In a battle of conservation versus recreation, Virginia park officials are taking opposing approaches to the handling of the non-native brown trout in Virginia’s waterways.

In an attempt to bolster fishing and other outdoor recreation, state officials are stocking streams in the Shenandoah National Park with thousands of brown trout each year.  However, in an effort to protect native species in the park, federal officials are simultaneously working to kill them.  Because of concerns that native brown trout populations are displacing native rainbow and brook trout populations, federal officials have been resorting to electroshocking and other regulations aimed at Virginia anglers in order to control the brown trout.

To learn more, you can read the Daily Progress article here.

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Photo courtesy of Zouavman Le Zouave