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In 1992, 75,185 acres (41% of state waters) were in the managed Intensive Use category. <br />At that time, 98% of total statewide production of catchable trout (4,700,000), and 48% of fiy, <br />fingerling, and subcatchable trout (5,900,000 fish) were stocked in Intensive Use waters. <br />It is estimated that 62% of the 1992 statewide recreation days occurred in the Intensive Use <br />category, varying from a high of 75% of the recreation days in the CE Region to a low of 48% in <br />the SW Region (Table 4). DOW's cost per recreation day was estimated at $1.53. In 1992, the <br />Intensive Use category statewide generated 45 recreation days per acre, with DOW biologists <br />estimating that approximately 85% of the recreation days in this category depended on the <br />stocking of catchable trout. <br />Table 4. Total (coldwater and warmwater) 1992 recreation days by category for each region <br />("old" regional boundaries) from the 1992 Categorization System, DOW. <br /> INTENSIVE OPTIMUM SPECIAL <br />REGION <br />REC.DAYS <br />PERCENT <br />REC. DAYS <br />PERCENT <br />REC. DAYS <br />PERCENT' <br />NE 545,000 66 251,700 31 22,400 3 <br />CE 1,017,000 75 238,000 17 110,200 8 <br />SE 712,900 55 434,000 34 141,000 11 <br />NW 425,200 67 132,000 21 72,000 11 <br />SW 442,300 48 427,500 46 58,000 6 <br />TOTAL 3,142,400 62.5 1,483,200 29.5 403,600 8 <br />Optimum Use Category <br />Optimum Use management is designed to provide fishing recreation within the limits of the <br />habitat to produce fish at the least cost, while allowing anglers to catch and keep fish within the <br />water's natural productivity. Stocking, when necessary, is at a level similar to what would be <br />produced naturally if all habitat requirements were satisfied. Regulations that encourage limiting <br />fish harvest to the natural productive capability of the habitat are imposed. Some of the state's <br />designated wild trout waters are in the Optimum Use category. <br />Waters in this category have physical and biological characteristics that support more viable <br />and robust fish populations than those found in the Intensive Use category waters. Optimum <br />Use waters include high lakes, headwater streams, wild trout streams, nonurban warmwater lakes, <br />and more productive mountain lakes and reservoirs. Although these waters have adequate to <br />excellent potential in producing fish populations that are attractive to anglers, some do not have <br />16