Closing of OKC Fish Hatchery

In a meeting yesterday it became apparent that Wendell Wisenhunt, director of Parks and Recreation, will reccommend to the OKC City Council in 2 weeks to close the fish hatchery. This is part of a 12% across the board cost cutting measure by the City due to a drop in sales taxes revenues. The OKC Game and Fish Commission voted unanimously to oppose the closing. It did not seem to matter to Wendell he just sat there and arrogantly texted on his phone during a good portion of the meeting.

The ODWC has 2 fish hatcheries that are undergoing renovations this year and if the H.B. Parsonds Hatchery closes then ODWC does not have the capability to raise and supply the OKC area lakes with fish. This includes Lakes Hefner,Overholser,Draper and all the close to home fisheries lakes. ODWC needs the OKC hatchery to remain open otherwise the metroplex fisheries will deteriorate. The fishing clinics put on by Bob Martin for the children will all but stop depriving the innercity children the opportunity to learn to fish. The economic impact to Academy,Bass Pro, Lucky Lure Co and other retailers will be felt and in some cases severly.

Rest assured that if the hatchery is closed it WILL NOT reopen when the sales revenues rebound.

City of OKC has been advised by ODWC that they cannot and will not supply fish to area lakes. I am repeating myself intentionally to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. If the hatchery closes the fishing will deteriorate in area lakes quickly starting with the close to home fishery lakes. These specific lakes have so much fishing pressure that they will be fished out or fished down in a season.

ODWC is paying the electric bill for OKC for the aeration system in Dolese Park and the system will be turned off in the event that the Hatchery closes.

There are additional issues at stake here in addition that I will not go into due to time.

If you fish the area lakes at all, even just once or twice a year, and you want to keep enjoying outstanding fishing then you must call your councilman and tell him NOT to close the hatchery. Some of you may not fully realize how blessed we are to have the quality of fishing we do in the City lakes. My eyes were really opened yesterday in the OKC Fish & Game Commission meeting as to what we have compared to Cities around the country. WE ARE BLESSED AND IF YOU DO NOT THINK SO THEN DONT CALL YOUR COUNCILMAN, LET THE HATCHERY CLOSE, WATCH THE FISHERY DECLINE AND DON'T COMPLAIN. If I have p***%d someone off by coming on too strong I am sorry but I will not apologize. I believe this strongly on this issue.

Call your councilman and tell him to not close the hatchery. You have 2 weeks before the next council meeting when the reccomendation will be made to close the hatchery. The future of quality fishing lies in the hatchery remaining open. The fate of many many people lies in the tip of your finger. Please punch the numbers and call your councilman today or pay the price.

There will be an article(s) in the Sunday Oklahoman in the coming 2 weeks about this.

I don't mean to pick a fight and I understand your point of view completely. It sounds like the hatchery is a needed asset in the area, but I'm just wondering why the city should supply fish to the ODWC. Isn't that the job of the ODWC? It sounds like the ODWC has a couple of hatcheries to supply the fish but they are under renovations right now. Is that correct? Times are tough for every city now and, its tragic, but something has to give. Can corporate/private donations not be secured to temporarily fund the hatchery until the ODWC is finished with their renovations?

Here in Tulsa the city has cut numerous programs that no one can deny are very beneficial. Programs such as Rec Centers and Summer Pools are being shut down due to lack of funding. Desperate times call for desperate measures. We are laying off Fire Fighters and Police Officers. I can see how recreational fishing opportunity would be put on the short list for cuts.

I am absolutely not trying to argue that the hatchery program isn't important. I'm just saying, times are very, very tough right now as I'm sure everyone knows.

Maybe some of the suburbs down there could pitch in some funding since they obviously benefit from the hatchery.

I ask these questions out of ignorance and with the utmost respect to you George. Your knowledge as well as your contribution to the outdoors and the state go without saying and are greatly appreciated.

I'll make the call. Let them know that I'd rather fish than go to a Thunder game. Maybe there's one or two other Okies that feel the same way...

Meatdragger- I know you are not trying to pick a fight. Allow me to clarify a point or two. The fish come FROM ODWC to the H.B. Parsons Hatchery FREE OF CHARGE. The 4 ODWC hatcheries when operating at capacity still cannot raise the fry to fingerling stage for OKC without the Hatchery. The hatchery receives the fry and grows the fish out and then stocks them. If we lose the hatchery then the walleye, hybrid and smallmouth fishery will start to decline because they must be stocked annually. There is no smallmouth reproduction to date that can be documented.

H B Parsons Hatchery operates a complete fisheries program directed by a professional fisheries biologist that includes mgmt stocking, habitat improvement, fish population sampling, aquatic education programs, and angler outreach programs. 8,000 surface acres of fishable waters are managed by 1 full time biologist, 1-2 part time employess plus many volunteers at a nominal cost to OKC taxpayers. This program also generates fishing and boating revenues that exceeds the budgetary cost. All of this combined the program still turns a PROFIT for the City of OKC.

A ODWC regional fisheries supervisor said in the special meeting that ODWC could not continue all the programs conducted by the City The City anglers will receive alot less. Fishing quality will decline accordingly.

City anglers are truly blessed. They must exercise their right of free speech and tell their respective councilman or councilwomen.

I asked Wendell Wisenhunt point blank in open meeting if the bikers and joggers currently pay a fee to use the facilities. He said no they don't. I asked why not and he could not answer me. A boating and fishing fee increase is being proposed soon. This,in my opinion, is further discrimination.

Ward 1 Gary Marrs 297-2404
Ward 2 Sam Bowman 297-2402
Ward 3 Larry McAtee,Jr. 297-2404
Ward 4 Pete White 297-2402
Ward 5 Brian Walters 297-2569
Ward 6 Meg Salyer 297-2402
Ward 7 Ronald "Skip" Kelly 297-2569
Ward 8 Patrick Ryan 297-2404
City Council Office 297-8884
City Manager 297-2345

Mayor Mick Cornett 297-2424

Well if the program turns a profit then whats the point of closing it? Is the guy just a jerk?

The income from boating and fishing permits was $243,415.00. The program budget is $160.000.00

Thanks George for the update on this issue.

I fish Hefner all the time and would hate to see them close the hatchery when I'm paying the fishing permit every year for the past 12yrs.

But if they decide to close the hatchery, I will not continue to pay money for the fishing permit and go to another lake, since the permit money is not going to the hatchery program. I hate to say this, but every time me and my dad go to Hefner, all I see is jogger and bikers and they need to pay the fees to use the facilities.

I will make the call to the coucilman.

There will be more updates/info to post probably tonight after I get time to digest the info.

I have relatives in the OKC area. I'll make some calls.

It is a shame that it is being targeted. Maybe with enough pressure they will look elsewhere.

Thanks for the heads up George, I'm sure it isn't the first battle to be fought in these tough times. Many of them don't understand that fishing CAN be a cheap form of entertainment.

Thank you for your help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by meatdragger

Well if the program turns a profit then whats the point of closing it? Is the guy just a jerk?

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The way I see it, the City is counting on us all continuing to pay them for our city fishing permits, so they still get their $240k, and without the $160k in costs, it becomes PURE PROFIT. Unfortunateley, sounds like one of the (many) federal "something for nothing" programs.

The $243,000.00 income is not adjusted for the tax revenue that was collected. That number is being calculated now. In 1995 an attempt was made to close the hatchery but when the math was shown to the council showing a profit they changed their minds. A new building was built for Bob as a result. Several people are working feverishly to dot the i's and crossing the t's to save the hatchery from the proposed axe. Please call your councilman.

George. If they close this hatchery, won't they still stock some from the others in the state? Thus effecting all the fisherman that target those species that are stocked statewide. I can't see how it wouldn't effect the whole state after thinking about it last night.

Aserioushunter- You are correct it may effect the rest of the state. I have heard two lines of thought. 1) Because OKC is a high population area then some fish will be directed to those lakes. 2) At full capacity all 4 hatcheries cannot produce the fingerlings needed for OKC stockings. The hatcheries can produce the fry but they do not have the room to grow the fry to fingerling size. I did hear a bit of encouraging news last night. The Byron hatchery which is undergoing renovations now has stocked some of their ponds with white bass and stripers and they will attempt to produce hybrids this year. I know they harvested 6,000,000 walleye eggs from Canton this year. They are short 4,000,000 eggs.The hatchery will swap some fish with another state in order to get the needed 4,000,000 walleye eggs. So we may be OK there. I do not know where the smallmouth bass fry or fingerlings will come from yet. OKC MAY get by this season but if the hatchery is closed then we are doomed.
To clarify something there are 4 state hatcheries and I was told 2 are under renovations so we are supposed to have 2 capable of producing fish. Well Byron is in production even with renovation so that leaves 1 unknown. I will investigate if Durant or Holdenville is able to produce anything. Stay tuned.
There are some dedicated volunteers, retailers, general public and wildlife people that are working behind the scenes to produce accurate data to prove to the council staff and the City council that this program is more than self sustaining.

You might have a look at the Sunday Daily Oklahoman. They had a big article on the back page.

Ed Godfrey did a good job. He may do another one next Sunday too. Please call your councilman and let him/her know your thoughts on the proposed closing.

When you call your councilman tell him that the fishing at the City Lakes is a service to us all and is a part of the great quality of life that we have in OKC. This quality of life is just like jogging, bicycling, and picnicing to other residents, its a package. You might also remind them that the joggers and the bicyclists do NOT pay anything towards maintaining the parks but we do. Is that not discrimination??????


Please call your councilman and Mayor. If you are not pro active then you will have to be reactive and that is not an option in this case.

Latest update as seen on OKC news!!

By Steve Clay (OKC)...

With OKC’s outdoor venues on the rise like the new downtown park with a lake, renovation at Myriad Gardens, development at Draper, Hefner, and OK River...how can the City even consider closing a successful fishing program like the one at the H. B. Parsons Hatchery that Bob Martin has operated for over 27 years?

Bob’s programs have changed the lives of so many people in OKC, to the thousands of kids he has reached with fishing clinics, in bringing the winter trout fishing to Dolese Park, many hours of time at boating and tackle shows publicizing the opportunities in OKC, and raising & stocking millions of catfish, walleye, hybrid striped bass, and smallmouth bass.

The sportsman of OKC spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in fishing & boating permits and sales taxes on fishing & boating related products to support our sport in OKC. It is a "user pay" program. We sustain our own sport yet OKC Parks & Recreation Director, Wendel Whisenhunt, is proposing to kill the program to meet his 12% budget reduction.

He and the Council need to look in other areas for these cost cutting measures. The time to act is NOW. You must contact the Mayor, the City Manager, your City Councilman and let them know how you feel about this proposed closure.

Here is a link that lists council wards and contacts. It also has a list of Water Trust members. The boating permit revenue goes to the Water Trust, not the general fund like fishing permits. So a portion of those funds paid by anglers should rightfully go to fund the fishing programs.




Future of Fishing in OKC in Trouble Due To Budget Problems - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports |

Contact info.

FRIENDS of LAKE HEFNER

This is all very suspicious to me. It seems quite obvious that Whisenhunt is being pressured by someone, perhaps at the Chamber of Commerce or elsewhere. This decision is complete non-sense. I'm trying to pull up as much as I can to see who is affiliated with who, and really get to the bottom of this. Does Aubrey McClendon want the Hatchery land? Does Cornett want to build Taco Bell franchises at the lakes, and therefore keep the taco-eaters free from the fish smell? This is all just silly season business.
I ran against Cornett for Mayor this year with a little over a thousand dollars and a Facebook page...and got 42% of the vote. People are sick of this crap. The National conference of Mayors will be here next month, and I think we should use THIS topic to show everyone that the REAL people of Oklahoma City are getting screwed all around when it comes to all the so called "growth" here. Let me know what I can do to help...