Urgent Subject: Ask Legislators to Restore Funding for State Fish Hatcheries

We need your help to restore funding for Connecticut’s fish hatcheries.

Earlier this year, the Governor’s budget cut $500,000 from the fish hatchery program. Thanks to advocacy from anglers and hunters like you, the Appropriations Committee restored this funding—but it was stripped out again at the very end of the session, without debate. Unless legislators act, this cut will mean fewer trout produced and fewer stocked waters across Connecticut.

Friends of Connecticut Sportsmen (an organization that represents the interests of anglers and hunters in Hartford) have confirmed that there is support among legislators to restore this funding . The key now is making sure our legislative leadership hears from anglers like you.

What you can do:

Email or write your State Representative and State Senator before October 17. You can find your legislator and Senator by using this link: Find your legislator.
Personalize your message. Legislators pay much more attention to authentic emails than form letters.
Make the request clear: Ask them to restore the $500,000 that was cut from the DEEP Fish Hatchery line item during the final days of the legislative session.
Share why it matters to you. For example:

Trout fishing is an important part of your life or your family’s life.
Hatchery funding is supported largely by sportsmen’s license fees, permits, and excise taxes.
Trout fishing generates over $40 million annually for Connecticut’s economy.
Without hatchery stocking, trout fishing opportunities will decline dramatically.

Supporting Information: Consider including some of below for your email or letter

Hatcheries are operated by the DEEP Bureau of Natural Resources (BNR). The BNR’s budget is mostly (~80%) covered by fees collected from sportsmen through the sale of licenses and permits, and through a federal excise tax on hunting & fishing equipment.
Anglers and hunters are proud of the funding support they provide for natural resource conservation, which benefits all of Connecticut’s citizens.
Given the funding support they provide, sportsmen do not believe it was fair to cut the hatchery budget. $500,000 is a small amount in the State Budget and it is inequitable to take away these funds from sportsmen who have contributed so much above and beyond their tax dollars.
Anglers make over a million fishing trips for trout each year in Connecticut. These trips generate over $40 Million in expenditures that help support tackle shops, convenience stores, restaurants, and other local businesses.
It is our understanding that this $500,000 budget cut will significantly impact trout stocking.
Without stocking from State hatcheries, CT couldn’t come close to supporting the number of trout fishing trips anglers are making.

A Sample Opening (remember to make it your own!):

“My name is [Name], and I live in [Town]. I am an avid angler and a member of [organization/club]. Trout fishing is important to me and my family, and I am very concerned that the $500,000 cut to the DEEP hatchery budget will mean fewer trout in our waters. I respectfully ask that you work to restore this funding as soon as possible.”

Your voice matters. Legislators need to hear directly from anglers in their districts that restoring hatchery funds is a priority.

Thank you for taking action to protect trout fishing in Connecticut.