UPPER LLANO RIVER WATERSHED PROTECTION ISSUE 4 PLAN NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2015 YEAR IN REVIEW: THE UPPER LLANO WATERSHED PROTECTION PLAN Welcome to the fourth Upper Llano River their leadership. Watershed Protection Plan (WPP) newslet- Other notable news: Former Kimble Coun- ter and thank you for your continued inter- ty Judge and Coordination Committee mem- est in preserving our valuable resource. ber Andrew Murr was elected as a State Last year we took many strides in developing Representative – congratulations!!! the WPP, along with saying goodbye to a Since the last newsletter, the Science Team Inside this issue: great friend and watershed supporter, Daryl has been diligently working to model various Stanley. Daryl’s love of the North Llano was best management practices (BMPs) recom- evident and his passion for protection unpar- mended by the Working Groups that en- Fishing warm water 2 alleled. Daryl will be missed and we thank hance the quantity and quality of runoff and streams... him and his family for all of his hard work on recharge. In addition, writing of the intro- the WPP. ductory chapters of the WPP began, Work- Guadalupe bass work- 3 Other Coordination Committees have relo- ing Groups met, and water quality sampling shop cated or accepted new positions. Fred continued and completed for the project in January 2015. Look for a review of modeling Gregg, former South Llano River State Park If only we knew 4 Superintendent relocated to a new Texas and water quality monitoring results in the Parks and Wildlife Department position. next edition of the newsletter. Marvin Ivy former City of Junction Chief of In 2015, it is expected that the Coordination Macroinvertebrates of 5 Police officially retired from duty. Mr. Gregg Committee will meet on a regular basis to the Upper Llano and Mr. Ivy put in many hours in the devel- begin review of components of the WPP and opment of the WPP and we thank them for agree on best management practices with the anticipation of a completed draft of the Upcoming Events 6 document by summer. Public input will be solicited throughout the process. Upon in- corporation of comments, the draft WPP will be made publicly available. For more information on the WPP, plan to attend the February 5th Coordination Com- mittee meeting or visit the South Llano Wa- tershed Alliance at southllano.org, or con- tact Tom Arsuffi at the Llano River Field Station. Thank you again for your interest and we look forward to seeing you at up- coming events! Page 2 UPPER LLANO RIVER WATERSHED PROTECTION PLAN NEWSLETTER FISHING WARMWATER STREAMS WITH LIMITED PUBLIC ACCESS: Angling behavior, economic impact, and the role of Guadalupe Bass in a 24-county region in Texas BY: ZACK THOMAS, TOM ARSUFFI AND STEVE MAGNELIA This article was originally printed in Black Bass Diversity: Multidisciplinary Science for Conservation. American Fishery Society Publications. 2014. The Guadalupe Bass, Micropterus treculii, black bass, and 42% specifically fished is a Central Texas endemic black bass for Guadalupe Bass on their trips. An species occurring only in streams and additional 34% of anglers listed black rivers draining the Edwards Plateau bass species, which included Guada- ecoregion. It is designated the State Fish lupe bass as their most preferred spe- of Texas and provides a popular sport cies. Similar to previous surveys of fishery. In addition to being a popular Texas river and stream anglers, access sport fish, it is listed as a species of spe- was identified as the largest impedi- cial concern due to habitat degradation ment to the future maintenance and and hybridization with smallmouth bass improvement of river and stream fish- (Micropterus dolomieu). Past socioeco- ing. Based on 563 surveys used in the nomic surveys of Texas black bass an- economic impact analysis, using IM- glers have focused primarily on reservoir PLAN® (Impact Analysis for Planning) fisheries, while little is known about fish- software, an estimated $74,182,080 in ing patterns, economic impact and pref- direct angler expenditures was spent erences of river and stream anglers. A on fishing trips to the study region, Guadalupe bass fingerlings acclimating to Web-based open-access survey was used resulting in a total economic impact river conditions before release into the South to quantify fishing characteristics, assess (including indirect and induced im- Llano River. Image courtesy of Texas Parks attitudes, and the economic impact of pacts) of $71,552,492 and supported and Wildlife Department. anglers fishing rivers and streams in a 24- 776 full-time jobs. These findings indi- county region of Texas from August 20, cate the economic importance of river 2011 to December 20, 2012, with a fo- and stream angling to the Texas econ- cus on anglers who specifically fished for omy the role of Guadalupe Bass in a Guadalupe Bass. A total of 700 respond- 24-county region in Texas Resources ents participated in the survey. Over half Conservation Service. of respondents were paddlers targeting The South Llano Watershed Alliance launched “Watershed Week in Review,” a new newsletter. Over the past few years, information of interest to SLWA members has been shared via the Alliance Website, the Alliance Facebook page and the Alliance email list serve. Information will continue to be shared in this manner, but emails will now be consolidated via this newsletter. Page 3 UPPER LLANO RIVER WATERSHED PROTECTION PLAN NEWSLETTER VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 GUADALUPE BASS WORKSHOP BY: MEAGN BEAN This article was contributed by Texas Parks and Wildlife cluding aquifer recharge features, springs, creeks, and Department. streams, as well as important streamside habitats. Many properties where successful projects have been imple- The South Llano Watershed Alliance and Texas Tech Uni- mented are now serving as conservation demonstration versity Llano River Field Station hosted a symposium in Oc- areas. These areas are showcasing best management tober that provided information and updates about the Gua- practices and serving as catalysts for coordinated, science dalupe Bass Restoration Initiative. This initiative is an inno- -based conservation of aquatic resources throughout the vative approach to fish and wildlife conservation through the region. engagement of many partners collaborating in watershed scale conservation and restoration to protect native aquatic · Guadalupe Bass face several threats throughout species and habitats. One of the unique, native fishes found their range such as hybridization with Smallmouth Bass, only in Texas is the State Fish of Texas, the Guadalupe and diminished habitat and water quality and availability Bass. Populations of Guadalupe Bass throughout its native to name a few. Several research studies by Texas Tech range are threatened by hybridization with Smallmouth Bass, University, Texas State University – San Marcos, and Tex- poor habitat quality, and increased water demands from as Parks and Wildlife have looked at the species’ hybridi- human population growth. The Initiative is addressing these zation with Smallmouth Bass, where Guadalupe Bass pre- threats by conducting and collaborating in activities and res- fer to live in the river, what they typically eat, how far the toration projects that are protecting and restoring im- species will travel, how river flow impacts growth, and portant terrestrial, riparian, and aquatic habitats; reducing success of stocking programs to facilitate genetic restora- fragmentation of habitats; reducing erosion and unstable tion. Guadalupe Bass were found to stay mostly around river banks; and reducing impacts of non-native spe- one home site with a small number of fish travelling up to cies. The Initiative is also directing research to fill in infor- 2 miles around breeding season. Different rivers in the mation gaps, inform priorities for future restoration pro- Guadalupe Bass’s range have different genetic characteris- jects, and engaging the community in conservation steward- tics and to preserve this genetic diversity, management ship. Here are some highlights from the presentations which strategies of these different populations are being consid- will be posted on the South Llano Watershed Alliance web- ered at the sub-watershed scale. The proportion of hy- site (www.southllano.org). brids in the South Llano River before stocking pure Gua- dalupe Bass was around 4%. Texas Parks and Wildlife has · A recent study by Texas Tech University Llano River been stocking pure Guadalupe Bass in an effort to Field Station and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department ob- “swamp out” the hybrids and create a more pure popula- served a local annual economic impact of $74 million from tion. As of 2014, the percentage of hybrids is now less stream fishing in the Texas Hill Country, with 42% of those than one percent. Future management of Guadalupe Bass surveyed specifically targeting Guadalupe Bass. The Llano will be directed by a range-wide management plan that is River and its tributaries support healthy populations of Gua- currently being developed by Texas Parks and Wildlife dalupe Bass and rank at the top of the list among Hill Coun- Department. try rivers as a destination for Guadalupe Bass fishing. · These high quality fishing opportunities and associat- ed economic benefits to businesses and local communities of the Hill Country are dependent upon healthy rivers and streams and suitable habitat conditions for species. Texas Parks and Wildlife recognizes the unique value of Hill Coun- try rivers and since 2010, has invested more that $3.2 mil- lion in monitoring, research, and habitat restoration. This investment has included $400,000 in landowner incentives that resulted in restoration or enhancement of over 8,500 acres of habitat and improved land management practices Adult Guadalupe bass. Image courtesy of Texas State on over 100,000 acres in the Hill Country. Habitat restora- University: Fishes of Texas. tion projects have focused on sensitive aquatic habitats in- Page 4 UPPER LLANO RIVER WATERSHED PROTECTION PLAN NEWSLETTER VOLUME 1, ISSUE 1 IF ONLY WE KNEW BY: TOM ARSUFFI Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.