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5. Assess demand for catchable trout by implementing user fee mechanisms like trout stamps or catchable trout tags, and index catchable trout production to the amount of sales. Public Education The DOW should initiate and maintain a high-profile, aggressive public education program. Through the Information and Education Section, we should provide all of our publics with frequent updates on progress in all facets of the DOW plan for attacking, containing, and controlling the spread of the WD pathogen. We need to be realistic and honest about the existing and potential impacts of WD to our trout fisheries and refrain from false optimism about the problems and solutions. Anglers also need to clearly understand DOW's fish stocking and recreation projections, so that they can formulate accurate expectations when deciding to purchase a fishing license. Everyone interested in trout fishing is going to be affected to some degree for the foreseeable future. If resource protection is of paramount importance (LRP 1994; Five-Year Plan 1996), then changes in our management approach and more realistic expectations with respect to fishing recreation goals must occur. The credibility of the DOW requires that we be the first bearers of news, good or bad, concerning WD issues. We should strive to have the best and most up-to-date information and communicate this with the public accurately, honestly, and in a timely manner. This is necessary to minimize the use of distorted, inaccurate, or false information by our internal and external constituents. The DOW should launch internal and external efforts to enhance public understanding of the need to solve some of these difficult problems, and to create support for the potentially significant changes some of our angling publics may experience over the next 3-5 years. Timely communication to the angling public should also be used to guide anglers to locations that provide abundant fishing opportunities for stocked fish with very low risk to wild trout or native fish resources. An education program also needs to educate anglers on preventive measures that they should follow to minimize transfer of the pathogen to negative waters--an effort noticeably lacking thus far. YI HATCHERY PRODUCTION The state hatchery system operated with 89.4 permanent employees, and 167.5 months (14 FTE) of temporary time, and had an annual budget of $7.56 million, including capital construction projects. Presently, the system consists of 14 Coldwater units, 2 warmwater facilities, 1 combination cold/warmwater hatchery, and a planting base. Support services include a fish health section and research hatchery. The 1995-96 budget totaled $776,000 for the fish health program 36