A decision on the longstanding practice of stocking trout in the upper Deerfield River will come before the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife next week, following a request from local anglers.

The Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife board and agency staff will discuss a request brought forward by residents asking the agency to cease stocking rainbow trout in the upper Deerfield River, which the state defines as the approximately 20-mile stretch from the Fife Brook Dam to Shelburne Falls.

Local advocates and longtime anglers Kevin Parsons, Per Brandin and Square-Tail Anglers head guide Jonathan Bunker — all part of a grassroots group called Rewild the Deerfield River — put in the request to MassWildlife. Their focus is set on a 7-mile stretch from the Fife Brook Dam to the confluence of the Cold River in west Charlemont, where they say there is a robust wild fishery, which, if allowed to flourish, could make the river more resilient to a changing climate.

“When you look at any wild species, what do they do? They are the ones that better adapt to changing environmental conditions,” said Parsons, an attorney based in Shelburne Falls. “If you want to have a fishery that lives on for generations and that can withstand the environmental pressures, you let them adapt to the environment and they, over time, will then evolve into stronger animals with a higher likelihood of success and adaptability.”

MassWildlife stocks the upper Deerfield River each spring with approximately 4,000 to 5,000 fish from late March through Memorial Day, according to Andrew Madden, MassWildlife’s Western District supervisor.

Madden said MassWildlife has been stocking trout in the Deerfield River for at least 40 years, if not longer, to create more recreational fishing opportunities for anglers. The agency stopped stocking brown trout in the upper portion of the river in 2023.

“We stock catchable-size fish in the river and we do that to provide recreational opportunities,” Madden said. “Conservation of resources in the Deerfield is very important to MassWildlife, but in this case where we’re talking about stocking, it’s more about recreational fishing. … I think it really is a recreational fishing issue more than a true conservation issue.”

Parsons, Brandin and Bunker said they believe the stocking of fish on top of a wild fishery can have “significant adverse effects” on the native fish of the river, including predation.

The native fish, according to Madden, are able to hold their own against the stocked trout and there is a “lot of physical habitat for fish,” so crowding is “not a big limiting factor, in our opinion.”

“Generally wild fish just tend to do better when it comes to occupying habitat,” Madden said. “It’s much more likely the wild fish will hold their ground, so to speak, when it comes to hatchery fish. … I don’t think there’s a whole lot of crowding out.”

In regard to predation, Madden noted trout do feed upon other fish in the river, but there is more than enough food to go around for the stocked fish and the rainbow trout native to the Deerfield River.

“Fish make up a portion of the diet of both wild and stocked trout in the Deerfield. Generally, fish raised in hatcheries aren’t particularly good predators of other fish in the short term,” he said, adding that even those hatchery fish that do predate on other fish in the river don’t cause stress on the native fish. “There is a real abundance of small fish in the Deerfield. … You don’t really have competition for food, if food is not limited.”

While the Rewild the Deerfield group members are most concerned about conservation, Brandin said he believes the fishing experience is better when catching all-natural fish.

“To them, quality fishing is all about catch rate. How many fish is each angler catching per hour or day — that’s their mindset,” Brandin said. “The modern angler, that’s not what we care about. We don’t want to go out and catch a dozen hatchery fish; they’re just not quality fish. I’d rather catch one wild fish than 15 hatchery or an infinite number of hatchery fish.”

Research opportunities

The request also ties into federal license renewals for the dams on the Deerfield River. When Brookfield Renewable, which operates the Fife Brook Dam, begins to operate under its new license, its minimum winter flows will increase from 125 cubic feet of water per second to 225 cubic feet of water per second, which will likely ensure more trout redds — where the fish spawn — are fully covered by water.

Brookfield Renewable’s license could be issued at some point in the near future and when it is, the company will have three years to implement the flow regime changes. In that time, Parsons said data could be gathered on how the wild fish fare before and after the flows change.

Finally, Great River Hydro, which operates several dams farther up the river in Vermont and has more control over flows than Brookfield, will go up for license renewal in 2037. That license renewal, Parsons said, is a rare opportunity to gather important scientific data to support better flow regimes for the Great River license, which could have a “very significant impact on a lot of fisheries.”

“We believe,” Parsons said, “that there’s incredible science that can be gathered now for the Great River license.”

The Fisheries and Wildlife Board and MassWildlife staff will take up the stocking request at a Feb. 27 meeting. Due to stocking being an operational procedure, rather than a policy or regulation, the decision is not a vote — rather, the agency’s staff will make the decision in consultation with the board.