More than 800 fish were recently stocked into Livingston County by state conservation officials.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is in the midst of their spring fish stocking season with DNR fish stocking trucks releasing their cargo at hundreds of lakes and streams throughout the state, including in Livingston County.
According to a DNR release, 820 Brown and Rainbow trout were released into Spring Mill Pond in the Island Lake Recreation Area on March 30th. The DNR says the fish stocking operations are a valuable tool used by fisheries managers for a variety of reasons, including restoring ecosystem balance, providing diverse fishing opportunities, rehabilitating low fish populations, and reintroducing locally extinct species.
However, officials say they take care not to stock on top of wild populations when it can be avoided as they prefer to rely on naturally reproducing fish that are adapted to their local ecosystem. But when angling pressure and habitat limitations keep wild fish from maintaining the desired population level on their own, hatchery fish are stocked to supplement natural reproduction.
