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Tag: artificial fish habitat

Massachusetts- loans of up to $50,000 each to small boat fishermen

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Fish Talk in the News

Atlantic cod (Photo credit: MA Division of Marine Fisheries).Atlantic cod (Photo credit: MA Division of Marine Fisheries).

Destruction of fish habitat brings hefty fine

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Those responsible for the construction of a marina will have to pay heavy fines for damaging important fish habitat. (Photo: Stock File)

Click on the flag for more information about CanadaCANADA 
Wednesday, February 01, 2012, 22:40 (GMT + 9)

On 26 January 2012 in the Provincial Court of Alberta, RJ Williscroft Contracting Ltd pled guilty to one count of a violation of subsection 35(1) of the Fisheries Act for “the harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of fish habitat”. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine and penalties totaling CAD 90,000 (USD 89,920).

The charge related to a project proposal by Shadow Creek Resort Inc (owned and directed by Mr RJ Williscroft) to construct and connect an inland marina and approaches in the community of Joussard, Alberta to Lesser Slave Lake, via a dredged channel.

The Court heard that on 15 September 2008, an environmental consultant sent applications on behalf of “Shadow Creek Resort Inc c/o RJ Williscroft Contracting Ltd” to various federal and Alberta government departments, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, for approvals related to the construction of a proposed inland marina development on the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake. Fisheries and Oceans Canada concluded that the proposed works would likely result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, thus an authorization and environmental assessment would be necessary.

The environmental assessment began in October 2009. Aboriginal consultations with potentially affected First Nations and Métis groups began in December 2009.

In the spring of 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was notified of alleged works being conducted in the lake by the defendants prior to the environmental assessment and consultation process being complete, and prior to a Fisheries Act authorization being issued. The excavation of the lakebed removed aquatic vegetation and its substrate, and damaged spawning and rearing habitat for many Lesser Slave Lake species of fish, including Northern Pike, Walleye and Yellow Perch. Lesser Slave Lake sustains a valuable commercial, recreational and Aboriginal subsistence fishery.

At the request of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Court ordered a fine of CAD 8,500 (USD 8,492) to be paid under subsection 40(1) of the Fisheries Act. Two penalties were also ordered by the Court.

An amount of CAD 500 (USD 499.56) will be paid to the Alberta Conservation Association for the creation and installation of a sign to educate the public about the fish species in Lesser Slave Lake. A total of CAD 81,000 (USD 80,928) will be paid to Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will be used to hire an environmental consultant to consider ways to enhance fish habitat and to conduct a monitoring project in the inland marina. The remainder of the penalty will be used to conserve and protect fish and fish habitat in the Lesser Slave Lake watershed.

Prior to undertaking work in or around water, Fisheries and Oceans Canada encourages the public to avoid potential harmful impacts to Canada’s fisheries by ensuring they have obtained and are in compliance with all necessary permits, approvals or authorizations from municipal, provincial, and federal agencies and authorities. 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.

editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Diamond mines clash with the fish habitat

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Diamond mining company De Beers lobbied government officials to allow them to drain a lake in the Northwest Territories, decimating local fish habitat, in order to move forward with its Gahcho Kue diamond mine. 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.

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/4337

Gravel mine and fish habitat collide

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Watching the Sound: More Scrutiny Called for Gravel Mine

written by Damien Gillis
Local Governments, Citizens Want More Scrutiny of Proposed Howe Sound Gravel Mine 
by Damien Gillis l The Canadian.org
Regional politicians in jurisdictions along Howe Sound are calling for a bigger role in the review of a major proposed gravel mine at McNab Creek. Several Sunshine Coast regional directors and councilors have recently stepped forward with concerns about the lack of local government involvement in the project’s environmental review – currently being carried out under the federal Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
Burnco Rock Products, Ltd. of Calgary wants to build a 77 hectare, 55 metre deep gravel and sand pit in acknowledge fish and wildlife habitat. The company estimates it can extract 1 – 1.6 million tonnes of gravel per year for 20-30 years from the property, rising to as much as 4 million tonnes in some years.
The size and potential environmental impact of the proposal have local politicians and citizens raising red flags. A local citizens’ group, The Future of Howe Sound Society, is also concerned the project has slid under the radar thus far and is urging the public to comment on the proposal by the end of the week, when the first public comment phase closes.

Directors of the Sunshine Coast Regional District expressed surprise at a January 19 meeting that the public comment period for the project was already underway. “We’ve got a huge thing going on, and we find out about it in the newspaper, when we have already registered quite a strong degree of concern,” West Howe Sound director Lee Turnbull told the meeting, according to the Coast Reporter. “The extent of this — this is going to be bigger than Sechelt. I’m not kidding. This is bigger than the [Lehigh] construction aggregate and it’s going to be running out of Howe Sound.”

The Future of Howe Sound Society has been warning the public about the project since last year. In November they issued a media release calling for more public involvement in the federal government’s process:

Howe Sound is only now recovering from the environmental damage and pollution caused by past mining and other industrial activities. Dolphins and whales are returning to Howe Sound for the first time in a generation and fish numbers are increasing. To now allow new industrial projects without a comprehensive land use plan would be short sighted and tragic. 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.

Public participation is necessary to ensure that any review conducted through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency goes beyond that and examines the overall impact on marine life, residents and users of Howe Sound.

The project was first proposed by Burnco in 2009 but faced a series of setbacks when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans sent it back to the drawing board with some key unanswered questions. The company says it’s addressed DFO’s concerns about potential impact on nearby fish habitat – which supports coho, chum, Chinook, pink and steelhead salmon and resident and sea-run cutthroat trout – but not everyone is convinced.

Councilor Dan Bouman told the Gibsons council meeting on January 17, “I’ve been aware of this project for about three years. I’m wondering: [DFO] is the key agency that has statutory authority to grant or not grant authority to do habitat damage. They’re saying it’s too much. Why are we going into environmental assessment?”

A report submitted on behalf of the company to the federal review process acknowledges a number of important wildlife values as well – listing 24 different blue and red listed species that may occur in the area of the proposed project. The report suggests about half of these species likely don’t use the specific area of the proposed pit, but acknowledges potential impacts to others:

[Species at Risk] confirmed to occur in the Property include coastal tailed frog (in Harlequin Creek), herons (forage in the spawning channel and McNab Creek mainstem), and barn swallow (nests in abandoned buildings). Other SAR that could potentially occur on the Property include red-legged frog, northern goshawk, band-tailed pigeon, coastal western screech-owl, sooty grouse, olive-sided flycatcher, and pine grosbeak.

The Future of Howe Sound Society is also concerned about the massive mine’s potential impacts on the broader region of the Sound – including whales and dolphins and other community values register its concerns about the project this week, saying on its website, “The aim of the Society is to protect the future of Howe Sound through the development of a comprehensive and holistic land and water use plan,” which the region currently lacks.

The group is urging citizens from the region and beyond to weigh in on the public comment process this week, saying, “If you do not make your views known, please understand this project and it’s predictable destruction in the Sound will take place unchallenged just at a time when the dolphins and whales have returned to the Sound.”

Damien Gillis is a Vancouver-based documentary filmmaker with a focus on environmental and social justice issues – especially relating to water, energy, and saving Canada’s wild salmon.
‘Salmon Farming Kills’ Spreading Like ISA

written by Press Release
Going Viral – ‘Salmon Farming Kills’ Spreading Like ISA
by Don Staniford l Salmon Farming Kills.com
Day 12 of the ‘Salmon Farming Kills’ lawsuit in Canada kicks off today (31 January) with lawyers arguing over the admissibility of expert evidence from Dr. John Volpe of the University of Victoria and defendant Don Staniford expected to take the stand this afternoon (or tomorrow). Events start at 10am in courtroom #52 (Hornby/Nelson St. entrance) with Justice Elaine Adair presiding – the trial is scheduled for 20 days (until 10 February) – read more details online here.Speaking exactly one year ago today when launching the ‘Salmon Farming Kills’ campaign (31 Jan 2011), Don Staniford said:

“Salmon farming kills around the world and should carry a global health warning. As good global citizens we need to face the fact that salmon farming seriously damages human health, the health of our global ocean and the health of wild fish. Salmon farming is spreading in Norway, Chile, Scotland, Canada, Ireland, the Faroes, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and now in Russia like a malignant cancer on our coasts. Quit salmon farming now and help stub out farmed salmon from the face of our precious planet.”

Global coverage of the ‘Salmon Farming Kills’ lawsuit is spreading like wildfire all over the world. The more the Norwegian giant Cermaq (owned by Norway’s Ministry of Trade and Industry) attempts to browbeat and bully defendant Don Staniford into silence the more the global backlash against salmon farming. And the more money flows into the coffers to pay Staniford’s lawyer David Sutherland (please support the cause online here <http://www.gofundme.com/donstaniford> ).

“When it comes to shooting themselves in the feet, few industries are as adept as <http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/01/06/salmon-lam-fish-farms-suffering- spate-escapes> industrial aquaculture,” writes Barry Estabrook in Take Part (30 January).

Fishing lodges across British Columbia stepped up to the plate yesterday (30 January). “Fishing lodges are circulating this poster, challenging other lodges to help pay Don Staniford’s  <http://www.gofundme.com/donstaniford> legal costs,” wrote Alexandra Morton in her blog. “More and more people realize if we want wild salmon it is up to us.”

In Sweden, the fishing magazine Fiske Journalen is supporting the fight against Norwegian-owned salmon farming. An article – “Laxodling dödar <http://fiskejournalen.se/%e2%80%9dlaxodling-dodar%e2%80%9d/> ” – published last week (26 January) included:

http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/sites/default/files/images/Don%20in%20Swedish%20fishing%20magazine.jpg

In Norway too support is growing with 60,000 NOK ($10,000 donated) by a salmon fishermen’s group called Reddvillaksen
<http://www.reddvillaksen.no/2012/01/reddvillaksen-no-stotter-don-staniford-i-rettsaken-mot-mainstream-cermac-med-60-000-nok/> . The donation was featured by Norway’s state broadcaster NRK in a news story <http://www.nrk.no/kanal/nrk_sapmi/1.7957119>  (17 January).

http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/sites/default/files/images/Don%20in%20NRK%202.jpg

Yesterday (30 January) Norwegian TV (TV2) broadcast another news story on the growing opposition to salmon farming in British Columbia. The news report featured footage from the mass rally for wild salmon in Victoria in 2010 with the chant “No more fish farms, no more fish farms” ringing out.

http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/sites/default/files/images/TV2%20on%20Terry.jpg”Enough is enough,” said Terry Dorward from Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. “If the Government’s not going to do it then I believe the people will. People will stand up and the people will shut these farms down. It’s that much of an important issue that people will go and fill up those jails.”

http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/sites/default/files/images/TV2%20on%20Terry%202.jpg

Watch online here
<http://www.tv2.no/nyheter/utenriks/trusler-mot-norsk-lakseoppdrett-tas-ikke-alvorlig-3696035.html>  (click on the orange play icon)

This followed a TV2 news report on the ‘Salmon Farming Kills’ lawsuit (21 January) – including footage from outside the Supreme Court of British Columbia and interviews with Don Staniford and his lawyer David Sutherland – watch online here
<http://www.tv2.no/nyheter/magasinet/don-kjemper-mot-norsk-lakseoppdrett-3688619.html>  (click the orange play icon).

http://www.superheroes4salmon.org/sites/default/files/images/TV2%20on%20lawsuit%202(1).jpg

Read more via ‘Norway’s TV 2 Lands in Vancouver: Mainstream/Cermaq SLAPP Suit Goes International’

Speaking today (31 January) before he is scheduled to take the witness stand, Don Staniford said: “Wild salmon and all the other species which depend upon healthy wild salmon populations need to hear our voice. If we want wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia then we must stand up and fight against the Norwegian-owned multinationals who are farming disease-ridden Atlantic salmon here in the Pacific. Speak up now for wild salmon or they will go the way of the buffalo and East coast cod.”

$90,000 Fine for Damage to Fish Habitat

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Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

January 31, 2012 12:00 ET

Court Imposes Significant Fine for Damage to Northern Pike Habitat

HIGH PRAIRE, ALBERTA–(Marketwire – Jan. 31, 2012) – On January 26, 2012 in the Provincial Court of Alberta, R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd. pled guilty to one count of a violation of subsection 35(1) of the Fisheries Act for “the harmful alteration, disruption, or destruction of fish habitat“. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine and penalties totaling $90,000. The charge related to a project proposal by Shadow Creek Resort Inc. (owned and directed by Mr. R.J. Williscroft) to construct and connect an inland marina and approaches in the community of Joussard, Alberta to Lesser Slave Lake, via a dredged channel.

The Court heard that on September 15, 2008, an environmental consultant sent applications on behalf of “Shadow Creek Resort Inc. c/o R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd.” to various federal and Alberta government departments, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, for approvals related to the construction of a proposed inland marina development on the south shore of Lesser Slave Lake. Fisheries and Oceans Canada concluded that the proposed works would likely result in the harmful alteration, disruption or destruction of fish habitat, thus an authorization and environmental assessment would be necessary. The environmental assessment began in October 2009. Aboriginal consultations with potentially affected First Nations and Métis groups began in December 2009. In the spring of 2010, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was notified of alleged works being conducted in the lake by the defendants prior to the environmental assessment and consultation process being complete, and prior to a Fisheries Act authorization being issued. The excavation of the lakebed removed aquatic vegetation and lakebed substrate and damaged spawning and rearing habitat for many Lesser Slave Lake species of fish, including Northern Pike, Walleye and Yellow Perch. Lesser Slave Lake sustains a valuable commercial, recreational and Aboriginal subsistence fishery.

At the request of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Court ordered a fine of $8,500 to be paid under subsection 40(1) of the Fisheries Act. Two penalties were also ordered by the Court. An amount of $500 will be paid to the Alberta Conservation Association for the creation and installation of a sign to educate the public about the fish species in Lesser Slave Lake. A total of $81,000 will be paid into Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund and will be used to hire an environmental consultant to consider ways to enhance fish habitat in the inland marina and to conduct a monitoring project in the inland marina. The remainder of the penalty will be used to conserve and protect fish and fish habitat in the Lesser Slave Lake watershed. 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.

Prior to undertaking work in or around water, Fisheries and Oceans Canada encourages the public to avoid the potential for any harmful impacts to Canada’s fisheries by ensuring they have obtained and are in compliance with all necessary permits, approvals or authorizations from municipal, provincial, and federal agencies and authorities.

FOR BROADCAST:

Fines were handed out in provincial court today after R.J. Williscroft Contracting Ltd. of Alberta pled guilty to damaging fish habitat in Lesser Slave Lake. The defendant was ordered to pay a total of $90,000 in fines and penalties for violating the federal Fisheries Act. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has requested that $81,000.00 of the penalties be directed to Environment Canada’s Environmental Damages Fund for fish habitat enhancement and monitoring in the inland marina and area.

Contact Information

  • Alicia McTavish
    Regional Communications Manager
    Fisheries and Oceans Canada
    Central and Arctic Region
    403-292-6599

New reefs for fish habitat in Maryland

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Artificial reefs for fish habitat
fish attractors

The new fishing season might seem like a long way off but we’re really only a couple months away from when folks will begin extracting fishing rods from attics and sheds, pulling winter tarps from their boats, and reviewing their charts, just to make extra sure they’re set and ready for the fun times ahead. The natural optimism found in most anglers may foster aspirations for a new fishing season filled with beautiful weather and stringers full of big fish. But in these times when it seems fishermen are so often hampered by political, environmental, and economic issues, even the most optimistic angler can sometimes have trouble keeping a smile on their face when the winter news carries so many headlines of “doom and gloom.” So it’s always refreshing to hear some good news about positive developments within the fishing industry. On that note, let me reintroduce to you the Ocean City Reef Foundation and MARI. 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.

Its activities may not always capture front-page headlines, but since 1997 the Ocean City Reef Foundation has been busy creating and enhancing offshore fish habitat through an ever-expanding network of artificial reefs. From boats to barges, cable to concrete, tanks to trains, in recent years Reef Foundation administrators have strategically submerged so much material off our shores that give fish traveling through Maryland waters a reason to reside and reproduce off our coast.

There have always been artificial reefs off Ocean City. But, until the Reef Foundation got to work, offshore structure was restricted to a small handful of boats and ships that accidentally sank, or structure that was intentionally put down by a few well meaning anglers on a very limited basis. Consequently, local wreck fishing used to be practiced by a relatively small segment of local anglers who, through years of trial and error, acquired the coordinates to the bulk of offshore structure. Since no one wants to schedule their day around fishing a certain wreck and then find someone else already anchored over it, once obtained these coordinates were very seldom shared with other fishermen. With such limited opportunities, local wreck fishing was destined to remain one of Ocean City’s best-kept secrets.

Not any more. The OC Reef Foundation has been so successful at seeding the waters that fishermen no longer have a need to keep a good thing to themselves. There’s plenty of places to fish, and plenty of fish once you get there.

When structure goes down it immediately begins to provide safe habitat for aquatic life. In relatively short order, entire living communities can establish themselves on, in, and around the structure. In areas where the ocean floor was little more than smooth bottom there becomes a living reef and complete food chain, from tiny microscopic plants and animals to large predators. The Reef Foundation is just getting warmed up; they sink structure all year and have lots more on the agenda.

A few years ago Maryland also got into the reef building business when they kicked off the Maryland Artificial Reef Initiative (MARI), which includes over 60 private, state, and federal partners, and acts as a funding mechanism (using private and corporate donations) for reef development in Maryland. It’s a volunteer organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and creating fish habitat in tidewater Maryland. Funding for MARI comes from the Coastal Conservation Association, Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the coalition of donors and partners. MARI brings together a coalition of diverse stakeholders to accomplish meaningful and measurable goals that not only benefit the sport fishing industry, but also provide priceless marine habitat. Last summer, MARI had a hand in the offshore sinking of the 564-foot warship Radford which is now in striking distance of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey fishermen.

Though spring is still few months away, sooner or later it will be here and happy anglers will once again put to sea in hopes of enjoying their best fishing season ever. Fishermen should take comfort in knowing that the Ocean City Reef Foundation and MARI are working hard to ensure that such hopes can indeed become reality. For more information about the Reef Foundation visitwww.ocreeffoundation.com, or see www.dnr.state.md.us for details on MARI.

Written by
Mark Sampson

Recreational Fisheries Award to Kamloops

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Minister Shea Presents 2011 National Recreational Fisheries Award to Kamloops Volunteer

KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwire – Jan. 19, 2012) – The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue and Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, on behalf of the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Gateway today presented Mr. Mo Bradley with a Recreational Fisheries Award in their home community of Kamloops.

“Mr. Bradley has contributed to Canada’s world-renowned recreational fisheries,” said Minister Shea. “It is important to recognize the hard work of volunteers who are committed to building sustainable fisheries in their communities.”

For over 30 years, Mr. Bradley has been developing and promoting recreational fishing in the Kamploops/Shuswap area of British Columbia. He is passionate about fishing and about teaching others how to fish, particularly young people. In teaching others, he never emphasizes the catching of the fish, rather the whole experience of fishing including observation of the natural world.

He has been an active member of local fishing clubs, contributing to expansion of programs to provide more fishing opportunities and educational experiences. As a board member for the Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, Mr. Bradley lent his expertise and understanding of the needs of the fishery to ensure that fisheries projects would be of long term benefit to the resource.

A master fly-tyer, Mr. Bradley donates more than 3,000 flies each year to conservation groups to raise funds; flies tied by Mr. Bradley are much in demand. Passing on his knowledge and expertise to the future generation of anglers is considered by his peers to be the best aspect of his accomplishments overall.

“As Mr. Bradley is committed to ensuring that recreational fisheries are preserved, so is our Government,” said MP McLeod “We are proud to honour the efforts of such dedicated volunteers who make such an important contribution to this important tradition.”

Canada’s National Recreational Fisheries Awards were created in 1989 to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals and organizations in areas such as recreational community leadership, restoring and enhancing fisheries and fish habitat or promoting conservation and sustainable recreational fishing. 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.

For Broadcast:

The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of National Revenue and Cathy McLeod, Member of Parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo today presented a 2011 National Recreational Fisheries Award to Mr. Mo Bradley. Canada’s Recreational Fisheries Awards were created in 1989 to recognize outstanding contributions by individuals and organizations in areas such as recreational angling, community leadership, restoring and enhancing fisheries and fish habitat or promoting conservation and sustainable recreational fishing.

Contact Information

  • Frank Stanek
    Media Relations
    Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa
    613-990-7537

    Barbara Mottram
    Press Secretary
    Office of the Minister
    Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ottawa
    613-992-3474
    http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Tweed river fish habitat in good hands

Posted on by david
Jim Ryan, a state river scientist, surveys a restoration project on the Tweed River in Pittsfield on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Floods triggered by Tropical Storm Irene sent the river shooting into a new path that threatened a mill downstream. Road crews seeking gravel further altered the river, making it more unstable. To restore the Tweed, river scientists redesigned a 1,800-foot stretch of the stream, to make it more stable, protect private property and restore fish habitat. Ryan stands on gravel used to fill in the Irene flood channel. That area will be the river's new floodplain -- a relief valve during heavy rains and spring snowmelt. The river flows in its new, more stable channel farther from houses and Vermont 100.
Jim Ryan, a state river scientist, surveys a restoration project on the Tweed River in Pittsfield on Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. Floods triggered by Tropical Storm Irene sent the river shooting into a new path that threatened a mill downstream. Road crews seeking gravel further altered the river, making it more unstable. To restore the Tweed, river scientists redesigned a 1,800-foot stretch of the stream, to make it more stable, protect private property and restore fish habitat. Ryan stands on gravel used to fill in the Irene flood channel. That area will be the river’s new floodplain — a relief valve during heavy rains and spring snowmelt. The river flows in its new, more stable channel farther from houses and Vermont 100. / CANDACE PAGE, Free Press

Written by
Candace Page

 

PITTSFIELD — Jim Ryan stood with Ray Colton on the banks of the Tweed River on Oct. 7 and shook his head, more in resignation than disbelief. He’d seen too many places like this in the last month.

“What a mess,” he said. He made a note in his notebook: “Colton’s mill site: Site is hammered.”

The river running past Colton’s firewood mill looked more like an abandoned gravel pit than a babbling brook.

On Aug. 28, Tropical Storm Irene had ravaged this stretch of the Tweed, a scenic stream that borders Vermont 100 between Killington and Stockbridge. Highway crews compounded the damage. Desperate for gravel to repair the washed-out highway and its broken bridges, they drove excavators and dump trucks into the river and scooped out tons of stone.

The tracks of heavy equipment could still be seen as ridged indentations on gravel bars. Much of the river’s water ran in a stony ditch gouged out by the road crews, but the rest trickled in multiple threads through the gravel islands.

Just upstream, the river had jumped its bank, eating up the field behind Sarah and Gordon Gray’s house and carving a new channel that barely missed Colton’s mill. More than 100 feet of riverbank snowmobile trail had disappeared.

Colton was worried about what would happen in the next high water.

“I’m afraid the river wants to come right through the yard,” he said, referring to his millyard with its stacks of logs. He’d spent the night of Irene sleeping in a camper at the mill to keep an eye on the river.

Ryan shared Colton’s concern about damage from a future flood, but had other worries as well.

“From a water quality and fish habitat perspective, the conditions were just horrible,” he said later. “Think about fish trying to stay cool in the middle of summer. Instead of deep shaded pools, they would have this shallow, braided stream.

“Yes, the river might have healed itself, but it could have taken decades. Something needed to be done,” he said.

Irene had jerked Ryan, a stocky, soft-spoken man, from his job as a state watershed coordinator to join the state’s lightly staffed River Management Program. He had spent the weeks since criss-crossing the White River watershed to survey river damage and to provide guidance to towns about rebuilding bridges and culverts in more flood-resistant ways.

Before the arrival of Ryan and his peers, road crews had torn up river channels across central and southern Vermont. Vermonters were treated to the surreal site of excavators, backhoes and dump trucks chugging through trout streams to remove whole shoals of gravel.

Much of this post-Irene emergency work did not just destroy fish habitat. It left rivers unstable — prone to severe erosion of their banks and sudden changes in course during high water — and thus potentially dangerous.

The challenge facing Ryan at Colton’s mill and elsewhere was: What do we do now? How do we restore a river? How do we resolve the conflict between the laws of physics governing a river’s natural behavior with the need to protect homes, roads and businesses on the bank?

And how do we do all this given shortages of money, manpower and work days before winter?

‘Don’t fight the river’

The traditional Vermont response to flood damage has been to dredge out new gravel deposits and to keep water moving past private property by digging out a straight river channel with banks armored in stone.

Over the last 20 years, river scientists have learned that such “solutions” come with a cost and often do not work. At best, a channelized, armored river will need frequent maintenance. At worst, the river’s potential for damage will simply move downstream.

“The idea is you don’t want to fight to create a river channel that the forces of nature will constantly work against,” says Shayne Jaquith, the state’s river restoration scientist.

After looking at the Tweed, Ryan persuaded Colton not to insist on a quick, Band-Aid fix that would be unlikely to last. Then he won agreement from Colton, the state Transportation Agency and the town of Pittsfield to share the cost of some restoration.

Ryan hoped to resculpt 1,800 feet of river, giving it something close to the form, slope and dimensions the river would find, in time, if it were left alone.

If the design worked, the river would be stable, that is, powerful enough to move sediment downstream — one of a river’s jobs — but not so powerful it cut a deeper and deeper channel or collapsed its banks.

But “stable” in a river system doesn’t mean unchanging. Rivers naturally migrate across a valley landscape, eroding earth from the outside of bends, depositing dirt and stones on the inside of bends where water moves more slowly.

Compromise would be necessary. Here, as farther downstream, the Tweed could not be allowed to migrate willy-nilly because that would endanger the highway and buildings on its banks.

Meanwhile, across Vermont, river management engineers were facing dozens of similar situations — rivers used as gravel mines, landowners calling for new river channels to be moved away from their homes, anglers complaining about the destruction of fish habitat.

Winter loomed. Towns, already facing million-dollar road repair bills, were unable to undertake expensive river restoration projects. The state lacks sufficient staff to design and carry out multiple complicated restorations.

Compromise was required everywhere. Mike Kline, director of river management for the state, compared the dilemma to the building of a new home on a limited budget: The first priority is to get the superstructure right; interior details can wait.

“The basic work we could do was to get people to stop digging — stop digging an 80-foot-wide channel in a 30-foot-wide stream! We would redirect them to fill back in to get the dimensions of the channel right. Get that superstructure right. With that, the river can rebuild over time,” he said.

Resculpting a river

On the Tweed, Ryan had commitments for funding that he hoped would allow him to do a more complete restoration.

He and Jaquith assembled a survey crew to spend a day creating a topographical map of the river, measuring the width, depth and slope of the post-Irene channel.

They compared their measurements to what river science, and data about the Tweed watershed, indicated should be the stream’s natural dimensions. They also used U.S. Geological Survey data to determine how much “bedload” — gravel and sediment — the river should have the capacity to move downstream.

It was clear that big changes were needed.

At the point in the watershed where Colton’s mill sits, the Tweed’s channel should be about 45 feet wide and 2.5 feet deep, as measured from the top of one bank to the top of the opposite bank.

The post-Irene, post-dredging, channel was more than twice as wide and half as deep. The river had lost some of its bend, so it flowed at too steep a slope.

In the end, Jaquith designed a new path for the Tweed much like the one the river had chosen for itself in the years before Irene.

He called for the new channel cut by the river across the Grays’ field to be filled in. The ditch excavated post-Irene would disappear. Mathematical formulas determined the radius and frequency of three new bends that would send the river past the Grays’ house and Colton’s mill in a series of lazy curves.

Those meanders decreased the slope of the river, slowing down the force of the water. In one place, a bend would bring the river against immovable ledges on the far side of the narrow valley, a place where a good fishing hole might develop. Where another bend curved toward Colton’s mill, riprap would protect the bank from erosion.

The newly carved river channel would be 45 feet across. The rest of the 150-foot-wide gravel bed left after Irene would become the river’s new floodplain, a pressure relief valve to hold water during spring snowmelt and moderate floods.

At the tail end of November, the excavators went to work.

‘We’re 80 percent there’

As the heavy equipment finished its work on Dec. 2, the river landscape looked raw, as though newly scraped by a glacier. A wide expanse of gravel, the new floodplain, stretched up-river in the place of the Irene flood channel.

Out beyond the gravel plain, the river meandered gracefully back and forth across the valley within well-defined banks. Driftwood tree trunks had been anchored in the riverbank, their root systems sticking out into the water where they would absorb some of the force of the water and thus protect the banks from erosion. Rocks protected the stretch of shore beside Colton’s mill.

“In the end, I was satisfied,” the mill owner said last week, although he said it had been necessary for him to rein in the river scientists’ plans to import boulders to place in the stream to dissipate more stream energy and create fish habitat. 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.

“I paid my share, it got done and the river looks pretty good,” he said.

Jaquith and Ryan were satisfied they had done the best they could, within the constraints of an $11,000 budget and — ironically — a shortage of gravel to better define the channel edges at the far end of the 1,800-foot reach. Too much gravel had been dredged out of the waterway.

“What I saw there, that first day, was an ugly thing — I remember thinking, ‘How can someone do something like this to a river, even though it wasn’t done in malice?’ — but what came out of it I hope can be a model,” Ryan said last week.

“We restored a river in a collaborative way. All the parties responsible for the damage came together and did the right thing. We didn’t have to fine anybody or go through environmental enforcement. We have a better stream for stability, for protecting infrastructure, for fish.

“It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it was a good start,” he said.

Reconnecting Habitat on Wyoming’s Salt River

Posted on by david

Salt River Diversion Dam
This diversion dam on Wyoming’s Salt River seems pretty low, but it was blocking
access to vital spawning habitat for some trout and other native fish.
 
photo courtesy Trout Unlimited

Across the West, many rivers and watersheds are fragmented by old diversion dams and other irrigation infrastructure. That’s a big problem for trout, which need access to the full range of river habitat in order to thrive. For Trout Unlimited, upgrading these obsolete or inefficient irrigation systems offers a tremendous opportunity to restore rivers. With the help of Orvis funding, TU recently completed an exciting “reconnection” project on the Salt River in west-central Wyoming that should boost both the fish habitat and the fishing.  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.

The Salt River is home to native Yellowstone cutthroat trout, as well as wild rainbows and browns. But they faced a big obstacle: an aging, solitary diversion dam imposed a two-foot-high vertical barrier to fish movement. While adult fish could likely clear the hurdle most of the year, smaller trout and other native species weren’t able to move upstream.

Salt River Fish Ladder
The new fish ladder (in foreground) is a low-tech, low-maintenance solution that
will open some 21 miles of habitat to spawning fish.
 
photo courtesy Trout Unlimited

TU’s Jim Gregory, working with Wyoming Game and Fish and the Eastside Canal Company, saw a golden opportunity to retrofit the structure with a fish ladder and open up some 21 miles of mainstem river habitat. This fall, TU and its partners—including the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust and the U.S. Forest Service—constructed a rock-ramp type fish ladder on the southern side of the diversion structure that provides a low-velocity, low-gradient passageway using a design that is simple, stable, and low-maintenance. The completed ladder allows all native fish species to clear the diversion hurdle and access upstream tributaries—such as Willow Creek, Stump Creek, and Crow Creek—which provide critical spawning and rearing habitatfor native fish.

Sometimes, as on the Salt River, removing a single barrier can dramatically improve miles of habitat for fish. TU is working on dozens of these infrastructure upgrade projects that offer some of the best opportunities to restore rivers for wildlife. As far as we know, no one is making any new rivers, but this might be the next best thing.

For more information on the Orvis/TU Culvert Fund, visit the Orvis Commitment page.

Randy Scholfield is the Director of Communications/Western Water Project for Trout Unlimited. 

Leaser lake gets more fish habitat

Posted on by david
Looking back on 2011, the most striking factor affecting the outdoors community in Berks County had to be the lopsided weather we had. Who remembers such a year from the past?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.

Winter ice stretched almost into spring, then rain, rain rain. We were inundated in late August and September by a double-whammy – a hurricane and a tropical storm, followed by summer heat in autumn and a November deer season with days so warm you could hunt in camo t-shirts. For decades to come, weather-wise, 2011 may be the year to which we compare all others.

The saddest events were weather-related too. The flooding, Sept. 7, of Limestone Springs Trout Hatchery by Tropical Storm Lee washed thousands of trout into Upper Tulpehocken Creek which, in turn, were attacked by ill-behaving anglers who angered and frustrated landowners so much they have cut off future access to a once popular portion of the stream.

Flooding also caused an abbreviated pheasant hunting season in 2011. An estimated 35,000 pheasants died or were lost during the autumn floods at the state pheasant farms and the Pennsylvania Game Commission had to cancel late season pheasant stocking.

On the plus side, kids had much to celebrate in 2011. Fishing rodeos, youth hunts and mentored outings, the opening day of the trout fishing season and the annual Youth Field Day rank right up there as highlights.

Rick Heckman of Fleetwood was named 2011 Berks County Outdoor Sports Person of the Year for his volunteer leadership in the Berks Izaak Walton League and with the Federated Sportsman’s Club of Berks County.

The outdoors community made notable efforts to help feed the hungry in Berks last year. From canned goods collections by students to campaigns for frozen meat by Hunters Sharing the Harvest, Mohnton Fish and Game and Berks County Hunters Fighting Hunger much needed food was gathered and donated to the Greater Berks Food Bank and the Reading Salvation Army.

Finally, two area conservation and habitat improvement projects were highlights in 2011. An extraordinary riparian project along Willow Creek, north of Route 73, required many organizations working together to strengthen and repair the path of the beautiful winding stream.

And likewise, just north of the Berks County line near Kempton, the Leaser Lake Heritage Foundation, working with private, public, state and national organizations have nearly completed rehabilitation of Leaser Lake, a popular Berks angler destination. The fish habitat improvements in the lake are among the most advanced in the state.

Last year at this time, anglers were fishing through the ice on area lakes during what was one of the longest ice fishing seasons in many years. Today, there is no sign of ice, an oddity which will likely make 2012’s outdoor highlight list.

Contact Roger Mallon: 610-371-5060 or sports@readingeagle.com.

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