The proposal to establish a catch-and-release section on the New York side of the Battenkill River has won the thumbs-up from the local Trout Unlimited chapter, but the idea of stocking the same stretch of river has drawn opposition, as it has in the past.

DEC officials startled TU members at a March 31 public session in Greenwich by announcing a plan to stock the upper end of the Battenkill with 1,100 2-year-old trout. The DEC floated the same idea in July 2001, prompting a letter-writing campaign of protest, but dropped the idea a month later, saying a new count showed the number of wild trout on the rise.

The TU chapter plans to oppose the stocking plan again.

"We're going to vehemently object to the stocking over wild fish," said Clearwater President Greg Cuda. "We're trying to rally the troops. The seven miles of the (upper) Battenkill are the only river being managed for wild trout in Region 5. It's the only one. And now they're talking about throwing some trout in there."

The DEC is considering several new no-kill stretches of trout streams around Region 5, which covers the eastern half of the Adirondacks. On the list is the four-mile stretch of the Battenkill from the Vermont state line downstream to the Eagleville covered bridge.

That stretch already has special regulations: Only artificial lures may be used, and the limit is three fish a day, whereas the general statewide limit is five.

The TU chapter has advocated converting that section to catch-and-release fishing only for years, and welcomed the DEC proposal. But the chapter is opposed to planting trout in what is now considered "wild trout" water.

Many of the chapter's more than 400 members value the chance to fish for wild trout, as opposed to the "stockies" found in most New York streams.

Roy Lamberton, chairman of the TU chapter's conservation committee, noted that the DEC already stocks more than 21,000 trout from Eagleville downstream to Greenwich, providing ample opportunity for anglers to fish for hatchery trout. The upstream section, on the other hand, abuts the Vermont side of the river - which is prized for its stream-bred brown and brook trout and hasn't been stocked since 1976.

The Vermont Battenkill has been catch-and-release only for most of its 26 miles since 2000. State biologists banned fish harvest while they studied the causes of a marked decline in mid-sized brown trout.

Lamberton also noted ongoing studies by the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife of the wild trout population of the Battenkill, and wondered whether stocked fish would skew the research if they wandered across the state line.

"You're going to throw unnatural elements into the mix," Lamberton said.

David Winchell, a spokesman for DEC, said the stocking proposal is "mainly due to the low catch rate."

"Our goal statewide is half a fish per hour," he said. Angler surveys on the upper Battenkill showed an average catch of just .17 per hour, he said.

"The concern was just providing a good fishing opportunity for people in this stretch. At this point it's just a proposal. It's not something we're definitely going to do."

Comments on the matter may be submitted by the end of the month to: Region 5 Fisheries Unit, NYSDEC, Route 86, P.O. Box 296, Ray Brook, NY 12977. Comments can be sent by e-mail to Reg5Fish@gw.dec.state.ny.us.