Waukesha Trout Streams...Ahh, Who Really Needs 'Em?

Freeman columnist Pete Kennedy touts the long-debated, just-approved $51 million Waukesha Bypass.

Environmental concerns are not high on his list, as he explains away several possible problems with the plan:

On to point 3, environmental concerns: The project needs an environmental study because, among other concerns, Pebble Creek apparently has trout.

I’m all for saving Waukesha County trout streams. But would there be trout if not for DNR stocking?

I hadn’t been able to get a conclusive answer by my deadline. A visit to the DNR Web site informed me that 24,242 brown trout have been stocked in the creek between 2001 and 2008.

If we didn’t stock the creek for two years, would the environmental impact be substantially less? Should we be worried about the impact on pink flamingoes and woolly mammoths as well?

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