Warmwater Stream Committee
Southern Division, American Fisheries Society
Meeting Minutes - July 16-17, 2001
Hickory Knob State Park, McCormack, South Carolina

The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Chris O’Bara (WV), Chairman. Chris O’Bara distributed the meeting agenda and Dennis Riecke (MS), Secretary-Treasurer distributed the minutes from the previous committee meeting on February 22, 2001 in Jacksonville, FL.

The goal of the meeting was to finalize the “Values of Warmwater Streams” video.

A. Approval of Agenda

Motion was made to approve the meeting agenda as written by Chairman Chris O’Bara.

B. Introduction of Committee Members & Guests

7 committee members were in attendance: Chris O’Bara (WV), Dennis Riecke (MS), Dan Catchings, Past Chairman (AL), Al Surmont (KY), Ed Scott (TVA), Frank Fiss (TN), Henry Mealing (Kleinschmidt & Assoc.).

C. Secretary’s Report and Approval of Minutes

Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Riecke (MS) read the WWSC meeting minutes from the February , 2001 meeting in Jacksonville, Florida. A motion was made and passed to accept the minutes as read. Chris O’Bara stated he would review the minutes later and send any editorial changes to Dennis Riecke.

D. Treasurer’s Report

Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Riecke (MS) distributed and reviewed the January 1 - July 14, 2001 Financial Statement. Comparing checking account balances at the start and end of this period and detailing income and expenses revealed that an adjusting entry of 513.82 was necessary to balance the account. Later it was decided that $500.00 of this amount was a donation from the Arkansas Stream Team for video production and the remaining $13.82 was from checking account interest. Dennis Riecke will amend this Financial Statement and attach it to the July 2001 meeting minutes. Motion was made and passed to accept the amended January 1 - July 14, 2001 Financial Statement.

E. Committee Reports

Outreach Liaison – Chris O’Bara reported that we should update our committee membership list. What else can we put on our web page? Posting the meeting minutes on the website is good.

Chairman’s Report

1. The Conflict Resolution Workshop our committee sponsored at the SDAFS Mid-year meeting in Jacksonville, FL in February 2001 was excellent and well attended. Our presenter, Lee Lamb did a great job and 56 people registered for the workshop.

2. Chris O’Bara spoke with John Kauffman (VA), Chairman of the SDAFS Ad-Hoc Instream Flow Committee regarding joint sponsorship of a workshop. The SDAFS Ad-Hoc Instream Flow Committee is still interested but common ground on topics was not reached.

3. Student Awards – Chris O’Bara has not heard from the committee members and he has E-mailed them for a response.

F. “Values of Warmwater Streams” Videotape

• John Lucas of the South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources arrived to discuss production work performed to date on the “Values of Warmwater Streams” videotape. John Lucas and his small staff intended to finish this video by July 1, 2001 but his employer decided to produce a 1 hour video on land protection involving 8 state agencies.
• John showed a 3 minute section of the videotape and asked us to comment on whether the style and format is what we desired. The video looked good and plenty of tape is available to use. John asked us to listen to the narration to determine if the narrator he selected was appropriate.
• We discussed giving John editorial freedom to use his best judgement in organizing and selecting videotape to match the video script. All the suggested scenes will not be in the video because we lack suitable video footage. After serious editing for 3-4 weeks he could produce a finished product (by mid-August 2001).
• We discussed copyright issues. We will need to obtain permission to use any videotape that was paid for by other parties. The committee needs to ensure that the video providers review the tape they supplied to us and sign off that it is either not copyrighted or that the committee has permission to use copyrighted video footage. John Lucas will coordinate this task with Chris O’Bara. South Carolina DNR charges $35.00/second or $55.00/second (for production companies) for use of videotape that their personnel have produced. SCDNR will retain an archive copy of the “Values of Warmwater Streams” videotape.
• John stressed the need for the committee to copyright the video by merely including the production date, the committee name and committee logo.
• We discussed acknowledgment issues. All entities that either donated funds, video tape or staff time will be acknowledged via a listing at the end of the videotape.
• No entity will make a profit from the sale, distribution and duplication of this video.
• We discussed locating a vendor to copy, ship and package the video. SCDNR will supply the WWSC and each SDAFS state fish and wildlife agency one Beta copy of the final version of the video at a cost of $22.00 each paid by the WWSC. VHS copies will be supplied at $2.15 per copy. These are merely the actual cost of blank videotapes. A distribution vendor would charge extra depending on shipping location, video jacket box and box labels.
• John Lucas said he would check with a vendor regarding duplication and shipping costs. The WWSC can either pay a vendor to provide our donors with 25 copies or have the donors make their own copies from the supplied submaster tape. John Lucas will provide the video vendor a Beta tape copy for duplication purposes.
• We discussed the video script. John Lucas requested a final script marked that indicated everyone agreed with the contents of the final version. Dan Catchings stated he had a letter providing this. Dan Catchings will coordinate this task with John Lucas. John Lucas requested more participation and interviews with biologists in other Southeastern states. He would like to receive short field interviews on Beta tape which are consistent with the script. About 6-10 interviews are needed within 2 weeks. Dan Catchings will also provide another letter on copyright issues and the number of video copies SCDNR will supply to the committee.
• We discussed video production costs. John Lucas stated that the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) understood that they would be reimbursed for $30,000.00. The Warmwater Streams Committee thought the SCDNR committed to provide in-kind services (video filming, editing and production) valued at $15,000.00 and the committee would provide monetary reimbursement totaling $15,000.00. The committee agreed to determine video distribution costs and give the remainder of donated funds to the SCDNR to cover production costs. The committee estimated distribution and video jacket costs at $4,000.00. That would leave $12,814.00 to reimburse the SCDNR. A motion by Dan Catchings to reimburse SCDNR $5,000.00 and use remaining video funds for video distribution was adopted. Chris O’Bara will send a letter to John Lucas with a $5,000.00 check, request an invoice for 50 Beta copies (at cost), and pursue video duplication with a private vendor.
• All of the remaining time was spent revising the script to replace technical language with nontechnical language where possible. The committee set a completion date by the Southeastern Assn. of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (SEAFWA) meeting October 13-17, 2001 in Kentucky. The committee agreed to meet with John Lucas for final review of the video perhaps in Asheville, SC in late September, 2001. Chris O’Bara will E-mail final video script for comments due by 7/25/01.
• Discussed title of video. Working title: “Our Valuable Warmwater Streams”. Chris O’Bara will E-mail working title to membership for comment.

G. Old Business

G. I. Clean-Up Activities

1. Student Award

Chris O’Bara stated there was a perpetual problem getting students to apply for the travel award. Chris asked a committee of members to comment on this, but failed to receive any replies. Chris summarized how the award is publicized:

a. an announcement is sent to professors at Southeastern universities

b. announcements are sent to AFS newsletter editors

c. an announcement is posted on the Southern Division AFS website

Chris asked the committee to consider if the award should continue if only one application is received annually. Obviously, the low number of applicants was not due to inadequate publicity. Someone suggested that we present an award to those who present papers at the SDAFS Mid-Year meeting. In the past we have resisted the urge to restrict the award to researchers, so we decided not to change the award criteria. Chris recommended we present the award for 1 more year and discontinue it if the number of submissions does not increase.

2. Red River Chloride Resolution

Chris O’Bara discussed the matter with Duane Harrel (Duke Power) and Mike Meador (USGS) who were of the opinion that this was not an issue of national importance. Therefore, our WWSC resolution was not submitted to the AFS Parent Society for consideration. Tabled the issue.

3. Mountaintop Removal

This issue is still ranging in some parts of the country. A federal appeals court judge ruled a federal lower court judge couldn’t rule on the matter so coal companies can continue this practice. Issue was tabled awaiting possible legal action by the US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

4. WWSC Membership

Chris O’Bara is still unsure of the actual membership of the committee. Chris O’Bara E-mailed all members who served on the committee for the last 5 years inquiring if they wanted to remain on the committee. Almost all wished to do so. Committee membership probably totals 30 with 10 active members. We lack a committee member employed by the USFWS. Ed Scott suggested contacting Leroy Coch (Frankfort, KY). Henry Mealing suggested Mike Eubanks, a US Army Corps of Engineers employee. The committee currently has official members from most SDAFS states except for Louisiana and Florida. Chris will place a solicitation notice for members in the next SDAFS newsletter.

G. II. On-going Activities

1. Safety in the Workplace

Chris O’Bara was scheduled to attend the AFS Fisheries Administrators Section meeting but encountered airline travel problems that prevented him from attending. The administrators were excited about his talk and their interest is undiminished. Chris O’Bara thinks we should pursue the issue. Frank Fiss (TN) asked what it would cost to perform our jobs safely. Would our agencies stop doing those tasks if we were not trained? Henry Mealing (Kleinschmidt & Assoc. ) stated that in private industry employees are trained to do their jobs safely.

The primary purpose of training programs is to show that your employer made an effort to emphasize safety, instead of doing so to limit lawsuits. The USEPA has training on how to safely apply rotenone. If you are an applicator, you are required to wear goggles, gloves, respirators, Tivek suits and boots. Chris O’Bara asked how we should proceed not wanting to sponsor a workshop if attendance is likely to be poor. We decided to continue to pursue the issue with fisheries administrators to impress upon them that biologists are interested in this topic. Several examples of dangerous situations that have occurred were related. Chris O’Bara will speak with April Layher (AR) about future workshop topics. Chris O’Bara will discuss the issue with other SDAFS committees about joint sponsorship of a safety workshop.

2. Warmwater Streams National Symposium

Chris O’Bara has discussed the idea with stream workers in other AFS divisions. Our previous discussion was to tie this symposium in with another annually scheduled meeting. Such an endeavor would require 2-3 years of planning. Publication of the symposium proceedings had been previously mentioned and Dr. Hal Schramm (USGS, Miss. Coop. Fish & Wildlife Unit) had tentatively agreed to assist with editing of these proceedings. Chris O’Bara thought this should be the committee’s next big project after we finish our videotape. The committee members agreed with this goal.

Chris O’Bara asked for volunteers to serve on a steering committee. He intends to also seek representatives from the North Central, Western and Northeast AFS Divisions to select paper topics (e.g. smallmouth bass, IBI etc.). Al Surmont (KY) wished to leave open the option of holding such a symposium at a meeting in another AFS Division or holding it separately from division meetings. Dennis Riecke (MS) related the planning time frame and steps the SDAFS Reservoir Committee used for their Third Reservoir Symposium.

Dan Catchings (AL) suggested that Chris O’Bara send out an E-mail soliciting steering committee volunteers mentioning a 2 year time frame if held in conjunction with an AFS division meeting and a 3-4 year time frame for a separate meeting. There are many issues to resolve i.e. work with AFS Parent Society to publish proceedings, hard copy version, online version, funding, meeting location and date.

3. Workshop Sponsorship at next SDAFS Mid-Year meeting

Suggested topics: Flood plain use by fishes versus fish passage questions – get a specialist from the USGS office in La Crosse, WI. Chris O’Bara thought the fish passage idea would be well received. Henry Mealing (Kleinschmidt & Assoc.) will send Chris a copy of the proceedings of a fish passage workshop held 2 years ago in North Carolina which was organized by John Nessler (US Army Corps of Engineers, Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, MS.)

We reviewed the topics suggested at the June 2000 committee meeting. Total Maximum Daily Load’s (TMDL) were suggested – specifically how they would apply to fisheries. Purpose would be to inform fisheries workers to comment on TMDL’s; definitions of “clean water” vary depending upon which group of factors is used (e.g. chlorophyll a).

Another possible topic was state agency stream sampling programs in the Southeast. Discussion was tabled until the following day. When it resumed Chris O’Bara stated that if we didn’t sponsor a workshop we may lose our priority status with the host chapters. The Arkansas Chapter has already asked us for a topic and time slot. Workshops have been good fund raisers for the committee.

Chris O’Bara will E-mail a request for workshop topics. The following were offered:

Water Allocation;

Fish Consumption Advisories – explaining the risk assessment levels;

Translating Fisheries Technical Data into Nontechnical Language or How to Effectively Outreach (contact Lee Lamb – the use of newsletters, Alabama Bass Tournament Summaries);

Flood plain Functionality

Fish Passage

4. SDAFS Mid-Year Symposium

Frank Fiss (TN) suggested we sponsor a smallmouth bass paper session. We will ask for a half day session for warmwater streams papers.

5. Southeast Imperiled Fishes Plan

Chris O’Bara distributed the plan and asked Frank Fiss (TN), Ed Scott (TVA), Al Surmont (KY), and Dan Catchings (AL) to comment on it.

6. Black Carp Issue

Chris O’Bara heard that the USFWS personnel would support listing the black carp as an injurious species under the Lacy Act but their supervisors would not concur. Mike Freeze an Arkansas fish producer desires a “clean fish” list and a “prohibited fish” list.

7. SDAFS 50th Anniversary – Committee Posters Requested

Chris O’Bara distributed a committee history paper authored by Steve Filipeck and Ben Jaco published in a 1991 warmwater streams symposium. Every SDAFS committee is supposed to have a poster to commemorate our 50th anniversary. Dan Catchings (AL) and Chris O’Bara (WV) will work on it.

Adjourned at 7:38 p.m.

July 17, 2001 - Resumed work at 8:30 a.m.

Work continued on finalizing the video script.

G. II. On-going Activities (continued)

8. SDAFS AdHoc Instream Flow Committee

Our last joint meeting with this committee consumed time both committees needed to devote to ongoing projects. The WWSC and Instream Flow Committee chairman agreed to keep each other informed of their committee’s activities.

H. New Business

1. Hydro power Relicensing

Chris O’Bara distributed an E-mail he received from John Copeland (VA). Henry Mealing (Kleinschmidt & Assoc.) commented that Congress told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to restructure with regard to relicensing since it took a long time to do the 1993 relicensing. FERC blamed the states for the delay. FERC thinks they should have more authority to reject 401 specifications that state and other federal agencies want. FERC wants more control. American Rivers, a nongovernmental organization, opposes these changes. States should be concerned about losing some of their authority to FERC. Henry Mealing ( Kleinschmidt & Assoc.) and John Copeland (VA) are contact persons.

2. Mississippi Cooperative Interstate Resource Association (MICRA)

Dennis Riecke (MS) informed the committee that MICRA has survived the reassignment by the USFWS of it’s employee who served as MICRA’s Executive Director. Their habitat conference has been cancelled. They are seeking a new Executive Director and increased their dues to fund the salary for that position. The paddlefish tagging project is continuing and the gamefish committee distributed a dam removal video and a trophy catfish report.

3. WWSC Summer 2002 Meeting

We usually have lower attendance at our summer meetings. Chris O’Bara investigated having our meeting at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC)in Shepardstown, WV. Dulles Airport (Washington DC) is the closest airport. There is an airport shuttle. Interstate highway access is good. Fees are 90.00/day for lodging and meals. Discussed stream sampling, fishing and float trips. Chris O’Bara asked for comments on this site. We could ask Alan Temple (Training Center Staff) to provide a half day workshop conducted by the NCTC staff. Disadvantages of the site were that it is out of the way and would cost more than usual. Chris to get feedback via E-mail.

Roundtable Discussion

There was little time for this. Dennis Riecke (MS) distributed a flyer on the effort planned to redirect the focus of the National Fish Hatchery System toward sport fishes. He asked members to make their fisheries chiefs aware of this effort.

Adjourned 12:45 p.m.