Warmwater Stream Committee
Southern Division, American Fisheries Society
Roundtable Discussion - February 3, 2000
Savannah, Georgia

• Rocky English (Clemson Univ.), Gerrit Jobsis (SC DNR), Chris Thompson (SC DNR)
  a. working on urban streams in Greenville and Spartanville.
  b. breaching Mill Pond - concerned w/toxic sediments, restructure and divert stream around pond.
  c. riverfront development, ecotourism gaining in popularity in Columbia, Augusta.
   
• Steve Filipek (AR)
  a. FERC relicensing is nearing completion, may get a 6-10 fold increase for instream flow Ouachita River.
  b. Stream Teams - have 4 new regional coordinators plus Filipek; USFWS, NRCS, State Agric. Agencies are all partners.
  c. Using WHIP, EQUIP to restore riparian zones
  d. Fisheries Div. hiring a malacologist.
   
• Henry Mealing (Kleinschmidt & Assoc.)
  a. FERC relicensing proj for Arkansas.
  b. SC DNR & SC Electric & Gas -- Broad River fish passage devices.
  c. Alabama Power -- Coosa River fish passage devices.
   
• Paul Balkenbush (OK)
  a. Stream program is 2 years old. Hired a technician, total staff for program is 2.
  b. Seeking an EPA grant for Stream Teams program.
  c. Stocking rainbow trout -- issue continues, politics, influential people, illegal stocking by citizens. Started to permit the stockings, some applications denied, being sued over denials. OK & OSU doing studies, citizens don't want to wait for study results. OK concerned about competition and predator introduction. Anglers lease a stream from landowners to fish it. Focus group meetings, scientific community opposes stockings.
  d. Mussel harvest - thousands of tons harvested considering sanctuaries.
   
• Kathryn Sukkestad (Ft. Steward Fish & Wildlife)
  a. IBI study in river on fort lands, water quality exiting post is better than that entering post.
  b. Shortnose Sturgeon River Study - 70 tagged, aerial flights, boat tracking, radio tags.
   
• Ed Scott (TVA)
  a. Status of snail darter in French Broad River - doing well there.
  b. Improved Douglas tailwater with increased minimum flow and aeration, restocking mussels.
  c. USFWS Nashville Office funding TN Aquarium to stock lake sturgeon;
  d. sicklefin redhorse descriptive work.
  e. EIS for water supply dam in Union County, Miss.
   
• Duane Harrell (Duke Power)
  a. FERC relicensing in western NC - 11 reservoirs.
  b. Muddy Creek - Cataba River lots of sediment in Muddy Creek cooperative study for stream restoration proj. using Rosgen techniques, bank stabilization.
   
• Christian Waters (NC WRC)
  a. Eastern NC - Hurricane Floyd affected river sampling, prelim. results - only 1 fish kill in inland waters - 30-35 fish.
  b. ongoing IBI work on coastal rivers, annual summer work, little impacts from Floyd, massive flooding (above flood stage for 2 months).
  c. American Shad Restoration - sampling major coastal rivers each year for 7 years - mandated by Atlantic States Fisheries Comm. get 200 fish by electrofishing for age and growth.
   
• Elise Irwin (AL Coop. Unit)
  a. Dams - tailwater studies, sunfish spawning there need at least >24 hours without generation to have successful nesting & survival.
  b. Alabama Sturgeon - USFWS proposed listing, lawsuits filed if listed and if not listed.
  c. Acid mine drainage - Warrior coalfield has highest level of arsenic & mercury (in sediments & water) next task - examine invertebrates to determine bioaccumulation.
  d. Flathead Catfish Workshop March 8-9 at Hickory Knob, NC to do research agenda for management in introduced waters. Product will be a paper in Fisheries.
  e. Aquatic GAP - land use , animal distribution maps.
   
• Michael Hoeft (WV DNR)
  a. Finished small headwater streams HEP based on benthic species.
  b. USFWS - Ohio River proposed field office for recreational dollar match for commercial lock and dam improvements.
  c. WV had 3.2 million to spend on habitat improvement on large rivers.
  d. Adopt-A-Bass program - group is stocking 8"-12"bass in rivers, WV study to determine if stocking is beneficial; electrofishing catch rates increased a few months after stocking but 1 year later - no improvement.
   
• John Copeland (VA)
  a. poor survival of smallmouth bass fry in rivers with high flow in May-June.
  b. Neuse River - unique walleye - id haplotype.
  c. Musky studies
  d. Stream survey program in third year, 200 sites surveyed w/little data, IBI type collections
  e. New funding sources - overwhelming citizen support, legislative cap at 13 million, got portion of state sales tax on hunting & fishing equip. but project budget shortfall by 2003; performing internal and external surveys to determine what services dept. should provide.
   
• Survey results by Duda & McMullin are on agency website.
   
• Chris Thomason (SC)
  a. Bluff Lock & Dam at Augusta on Savannah River, Corps wants to decommission, SC-GA city, neither will take dam. First chance in SC to install a fish passage device, dam needs repairs, dam will not be remove as insufficient natural flow exists and would reduce passage .
   
• Al Surmont (KY)
  a. Watershed Initiative - 5 year IBI, sampling w/habitat analysis, 4th order streams targeted in 5th year for backpack electrofishing.
  b. Ohio River sampling for MICRA paddlefish study.
   
• Dennis Riecke (MS)
  a. legalized slat baskets statewide
  b. spawning and stocking unique walleye strain in NE Miss.
  c. Scenic Stream legislation passed, hired a coordinator
  d. Black carp being stocked to control snails in catfish ponds, MS WFP opposes stocking.
  e. Conservation Officers doing stream access creels in some districts.
   
• Chris O'Bara (WV)
  a. TN blackside dace study.
  b. access study.
  c. WV Adopt-A-Bass.
  d. Paddlefish restoration.
  e. use of mitigation/restoration funds on large rivers.
  f. mussel kill in WV - need protocol and valuation of mussels.
  g. attempting to initiate and IBI program.
   
• Dan Catchings (AL)
  a. John Hornsby has organized a Stream Habitat Restoration Team. Interagency team - ADEM, Corps, EPA, NRCS, AL Wildlife & Freshwater Fisheries (formerly DCNR). Their task is how to utilize mitigation money for steam mitigation impacts. Mobile District, Corps says AL must have a state law to collect this money. Nashville and some other Corps Districts allow AL to accept money in lieu of mitigation without a state law.
  b. AL is trying to start a Stream Management Program.
  c. Water War Update - 6 month extension, no agreement reached on stream flows.