Eddies Reflections on Fisheries Conservation
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Summer 2009 Eddies Reflections on Fisheries Conservation 45560_USGP.indd 1 9/4/09 4:14:20 AM Departments Headwaters 3 American Fishes 10 Watermarks 4 Meanders 30 Eddies Pioneers 8 Vol. 2, No. 2 Publisher Features Bryan Arroyo, Assistant Director U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Dancing with What’s B’low–24 Fisheries and Habitat Conservation Reservoirs–12 Ryck Lydecker Dr. Karl Hess Executive Editor Stuart Leon, Ph.D. Deputy Editor Richard Christian Jurassic Pork–16 The Relevance Craig Springer of Creel Surveys Editor to Fisheries Craig Springer Conservation–26 Contributing writers Bob Wattendorf Meredith Bartron Thomas McCoy Reservoirs on Barry Bolton Michael Montoya the American John Bryan Jeffery Powell Dan Burleson Randi Sue Smith Landscape–20 Dr. Karl Hess Joe Starinchak Chris Horton Chris Horton Denise Wagner David Klinger Bob Wattendorf Sarah Leon Stephanie West Ryck Lydecker Editorial Advisors Mark Brouder, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ryck Lydecker, Boat Owners Association of the United States Mark Maskill, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Hal Schramm, Ph.D., U.S. Geological Survey Michael Smith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (retired) Denise Wagner, Wonders of Wildlife Museum Assistant Regional Directors – Fisheries Dan Diggs, Pacific Region John Engbring, Pacific Southwest Region Jaime Geiger, Ph.D., Northeast Region Linda Kelsey, Southeast Region Mike Oetker, Southwest Region LaVerne Smith, Alaska Region Mike Stempel, Mountain–Prairie Region Mike Weimer, Great Lakes–Big Rivers Region Springer Contact For subscription information visit our web site, Craig www.fws.gov/eddies, email [email protected], Reservoirs provide tremendous angling opportunities call 505 248-6867, or write to: throughout the U.S. Craig Springer USFWS Fisheries RM 9100D 500 Gold Ave. SW Albuquerque, NM 87103 The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Design is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, Blue Heron Communications wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Summer 2009 On the Cover E d d i e s of the American people. Anglers work the R e fl e c t i o n s o n F i s h e r i e s Conservation shallows in the mist. Mitch Kezar photo CONSERVING U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 2 Eddies Summer 2009 45560_USGP.indd 2 9/16/09 12:03:50 AM Headwaters Stitches in the Fabric of Fisheries Conservation By Bryan Arroyo father in Puerto Rico where I grew up. Now, with my wife and two daughters, we enjoy fishing on reservoirs in northern Virginia. In this issue of Eddies, you will read about the challenges and opportunities of fisheries management in reservoirs and the waters that feed them, and the waters that drain them. U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist, Dr. Karl Hess, writes in his story “Dancing with Reservoirs” about the conundrum to conservation that reservoirs create. “We are confounded by something that is unnatural, yet USFWS indisputably a natural part of our lives,” writes Hess. He makes a compelling argument that reservoirs need to be By definition, they are simply artificial bodies of water. treated as something that are here to stay. Reservoirs of all sizes dot the American landscape. A deeper look into reservoirs reveals things aren’t so Reservoirs are an unnatural part of life for paddlefish. simple. Because of their inherent artificial nature, they The story “Jurassic Pork” tells you how we manage a fish can have both positive and negative consequences to that needs long reaches of river to survive. fisheries. Creel clerks may be the only fisheries professionals you Regardless of size, reservoirs typically have their ever meet on a lake. So what happens to the information genesis in some societal need. They provide power; they that you provide the clerks? Florida Fish and Wildlife store water to irrigate our vegetables; they improve Conservation Commission writer, Bob Wattendorf, lays it the quality of life by preventing floods downstream. all out in his “Creel Survey” story. Reservoirs store the water that people need to drink. “What’s B’low,” an evocative story by Ryck Lydecker, will People need water – and so do fish. It’s self-evident, I have you think twice about what is and what was under know. But what may not be so evident is that manmade your favorite reservoir. The statistics he presents on lakes, as artificial as they may be, have become a part of recreation on reservoirs are instructive. the societal fabric, and that’s what this issue of Eddies touches upon. Most reservoirs were built for multiple purposes, and provide services many are unwilling to go without. Probably since time began, mankind has altered the Fisheries conservation needs to be meshed in those environment to suit societal needs. The Hohokum multiple purposes, and that requires fisheries culture hundreds of years ago in the arid American professionals in my charge to be fluent in other Southwest engineered the means to deliver what came “languages” like hydrology and engineering. I know we from the sky. That engineering, though greatly more are up to the challenges of looking out for the interest of sophisticated in the present, continues today. fish and anglers. Be assured, the people that we employ are highly competent professionals. Reservoir building in the United States accelerated during the 1930s, with Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Fishing is a legacy to pass along, and I encourage you to Deal.” Dam building hit its highpoint in the 1960s. take the Angler’s Pledge as I have to take someone new As a consequence, we have water bodies where just fishing. You can learn about the Pledge on page 7. about anyone can get to one of them in a day’s drive, or less. These places are where we come to know our I am immensely proud to be given charge of the nation’s grandparents, or our children. It was, and remains, premiere fishery management agency as the new no exception for me. Though I cut my angling teeth Assistant Director. It is a high honor to serve you. as a toddler on New York’s Hudson River, I came of age fishing for largemouth bass in a reservoir with my Bryan Arroyo is the Assistant Director for Fisheries and Habitat Conservation in Washington, DC. Vol. 2, No. 2 Reflections on Fisheries Conservation 45560_USGP.indd 3 9/4/09 4:14:24 AM RunningWatermarks Head Text Science connects brook trout in Nash Stream Hunt. Shoot. Fish. Share the pride. National Hunting and Fishing Day is September 26, 2009, but the new materials available at www.nhfday. org are designed as a year-round celebration of the NHF Day theme. Speeches at school, lectures for civic groups, presentations at club meetings – these are just a few of the uses for new communication tools now available free from NHF Day. PowerPoint slides, sample script, automated slideshow with audio, speaking tips, handouts and more, all can help you deliver a compelling message about hunting, fishing and conservation. That is, conservation in America succeeds because of hunters Bartlett/USFWS and anglers who generate $100,000 Carla every 30 minutes for fish, wildlife and Brook trout broadside. habitat programs. F Denise Wagner The population of brook trout in with habitat information and results T • SHOOT • F northern New Hampshire’s Nash from a concurrent tagging study to UN ISH Stream has been greatly reduced. identify which culverts most limit H The science of genetics aims to brook trout movement. Culverts can turn that around. Many of its be strategically replaced in Nash tributaries hold small populations Stream and expedite brook trout SH IDE of brook trout, but their ability to restoration. F Meredith Bartron ARE THE PR move within, and into, neighboring tributaries and to reach the Nash Stream mainstem is limited. Numerous road culverts keep trout Protect Your Waters from moving about the drainage. Anglers and boaters can unknowingly introduce invasive The conservation genetics lab at organisms into aquatic ecosystems the Lamar Fish Technology Center via their unwashed boots, boats, in Pennsylvania has examined and tackle. So make sure you the genetic relationships of brook properly clean and dry anything trout throughout the Nash Stream that comes into contact with drainage, assessing the gene flow the water—that includes your between brook trout populations, dog—before moving on to a new both above and below presumed water body. When boating or barriers. The resulting data infer fishing, it’s important to avoid whether fish can move through transporting aquatic organisms. culverts. See protectyourwaters.net. F Working with New Hampshire Joe Starinchak Department of Fish and Game and U.S. Geological Survey, the genetic data from Lamar are integrated 4 Eddies Summer 2009 45560_USGP.indd 4 9/4/09 4:14:26 AM Running Head Text Mescalero Apache youth in natural resources The Mescalero Youth Conservation Corps is more than summertime employment. It is more than a job after school or on the weekends. It is character-building. We practice integrity, humility, and courage; we honor our ancestors by caring for the very homelands which they sacrificed their lives to protect. It is a pathway to our future, a bridge between school and work, a conduit to a career in natural resource Tribe management. It is trust, based on loving and respecting yourself, having concern for Apache team members, and working together for the good of the community. It is pride built upon self-awareness in who we are as Indian people, conscious of our heritage, obligated to preserving the blessings of the Creator. Montoya/Mescalero We honor our elders, our traditions, and our culture.