges into a Class A Wild Trout Stream is required to comply with more restrictive standards than for other streams. Some streams receive Exceptional Value status due to their classification as Class A Wild Trout Waters. Under Section 57.8a of the

Pennsylvania Code The ''Pennsylvania Code'' is a publication of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, listing all rules, regulations, and other administrative documents from the Government of Pennsylvania. Citation Title 1 section 1.2 of the ''Pennsylvania Code'' su ...

, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is to manage trout populations in Class A Wild Trout Waters as renewable natural resources, and to conserve the populations for anglers. The Susquehanna River Basin Commission bases its water withdrawal policy in part on the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's biomass classifications system. The habitat loss criteria for Class A Wild Trout Waters is 5 percent, except in cases of social or economic justification, in which case it is 7.5 percent. Class A Wild Trout Waters are subject to several

regulations. The vast majority (92 percent) of such steams are managed with the statewide minimum length of and the maximum creel limit of five fish. Of the 40+ Class A Wild Trout Waters under special regulations, about half are managed with a

Catch and Release Catch and release is a practice within recreational fishing where after capture the fish is Fish hook, unhooked and returned live to the water. Originally adopted in the United Kingdom by Coarse fishing, coarse fishermen to Overfishing, preser ...

regulation. Trophy Trout and Wild Brook Trout Enhancement regulations apply to the remainder. A total of 31 Class A Wild Trout Waters have been designated as Wilderness Trout Streams. Fishing in Class A Wild Trout Waters is permitted year-round, although the killing of fish is forbidden from

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

to the beginning of the following year's trout season.

Gallery

File:Arnold Creek looking upstream 1.JPG , Arnold Creek File:Balliet Run near its mouth 2.JPG , Balliet Run File:Bow Creek looking downstream.JPG , Bow Creek File:Klingermans Run.JPG , Klingermans Run

References

External links

List of all Class A Wild Trout Waters

{{authority control Fishing in the United States Fish conservation Protected areas of Pennsylvania