LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF WILDLIFE & FISHERIES OFFICE OF FISHERIES INLAND FISHERIES SECTION PART VI -A WATERBODY MANAGEMENT PLAN SERIES ATCHAFALAYA BASIN LAKE HISTORY & MANAGEMENT ISSUES 1 CHRONOLOGY October, 2009 – Prepared by Mike Walker, Biologist Supervisor, District 9 July, 2011 – Updated by Mike Walker, Biologist Manager, District 9 February, 2014 – Updated by Brac Salyers, Biologist Manager, District 9 September, 2014 – Updated by Brac Salyers, Biologist Manager, District 9 September, 2015 – Updated by Brac Salyers, Biologist Manager, District 9 September, 2016 – Updated by Brac Salyers, Biologist Manager, District 9 September, 2017 – Updated by Brac Salyers, Biologist Manager, District 9 September, 2018 – Updated by Brac Salyers, Biologist Manager, District 9 The remainder of this page intentionally left blank. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS LAKE HISTORY ................................................................................................................................................. 4 GENERAL INFORMATION.............................................................................................................................. 4 History ........................................................................................................................................................... 4 Size ................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Watershed....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Pool stage ....................................................................................................................................................... 7 Parish/s located .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Border waters ................................................................................................................................................. 7 LAKE AUTHORITY.......................................................................................................................................... 7 Association ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Authorization .................................................................................................................................................. 7 ACCESS ............................................................................................................................................................ 7 Boat docks ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 State/Federal facilities .................................................................................................................................... 7 SHORELINE DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................................................................... 8 State/National Parks ....................................................................................................................................... 8 Shoreline development by landowners ............................................................................................................. 8 PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF LAKE .............................................................................................................. 8 Timber type..................................................................................................................................................... 8 Average depth ................................................................................................................................................. 8 Maximum depth .............................................................................................................................................. 8 Natural seasonal water fluctuation .................................................................................................................. 8 EVENTS/ PROBLEMS .................................................................................................................................... 10 MANAGEMENT ISSUES .................................................................................................................................. 10 AQUATIC VEGETATION .............................................................................................................................. 10 Biomass ........................................................................................................................................................ 10 Treatment history by year available .............................................................................................................. 11 HISTORY OF REGULATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 17 Recreational ................................................................................................................................................. 17 Commercial .................................................................................................................................................. 18 FISH KILLS / DISEASE HISTORY, LMBV ..................................................................................................... 18 CONTAMINANTS / POLLUTION .................................................................................................................. 19 Water quality ................................................................................................................................................ 19 BIOLOGICAL ................................................................................................................................................. 19 Fish samples taken by LDWF ........................................................................................................................ 19 Lake records ................................................................................................................................................. 20 Stocking History ........................................................................................................................................... 21 Species profile .............................................................................................................................................. 22 Threatened/endangered/ and exotic species ................................................................................................... 25 CREEL ............................................................................................................................................................ 26 Historic information ..................................................................................................................................... 26 Recent methods ............................................................................................................................................. 27 HYDROLOGICAL CHANGES ........................................................................................................................ 27 WATER USE ................................................................................................................................................... 34 Hunting ........................................................................................................................................................ 35 Fishing ......................................................................................................................................................... 35 APPENDIX I – MAPS ........................................................................................................................................ 36 APPENDIX II ..................................................................................................................................................... 41 3 LAKE HISTORY GENERAL INFORMATION History The Atchafalaya River Basin is located in south-central Louisiana. (See Maps 1 and 2, Appendix I) A full map of features and ownership of land in the basin is available for download from the Office of State Lands online at the following link: http://www.doa.la.gov/osl/FPP/Publications/Atchafalaya_Basin_Webmap.jpg ; or for purchase at the following link: http://www.doa.la.gov/Pages/osl/Forms.aspx . The history of the Atchafalaya River and its basin is not complete without mention of the geological history of the Mississippi River. The Atchafalaya Basin was formed thousands of years ago as part of the periodic meandering of the Mississippi. Much of the land contained in the basin was formed by the Cypremort/Sale and the Teche lobes of previous Mississippi River delta complexes. Geologists would not technically classify the Atchafalaya River as a river since it actually has functioned as a distributary of the Mississippi River since the 1500’s (van Heerden, I. L., and H. H. Roberts 1980. The Atchafalaya Delta-Louisiana’s New Prograding Coast. Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions (30):497–506). The Mississippi