Opening day of trout season is upon us. For many there is no day more anticipated. This year, however, there is an event coming up on April 5 that makes even opening day pale in comparison.

I am referring to the upcoming Regulated Flow Advisory Committee (RFAC) meeting in Hawley, PA. While we are blessed with having an amazing cold water fishery in the Upper Delaware, it is a managed fishery dependent in part upon cold-water releases from the reservoirs. The management of releases is the responsibility of the parties to a 1954 Supreme Court decree guided by RFAC: Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and New York City. Releases are currently administered according to the Flexible Flow Management Plan (FFMP), due to expire on May 31. So far the decree parties have failed to agree on how and whether to renew it, and one state, New Jersey, has made it clear that it will not agree to any new proposals, no matter now reasonable, until its own demands are met.

How releases are managed affects us all, including trout fishermen. High water temperatures are dangerous and potentially lethal for trout, but can be mitigated by reservoir releases. When the weather service predicts a serious heat wave, it should be a simple matter to release more water so that a cold water plume gets the fishery through the hot spell. Sadly, that’s often not the case.

The fishing community begs for cold-water releases during heat events, but frequently doesn’t get them, or if it does, they are often too little, too late. It reminds me of “The Wizard of Oz,” with a wizard behind a curtain pulling levers apparently without thought or accountability and sometimes irresponsibly.

The fishing community has proposed to incorporate into the FFMP a science-based plan that would provide significant thermal relief for the fishery without a downside to any of the decree parties. Sadly, any RFAC policy decision must be unanimous. Thus, this and any other improvements to flow management are currently being held hostage to the ongoing stalemate among the decree parties.

Though there are always stakeholders attending RFAC meetings, the principals are not often seen. Fortunately, after much begging, pleading and petitioning, they have committed to being present at a meeting on April 5 from 1 to 4 p.m. at The Lake Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center. It may be a once-in-a-lifetime event, for far too often the principals seem to stay behind that curtain.

River guide Tony Ritter observed, “Many people and organizations have spent a great deal of time and effort for improved river flows through targeted and enhanced cold-water release polices. Yet there is still room for improvement. April 5 is the chance for all who love the Upper Delaware to let the principals know that they can improve habitat and enhance the local economy without downside to any of the decree parties.”

It is not suitable or appropriate that one principal refuses to approve any beneficial policy change unless it gets its state’s agenda first. Such schoolyard tactics are being used to the detriment of the whole river ecosystem.

The management of a river is serious business. Please show up on April 5 and let the principals know that the time for an improved flow management policy is overdue. River advocates would even be open to a limited trial period. So, here’s a chance to improve the river for everybody, a gamble with virtually no downside. Seems like a no-brainer. Now, if only we can convince the principals.