While I did not go on last week’s habitat improvement tour that included members of TU, MTA, and a selected list of invitees from the DNR including Ron Payer from MN, and H.I. guru Dave Vetrano from Wisconsin, I can tell you that there could be some very significant changes in how our trout streams are managed.
I do know that Ron Payer was very impressed with the tour and has pledged some changes for the future that include better equipment and training for current fisheries employess who will do H.I. in the future (which means they will stop wasting thousands of your dollars to do meaningless and poorly constructed habitat improvement). This also means that groups like the Hiawatha Chapter, who have restored several miles in the Whitewater area, will continue their excellent stream maintenance without the beaureaucratic red tape they encounter now when they propose a project. More funding for the chapter to do habitat improvement work is also something Payer believes should be implemented as well.
I guess the bottom line is that when you wow the head of Fisheries and he sees the work that needs to go into maintaining and improving trout streams here in the southeast, as well the waste of dollars and time that have been put into other projects while giving necessary clearance and funding to groups who KNOW how to do habitat improvement, then the future looks bright.
. hopefully they’ll go through with what they’re telling us they’re going to do. 
