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Trading Nutrients for Fish « Floating Island International

The concept of including fisheries management in strategies for water quality improvement is not new, but floating islands give the notion a boost. The simple concept is, add lots and lots of substrate and the fish will come! Catch plenty of fish and you will sequester the unwanted nutrients in a more appropriate part of the eco-system – lunch!

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

In a recent article published in Pond Boss (www.pondboss.com) Bruce explores the concept of turning Phosphorus into fish to improve water quality. Here’s a quick link to the article:http://www.floatingislandinternational.com/wp-content/plugins/fii/news/37.pdf

SARP Projects Restore Habitat

Georgia SARP Projects Restore Habitat for Fish and Communities

Water, water, water…  This topic is on the public agenda in dozens of ways.  Nothing is more important than water for human health and the health of our fish and wildlife resources.

In survey after survey, clean water is one of the most prominent environmental concerns in the United States.  Clean water and abundant habitat are critical to functional aquatic ecosystems with healthy populations of fish and wildlife.

One exciting example of a project that’s improving water quality and fish habitat is in Raccoon Creek in the Etowah River Watershed of Northwest Georgia.  This stream is critical to the long-term survival of a variety of aquatic insects, and fish, including the federally endangered Etowah darter and threatened Cherokee darter, the lined chub, and the recreationally-fished redeye bass. But threats loom. The creek flows through Metro Atlanta’s Paulding County, where agricultural practices and land clearing for development make it more difficult for the fish to survive.  The restoration project involves multiple partners, including the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA DNR), Paulding County, Georgia Power, Upper Coosa Riverkeeper, Georgia River Network, and Kennesaw State University.  For project details go to http://bit.ly/SARPRRC.

Through collaborative funding programs with USFWS, National Fish Habitat Partnership (NFHAP) and the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

(NOAA) Restoration Center, and work with state agencies and local partners, SARP identifies and implements habitat restoration projects throughout the Southeast.  On-the-ground projects, like the Raccoon Creek Watershed Stream Restoration in Paulding NOAA

County, Georgia, are helping to address regional habitat objectives and national conservation priorities.

To learn more about SARP and its partners, programs and projects, visit www.southeastaquatics.net or contact SARP Coordinator.

by OUTDOOR HUB

submitted by: U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE

Grant Funding for Habitat Restoration Projects

Grant Funding is Available for Community-based Habitat Restoration Projects

The FishAmerica Foundation, the conservation and research foundation of the American Sportfishing Association, has funds available for marine and anadromous sportfish habitat restoration projects throughout coastal America, the Great Lakes region, and all U.S. Territories through its partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Restoration Center.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

Fish Habitat Key Part of B.A.S.S.Summit

B.A.S.S. News Announcement: Conservation Summit Deemed ‘Huge Success’

Awesome. Tremendous. Terrific.  That’s the way that state conservation directors (CD) for the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation summed up their experience at the recent Conservation Summit in Shreveport, La.

Staged during Bassmaster Classic Week, the event featured 2 ½ days of presentations and discussions on issues of concern to bass anglers nationwide. Fisheries experts from universities also attended, as did fish chiefs and biologists from state and federal agencies.

“The Conservation Summit was terrific,” said Scott Sowell, veteran CD from Maryland. “Noreen (National Conservation Director Noreen Clough) did a fantastic job putting it together, and I left fired up to spread the word on keeping bass alive!

“It was great interacting with CDs and fisheries biologists from all over the country. I learned quite a bit about conservation issues and practices in other states and steps they take to protect the fishery.”

Clough called the Summit “a huge success,” but wanted no credit for it being so. “I was impressed with the number of states who recognized the value of this and attended,” she said.

“And it was capped off by a variety of academics like Dave Philipp from the University of Illinois, Mike Allen from the University of Florida and Jeff Koppelman from the Missouri Department of Conservation. They stimulated thought and conversations.”

Those three joined Gene Gilliland from the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and others as presenters on Day 2 of the event, billed as a Fisheries Management Workshop.

“We talked about the state of the science on black bass issues,” Gilliland said. “We made presentations on some of the more controversial issues, such as fishing for spawning bass, to give the CDs a feel for what is going on, and then we had question-and-answer time.”

Based on the presentations and follow-up breakout sessions, attendees then identified major management issues for black bass fisheries. They include the following:

  • Fish care during tournaments, with pro anglers serving as role models.
  • Introduction of native and non-native species, including anglers who illegally move fish.
  • Large-scale habitat projects, with federal involvement.
  • Current and future water wars, and the need for anglers to partner with U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the states to ensure allocations for fisheries.
  • Fostering better relationships with fisheries agencies.

The Summit also included national and state legislative updates from Gordon Robertson of the American Sportfishing Association and Chris Horton, Mid-States Coordinator for the National Assembly of Sportsmen Caucuses. The two also led a discussion on working with legislators.

“You have to engage politically because management of our natural resources often is political instead of biological,” Horton said.

On the Summit’s final day, Gilliland explained the process behind fisheries management, and fish chiefs provided the “state perspective” on building partnerships.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

Additionally, representatives from the FWS talked about that agency’s programs and the 75th anniversary of the Sportfish Restoration Program (also known as Wallop-Breaux), which provides millions of dollars annually for state fisheries management through excise taxes on fishing gear.

2012 Bassmaster Classic Official Sponsors: Toyota, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Evan Williams Bourbon, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Skeeter Boats, Triton Boats, Yamaha

2012 Bassmaster Classic Supporting Sponsor: Carhartt

About B.A.S.S.

For more than 40 years, B.A.S.S. has served as the authority on bass fishing. The organization advances the sport through advocacy, outreach and an expansive tournament structure while connecting directly with the passionate community of bass anglers through its Bassmaster media vehicles.

The Bassmaster brand and its multimedia platforms are guided by a mission to serve all fishing fans. Through its industry-leading publications — Bassmaster Magazine and B.A.S.S. Times — comprehensive website Bassmaster.com and ESPN2 and Outdoor Channel television programming, Bassmaster provides rich, leading-edge content true to the lifestyle.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the Bassmaster Elite Series, Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Open Series, Carhartt Bassmaster College Series, Cabela’s B.A.S.S. Federation Nation events and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bassmaster Classic.

B.A.S.S. offers an array of services to its more than 500,000 members and remains focused on issues related to conservation and water access. The organization is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.By Staff Writer

Artifical Products grow fish

First Coast may need to help bolster key industry – fishing

 First Coast anglers see fishing spots disappearing so quickly they say it’s time to create new fishing grounds to bolster an industry that the state says brings half a billion dollars into the local economy every year.
Scott Shine, a member of the Jacksonville Waterways Commission, said he is looking into ways to add more access to fishing in North Florida before the economic impact does permanent damage to the recreational fishing industry.
A Waterways Commission subcommittee has been formed to examine adding artificial reefs just offshore and in the St. Johns River.
See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.
The federal government has closed several offshore fishing spots in recent years because of depleted fish stocks. There are also large tracts of water that have been placed off limits to vessels around military installations for security reasons.
“While we grow and while we’re seeking opportunities for tourism, we’re not growing our access to waterways on the same level that we’re experiencing in the growth in population,” Shine said.
RestrictionsThe recent restrictions cover hundreds of miles of ocean off the Southeast coast of the United States. Along the First Coast, those restrictions are hampering an industry that generates about $556 million a year for Northeast Florida, according to a report Shine drafted in January based on a 2010 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation analysis.
Shine based his figures on the North Florida share of fishing licenses sold in the state along with other factors, such as fishing industry tracking data the state agency used to develop estimates.
Recent federal regulations restricting offshore catches of grouper, red snapper and other fish are already beginning to take their toll on the area recreational fishing industry.
“We’ve been losing ground,” said Vic Tison, who runs a charter boat fishing service and is chairman of the North Florida Chapter of the Recreational Fishing Alliance. “We’re getting less and less areas to fish. Where’s that going to leave us?”
Adding to the frustration for anglers is a restricted zone instituted around Mayport Naval Station last year.
With little public notice, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers added a 380-foot no-vessel zone on a 2½-mile stretch of water surrounding the base.
Tison said it has already blocked many of his charter excursions that used to sail near the base.
Roy Crabtree, the Southeast regional administrator for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, said the agency takes into account the economic impact when implementing restrictions. In addition, Crabtree said recreational and commercial fishing interests were represented on the panel that made the decisions.
SolutionsWhile Shine concedes there is little sports anglers can do about the restrictions, he thinks the problem can be mitigated by creating new areas for fishing.
He said creating artificial reefs within 3 miles of shore would put those waters under state jurisdiction, cutting the federal government out of the equation. In addition, Shine wants artificial reefs to be sunk in the St. Johns River near the Mill Cove area in order to offset the restricted zones around the Mayport base and Blount Island.
“It increases access to fishing opportunities,” Shine said. “The federal government is drawing boxes on a map that are shutting down fishing and access in those areas.”
Crabtree said Shine’s proposal could provide some increased access in the face of the federal restrictions.
“If they were to put artificial reefs in state waters over there, that may provide access in fishing for anglers of a variety of species,” he said.
Tison acknowledged Shine’s proposals could keep the recreational fishing economy stable.
“It’s very important,” he said. “We’re getting less and less areas to fish continually. … Anytime you put a rock down or a structure down in the water, it’s going to create fishing habitat, and that gives the anglers more areas to fish.”

By Matt Dixon 
Morris News Service

Rehabbed Habitat Hosts Tournament

For a winter that’s been unusually warm, it was no surprise when 2,000 people showed up at a frozen lake near Ladysmith, Wis., for a fishing tournament.

A young angler won the first-place prize of $1,000 after catching a 30-inch pike. (Photo By: John Thiel, Dairyland Power Cooperative)A young angler won the first-place prize of $1,000 after catching a 30-inch pike. (Photo By: John Thiel, Dairyland Power Cooperative)

The Ladysmith Lions Club organized the city’s first annual Ice Fishing Tournament, which followed a major fish habitat enhancement project on Lake Flambeau.

“Since we utilize natural resources for our business, we are strongly committed to giving back to the environment through high-impact stewardship activities, such as the fish habitat project,” said Katie Thomson, senior communications specialist for Dairyland Power Cooperative.

The Feb. 26 tournament raised $25,000. Profits from the event will be distributed to local food pantries, lake-habitat projects and Lions Club programs.

Enhancing the reservoir’s fish habitat was no easy task. Led by the Rusk County Wildlife Restoration Association and supported by the La Crosse-based G&T, the multiphase project began in 2007.

The phases included rehabbing the deep-water area, improving shoreline, and closing the lake for six months. A 30-foot drawdown was set up to drain the lake, which took seven weeks to refill once the repairs were complete.

During construction workers placed more than 150 deepwater fish structures, made of rock, logs and brush, on the lakebed. Seventy-five more fish structures were built and placed along the shoreline.

Numerous pine trees were cut and anchored to the lakebed and placed on the shoreline. This winter, whole pine trees were weighted at the base and sunk vertically in deep water areas.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

Fishermen stocked the fish board with pike, walleye, crappie, perch and bluegill after a day of fishing. (Photo By: John Thiel, Dairyland Power Cooperative)Fishermen stocked the fish board with pike, walleye, crappie, perch and bluegill after a day of fishing. (Photo By: John Thiel, Dairyland Power Cooperative)

“Restoration really benefitted the lake’s health, which will in turn benefit sports enthusiasts,” said John Thiel, senior environmental biologist for Dairyland.

“The panfish species are becoming more abundant and thriving and the lake’s ready to be fished,” he said. “We provided some real quality recreational activities with the hydro reservoir.”

In addition to the major fish habitat project, Dairyland has established and owns five parks around the 2,000-acre Lake Flambeau. Three of the parks have boat landings and one is equipped with a handicap-accessible fishing pier. The parks are maintained by Rusk County.By Marcia Gaysue | ECT Staff Writer

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Volunteers brave the cold to create fish habitat

A large group of volunteers braved the bitter cold on Saturday, February 25, to anchor 400 live-cut Christmas trees to the bed of Tygart Lake. Volunteers from the WVU Fishing Club joined with the regulars from Grafton Boy Scout Troop #6 and the Save The Tygart Watershed Association. Volunteer Ashley Akers zip-ties a tree to a concrete block, this was just one of 400 trees that were anchored in Tygart Lake on Saturday, February 25. Volunteer Ben Flohr heaves one of the trees down over the hill to the staging area below.

GRAFTON — A large group of volunteers faced the bitter cold Saturday morning as they gathered at Tygart Lake to anchor recycled live-cut Christmas trees for future fish habitat.

The program started in 2007, as the United States Army Corps of Engineers at Tygart Lake sent out the call for Christmas trees in December. Each year since, the number of donated trees, and the number of volunteers to anchor them, has grown substantially.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in proven science based, fish protection.

Residents are encouraged each year to drop their live-cut Christmas trees off at the Grafton City Garage after the holiday season. The city then transports the donated trees to the lake, where they are distributed by volunteers.

“This has been a record year for trees and for volunteers,” stated April Hawkey, Tygart Lake Corps of Engineers Park Ranger. “I had an assistant from WVU (West Virginia University) hand out fliers on campus for volunteers. The WVU Fishing Club called and asked ‘how many people do you need?’ that was great, in calling for volunteers, you never know just how many you will get.”

Hawkey stated that 15 volunteers from the club came out to assist with the effort. Along with the fishing club, regular volunteers, who have made this a regular project since the beginning, showed up in force. These regulars are from Boy Scout Troop #6 from Grafton, and the Save The Tygart Watershed Association.

In all, 45 volunteers helped place the trees near the site of last year’s donations.

During what was obviously one of the coldest mornings in February, these brave volunteers met for orientation at the Corps Park Office at 9 a.m.

From there they traveled down to the gravel lot launching area where 400 donated trees awaited. Each tree had to be anchored to concrete blocks strategically located to put the trees about15-20 feet underwater at summer pool levels. Each tree had to be drilled at its base to allow for the zip tie used to attach it to the block.

Volunteers arrived to find the trees awaiting at the top of the launching area. Together they threw, rolled and dragged the trees down over the hill to the staging area below. With Fish Attractor buoys attached, anglers will know where to go to take advantage of these efforts.

The donated trees are anchored along the Tygart Lake shoreline in February, while the lake level is low, so that when the lake returns to its summer levels the trees act as artificial reefs, providing advanced habitat for the lake’s fish and improved fishing opportunities for anglers. Once secured on the lake bottom, the Christmas trees provide shade and a hiding place for fish.

As Hawkey ran the crew up top, making many journeys up and down the steep hill, US Army Corps of Engineers Tygart Lake Resource Manager, Mike Estock handled the efforts down the hill at the staging area.

The success of this program has been noted in various fishing publications. One such mention comes from an April 25, 2010 report at sportfisherman.com, which expands upon the success of the project. “The lake (Tygart) is near the summer pool level. Target largemouth and smallmouth bass by casting crankbaits along the shoreline. Crappie are now concentrated around Christmas tree fish attractors. There are lots of walleye and trout in the tailwater and this is the best place in northern West Virginia to fish for them.”

Trees were donated by Lowe’s, Home Depot, Barbour County, and the cities of Grafton, Nutterfort and Morgantown. The Corps’ staff at Tygart Lake would like to thank those who donated the trees, WV DNR for their cooperation, and all of the volunteers for assisting in the construction of the fish attractor.

After the event, all of the volunteers were treated to pizza. Hawkey also stated that a volunteer appreciation day is in the works, for everyone who helps make Tygart Lake State Park a wonderful place to visit.BY: Matt Trout

Pier’s success provided by artificial reefs for fish

Transition from old Twin Spans to Slidell Fishing Pier almost done

Slidell, LA —  St. Tammany leaders are now targeting late April for the opening of the Slidell Fishing Pier.  The wooden bridge leading to the old Twin Span bridge is done, and the early reviews are good.

“I think it came out a lot better than I expected even,” St. Tammany Parish Councilman Richie Artigue said.  Artigue predicted the pier will get a lot of use once it opens.See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

It was originally conceived by former Parish President Kevin Davis, as a way to use part of the old bridge as a Pensacola-style fishing pier.  The wooden bridge includes two gazebos.

“This is going to be one of the best things parish government ever did for the people of the parish, Councilman Artigue added.  “We’ve got many, many people who don’t have boats, can’t go out fishing.  This is going to be the place for people to bring their families, bring their kids, and come out here and catch a fish.”

The delay comes because it took longer than expected to run utilities, water, sewage and electricity.

“If anything,” St. Tammany Parish Spokesperson Suzanne Parsons-Stymiest said, “the last couple of months, when we had to postpone the opening from the original date, has really enforced for us how much the public wants this.”

Eventually, the fishing pier will include 24-hour security and lighting.  To pay for those services, people fishing should expect to pay a fee, perhaps in the neighborhood of $5, according to parish leaders.

“We want it to be clean, we want it to be lit, we want security,” Suzanne Parsons-Stymiest added.  “We want the availability of amenities such as a bait shop, so that fee is going to be put directly back into the operation of the fishing pier.”

All of that, as well as a bait shop and a restaurant will be in place “eventually” parish leaders said Monday, although perhaps not on opening day.

Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries agents dropped hunks of concrete into Lake Pontchartrain near the pier, to create artificial reefs for fish.  And that’s the bottom line for why parish leaders believe the pier will be successful, because fishing experts say, fish will be plentiful under the pier.Doug Mouton / Northshore Bureau Chief
Email: dmouton@wwltv.com | Twitter: @dmoutonwwl

Growing plants and installing artificial fish habitat to grow more fish in reservoirs

UNDERWATER RE-EVOLUTION

By Larry D. Hodge

A revolution is brewing among biologists managing freshwater fisheries in reservoirs. Or, put another way, a
re-evolution of fisheries management is taking root.

See the dozens of unique artificial fish habitat models, fish attractors and fish cover used at fishiding.com, the leader in  science based, proven, fish protection.

Rather than applying a top-down approach to fisheries management by stocking fish, biologists are going bottom-up by stocking plants and putting in fish attractors to create habitat, sort of an “if we build it, they will come” approach. The movement to improve fish habitat in reservoirs falls on particularly fertile ground in Texas, where hundreds of constructed reservoirs dominate the landscape in a state that has only one natural lake of significant size but more inland water than any other state (except Alaska).

Dave Terre, chief of research and management for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries Division, is a leader in the nationwide movement to improve fish habitat in reservoirs.

“About four years ago people from state wildlife agencies across the United States had the idea of creating a habitat partnership focused on reservoirs,” he explains. “That movement became the Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership (RFHP). The goal is to improve fish habitat in reservoir systems, including the river above and the tailrace below, recognizing that you can’t always just do something in the reservoir and expect a positive change.”

Reservoirs are unnatural systems, often lacking in native aquatic plants. Damming a stream and flooding the terrestrial habitat around it creates a bizarre submerged waterscape of dead trees, brush, old roadbeds and whatever else was built on the land. Decaying vegetation releases nutrients into the water that jump-start the fishery and maintain it for a time, but reservoir fisheries typically decline over time as the flooded vegetation degrades. Stocking fish into this alien world creates a fishery, but one not likely to be sustainable or able to reach its full potential.

The importance of plants in reservoirs is difficult to overstate.

“The function of plants is to capture sunlight and turn it into food,” says Richard Ott, a fisheries biologist for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. “Everything starts with aquatic plants. Some are food for fish directly, but more importantly, they are also food for insects and invertebrates that are eaten by small fish that are eaten by big fish and then by us. Plants provide cover for small fish to hide in and grow. They generate oxygen, buffer changes in pH, slow wave action and filter water.”

Plants do much more for reservoirs, their watersheds and the people who live there than just provide for the needs of fish.

“Tying down the shoreline and reservoir bottom with native vegetation reduces erosion and the amount of suspended sediment in the water,” TPWD fisheries biologist Mark Webb points out. “Because plants are taking nutrients out of the water, algal growth is reduced, which helps improve the quality of drinking water. Once well-established, native plants give a great amount of benefit for low cost.”

Native plants also help fight invasive nonnative species such as hydrilla.

“We try to fill a niche,” says Ott. “If you have a bare piece of ground and want to keep it that way, you have to be doing something all the time to kill stuff trying to fill that open niche. If we can fill that niche with native species, it makes it harder for exotic species to get established. Waterfront property owners may object to having any plants, but they should understand that plants outside a bulkhead area dissipate wave energy, which means they don’t have to replace expensive bulkheads as often. Once they see native plants as being a lesser evil than exotic species, they get on our side.”

Partnerships are key to the effort.

“Funding these projects is a huge problem for many states,” Terre observes. “The only way we can do that is through partners. We created a 501(c)3 corporation, Friends of Reservoirs, to be the financial arm of the RFHP. We are reaching out to organizations such as bass clubs, watershed groups, homeowners associations, individuals — anybody who is interested in improving fish habitat to benefit water quality, fish and the quality of life of the American people.”

Ott and Webb have been in the forefront of efforts to introduce native aquatic plants into Texas reservoirs, following the lead of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Michael Smart, head of the Lewisville Aquatic Eco­system Research Facility.

“When Dr. Smart suggested that we should stock native aquatic plants for the same reasons we stock fish, we wanted to kick ourselves for not having seen the obvious,” Ott smiles. “You have to ask yourself when you stock fish: Where will they live and what will they eat?

“There are aquatic plants native to Texas that will survive in reservoirs,” he continues. “These plants lived in wetland areas and backwaters of streams. But you can’t plant them just anywhere. In reservoirs you have to deal with fluctuations in water levels. Plants have to be matched to the water depth and clarity they need. They have to get sufficient sunlight to grow, but they can’t be planted so shallow they will be dry at the times they need to be growing.”

Using plants from Smart’s Lewisville facility, Webb and Ott experimented on seven Texas reservoirs that represent a cross-section of conditions across the state to develop a list of native Texas plants that will survive under a variety of conditions. They also experimented with techniques to aid survival of these plants under reservoir conditions different from those of natural lakes.

Like Smart, they decided that a founder-colony approach works best. Plants are raised in a nursery in plastic pots before being transplanted to a reservoir, where they are enclosed in a wire cage to prevent being eaten by turtles, fish or land-based herbivores. Over time the plants spread outside the cages.

After this first phase, biologist made plantings in Lake Bellwood, a former water-supply lake for the city of Tyler, to demonstrate what they had learned.

Stocking plants in reservoirs throughout Texas presents a tremendous challenge. The first hurdle to overcome is establishing a reliable and affordable supply of plants. Nursery facilities have been set up at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, at the Lake Waco wetlands and on San Jacinto River Authority (SJRA) property at Lake Conroe. The latter furnishes the model for how the Friends of Reservoirs process is envisioned to work.

“The Seven Coves Bass Club on Lake Conroe has been one of our major partners,” Webb says. “Seven Coves members approached me to ask about stocking fish, and I steered them toward native vegetation. It was not a tough sell. They are really conservation-minded. I explained that the lake has good water quality, good nutrients and good spawning areas, but it did not have good habitat for small fish to hide in. Club members saw we had a huge increase in our bass production after we planted some shoreline vegetation, and they really got excited.”

Former Seven Coves President Ron Gunter recalls: “We got a grant through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation that let us create a native aquatic plant nursery at the SJRA Lake Conroe property. The SJRA donated the land. We purchased the construction materials and built raceways for the nursery and got plants from the Lewisville Aquatic Ecosystem Research Facility. We put half the first shipment of plants in the lake and kept the second half for seed stock.”

Involvement with the project brought public exposure that helped increase Seven Coves membership from 17 people in 2005 to nearly 70 at present. Seven Coves Bass Club is now the first organization in the nation to be granted chapter membership in the Friends of Reservoirs.

“We intend to continue with the native plant restoration project in hopes we can sustain what we consider to be an excellent fishery in Lake Conroe,” Gunter says. “The payoff is knowing that we’ve done something that can make a change for future generations. We’re not looking for immediate dividends; we’re trying to make it possible for our children and grandchildren to enjoy Lake Conroe like we’ve been able to.”

Other projects carried out by the Seven Coves Bass Club include a grass carp removal tournament with the assistance of the Texas Bow Anglers Association, the installation of more than 700 cinder-block-and-bamboo fish attractors and the introduction of native plants along miles of shoreline.

The fish attractors and the plants are two sides of the same coin. “The spider blocks are the temporary habitat; the aquatic plants will be the permanent habitat,” Gunter says.

Funding projects through the Friends of Reservoirs allows local groups to raise money under the organization’s 501(c)3 umbrella, making it easier to attract corporate donors. All funds raised by a group are earmarked for the group’s projects and are not shared with anyone else, which helps maintain local control.

“The Friends of Reservoirs is a great deal in that regard,” says Gunter. “Check it out and then get out and beat the bushes for funds.”

It’s often said that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” but with water, what happens in a watershed ends up in a reservoir. Friends of Reservoirs projects will coordinate programs targeting land management practices in watersheds to improve the quality and quantity of runoff into reservoirs.

“Re-establishing native vegetation in Lake Conroe will have some beneficial effect from the standpoint of water quality,” says SJRA Lake Conroe division manager Blake Kellum, “but primarily what we recognize is benefit to the ecology of the reservoir. We view ourselves as stewards of the reservoir and want to take a balanced approach to the management of that resource. We are trying to put as much effort into native plant restoration as we did trying to control invasive species on the front side.”

It’s a team effort. “Scaling up for big projects will require more equipment and labor,” says Ott. “That’s where volunteer groups can really help out. If a group wants to take on a project, we have the expertise and the plants. If they can provide the people, it becomes fairly simple. Historically, that’s how we’ve manipulated fish populations, by regulations directing harvest to the size fish we need to have removed. All along, anglers have been the ones pulling the plow while we walk along behind directing where the plow should go.”

The Friends of Reservoirs program makes it possible for everyone interested in a lake to help pull the plow. Anglers, boaters, area property and business owners, water utilities and consumers and anyone involved in water-based industries will benefit from improved water quality, control of invasive aquatic species and reduced maintenance and operation costs from lower rates of erosion and sedimentation.

“There are already lots of groups out there working with their fisheries biologists planting native vegetation or placing brush piles,” Terre says. “All of those could be a Friends of Reservoirs chapter. This is not a governmental organization, but rather partners from across the United States who are interested in improving fish habitat. Reservoir partnerships are the way all those people will connect to work with each other. I really believe we can make a difference.”

Related stories

Demands on Lakes Rising; Now’s the Time to Address Water Needs

Invasive Species Advance; Bugs Battle Back

Growing Fish Food

Saving fish habitat on a shoestring

Jerry Wolford (News & Record)

Photo Caption:Eddie Bridges and his North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation helped raise money to build the Frank A. Sharpe Jr. Wildlife Education Center at Bur-Mil Park. This month, “Field & Stream” magazine named Bridges one of its “Heroes of…

What do you think?

 

GREENSBORO — There is no conference room.

No expense account.

No staff.

No office.

Just a phone number and a website.

If you call the number, that sonic boom of a voice on the other end means you’ve reached the right place: the home of Eddie Bridges, which doubles as the headquarters of the North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation.

“We put our money in the dirt,” Bridges says with pride.

Of course, calling it a foundation is something of a misnomer.

This “pocket-change outfit,” as Bridges describes it, is pretty much all him. And a few, well-connected friends.

For 19 years, this Greensboro-based nonprofit has been doing what it can to acquire and protect open space for North Carolina wildlife.

In the beginning, about eight people showed up at a local library — “We didn’t have anywhere else to go,” Bridges says — for the first meeting. They had $38 to get the word out.

Since then, from yard sales to shilling for donations to an annual blowout party, Bridges and 18 board members have raised green to save green — more than $1 million toward an array of initiatives.

A Caswell County marsh project. An N.C. State black bear study. A Jordan Lake bass habitat project. The Frank A. Sharpe Jr. Wildlife Education Center at Bur-Mil Park.

There are others, but those are the ones that make Bridges smile.

“Who’s going to take care of our natural resources if you don’t have groups like this?” asks Bridges, 78, a lifelong outdoorsman and father of three. “We’re not a group that can do everything in the world. We just move along at a comfortable pace. We do what we can today and leave the rest for tomorrow.”

Haven’t heard of these guys? It’s OK. By now, Bridges is used to it.

Most licensed hunters and fishermen “don’t even know we exist,” to say nothing of the general public, Bridges believes.

But then, he didn’t get into this for the notoriety, although he can’t escape it.

In 1993, he was named the North Carolina Conservationist of The Year.

He’s a member of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation Hall of Fame and the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame.

A number of groups have included Bridges among the nation’s most outstanding conservationists.

So this month, when “Field & Stream” recognized him as one of their “Heroes of Conservation” — look for him on page 27 — it simply got added to the list.

“But I’m not going to downplay that,” Bridges says.

Besides, the distinction comes with a $500 check that Bridges says will go to the group’s latest cause: quail restoration.

And just when he thought he couldn’t win anything else, along comes Wednesday.

That’s when Bridges will be honored by the North Carolina Chapter of American Fisheries Society.

Then, finally, it’s back to saving the planet.

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“There’s the need to get it done … for the future of my children and grandchildren. It’s my thing.”By MIKE KERNELS
Staff Writer

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