Eastern Sierra Season Opens Amid Trespassing Controversy

Wardens for the California Department of Fish and Game apparently were not prepared to enforce trespassing violations on the East Walker River when the Eastern Sierra trout fishing season opened today.

If there are any arrests, the fishermen’s lobby, California Trout, said it’s prepared to test the posting of no-trespassing signs by ranchers in court.

Fred Worthley, director of Region 1 for the DFG, said: “I think our enforcement people are going to check for fishing violations.”

Asked if that meant they would not be looking for trespassers, Worthley said: “That’s right. (That is) the responsibility of the sheriff.”

However, the Mono County Sheriff’s Dept. indicated Thursday, when the signs started going up, that the matter would come under DFG jurisdiction.

The Plymouth Land and Livestock Co. Thursday started posting the signs along the six-mile stretch of the East Walker below the Bridgeport Reservoir.

That area, designated a “wild-trout” stream by the DFG, was recognized as a trophy trout fishery until a massive release of water from the reservoir by the Walker River Irrigation District, a group of Nevada ranchers and farmers, in September of 1988. The release killed thousands of fish and heavily silted the stream bed to eliminate spawning in ensuing years.

The irrigation district subsequently was convicted of several violations of the state fish and game code and ordered to repair the damage and maintain certain water levels and flows in the future.