04-18-2004, 11:57 PM
[font "Arial"][size 5]S[size 3]o other then funding issues, why cant we do similar projects at Utah Lake? Or how about Yuba? Both lakes have little structure away from the shore. Why not turn some of the structureless, fishless water into productive water? If they can do this at Havasu with endangered fish why not Utah Lake?[/size][/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][size 3]John[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][#a50400][size 5]Renewing Lake Havasu's weary waters
[/size][/#a50400][/font][size 1]
[/size][size 3][#330000]A positive attitude overcame obstacles in the way of a habitat enhancement project that has benefited fish, anglers and economics
[/#330000][/size][size 1]
[/size][size 1][#330000]By Lee Allen
[/#330000][/size][#663300][font "Arial"]Special to ESPNOutdoors.com
[/font][/#663300] [#663300][font "Arial"][/font][/#663300] [font "Arial"][#663300]![[Image: P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water1.jpg]](http://espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/conservation/i/P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water1.jpg)
[/#663300][/font][size 1][#330000]The restoration project submerged organic and synthetic habitat in more than 40 coves throughout Lake Havasu.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]Syndicated columnist Dave Barry provides zany one-liners to newspapers all over the country and one of his most recent writings seemed appropriate to illustrate a Colorado River comeback taking place along the Arizona-California border at Lake Havasu City. "Never be afraid to try something new," he wrote. "It was an amateur who built the Ark while a large group of professionals were responsible for the Titanic." [/size][/#330000]
Amateurs and professionals alike stood side-by-side and rolled up their sleeves together to tackle the largest reef rehabilitation project in North America, a decade-long Fisheries Improvement Project that has attracted more fish, more fishermen, and a financial windfall — along with a myriad of ecological improvements.
All this has happened at one of the nine national wildlife refuges on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, part of the more than 1.7 million acres of outdoor recreation space available to those who love, respect and want to perpetuate nature in that neck of the woods.
While some mop up work is on-going, dedication ceremonies were recently held at the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, south of Lake Havasu City, to mark completion of an effort to improve the fishery and angling opportunities for families that frequent the 400 miles of coastline on both sides of the waterway.
"This project had all the usual bottlenecks involving entities with differing agendas, inter-departmental bureaucracies, and tons of red tape from the federal and state level to tribal and local governments," said Duane Shroufe, Director of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
"Every time you put additional layers into a project of this size, you can run into all sorts of trouble and this project had all the potential to do so. Fortunately for everyone concerned, a prevalent can-do attitude overcame any obstacles." The $14.8 million dollar project had seven principle partners, dozens of bit players and hundreds of volunteers who contributed thousands of hours of sweat equity to make its success possible.
![[Image: P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water3.jpg]](http://espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/conservation/i/P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water3.jpg)
[size 1][#330000]Artificial reef habitat being installed from Program Headquarters at Partners Point, Lake Havasu City Arizona, 2001.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]Lake Havasu, formed in 1938 with the completion of Parker Dam, was getting tired and its waters weary due to a lack of habitat regeneration. The restoration project submerged organic and synthetic habitat in more than 40 coves representing nearly 900 acres. "Roughly ten percent of that acreage was loaded with organic brush bundles (4 foot by 4 foot by 10 feet), about 150 bundles per acre in close proximity to artificial reef structures," says project director Kirk Koch of the Bureau of Land Management. [/size][/#330000]
In the process, largemouth bass were given more than 65,000 housing shelters and flathead and channel catfish now compete for lodging among the 55,000 catfish condos sunk in the river. As many as 12,000 brush bundles, weighed down by cinder blocks, have settled on the riverbed where they will attract plankton, baitfish, and, ultimately, gamefish.
"Organic brush bundles to replace those dropped a decade ago when we first started out will decompose and melt away over time," says Koch, who has spent the last 9 ½ years at the site.
"While we want to get fresh brush back on the lake bottom, we want to intersperse it with artificial habitat (inorganic structure such as PVC pipe, sewer pipe, snow fence, and other indestructible products). There's a synergistic effect when you add organic material to synthetic structure. It tends to hold more fish and provide greater species diversity. In the last year, we've seen some impressive results with much greater use of the fishery as well as more — and bigger — sportfish."
Under the theory that 90 percent of the fish live in 10 percent of the lake, the return on investment in sinking sportfish structure is a proven equation. "The whole idea about habitat improvement," says AZ G&F Fisheries Chief Larry Riley, "is to congregate fish where people can get to them. One of the problems we have on these big desert reservoirs is habitat with a limited lifetime. Hopefully this combination of natural and man-made habitat will last longer and make this a more fish-friendly place."
![[Image: P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water4.jpg]](http://espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/conservation/i/P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water4.jpg)
[size 1][#330000]A deep-water aritificial reef holding young bluegill — excellent forage for bass.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]"Fisheries tend to decline as original cover structure disappears," says Brad Jacobson, regional G&F Fish Program Manager. [/size][/#330000]
"Over several decades cover structure disintegrated in Havasu and, as the terrestrial vegetation died, it removed nutrients and microscopic organisms (periphyton) that the invertebrates fed on, causing a ripple effect all the way up the food chain. Placement of new habitat, both organic and man-made structures with longer life expectancies, will reset the cycle by providing additional surfaces for microscopic organisms to re-colonize. Not only do these structures provide places for the food chain to initiate, they provide shelter for smaller fish, ambush sites for larger fish, and concentration points for anglers to visit."
Lake Havasu is already home to striped bass of gigantic proportion. Imported from California in the early 1960s, 50-pound, 50-inch fish are not uncommon. These waters once gave up a world record for land-locked striped bass, and Arizona's current state record, set in 1997, is a 67-pounder. Havasu is also blessed with largemouth bass, catfish, crappie, rainbow trout and some monster carp, like the record 42-pounder.
Another primary focus of the fisheries improvement project was to augment dwindling populations of two endangered species fish, the razorback sucker and the bonytail chub. Since Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock nearly four centuries ago, more than 500 species, subspecies, and varieties of plants and animals in the U.S. are thought to have become extinct and Arizona has its share of fish in trouble — more than half the state's 36 native fishes are in the endangered category.
To prevent further dwindling of once-abundant fishes, 30,000 razorback suckers have been re-stocked. One of the largest suckers in North America, the razorback can grow up to 3 feet long and weigh more than 13 pounds as it feeds on organic material strained from the water. Nearly half of a planned stocking of 30,000 bonytail chub, considered by some to be the most endangered fish in the Colorado River, have also rejoined the existing population and that effort continues as more hatchery-raised fish are made available.
![[Image: P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water5.jpg]](http://espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/conservation/i/P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water5.jpg)
[size 1][#330000]About 30,000 endangered razorback suckers have been re-stocked in Lake Havasu in hopes of saving the fish.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]Success of the restocking efforts is becoming evident. The Associated Press reports that some twenty years ago wildlife officials could find only one razorback in the entire lake. Two years ago, "an aerial survey by the Fish and Wildlife Service spotted a school of as many as 100 of the suckers — the first time anything like that had been seen in decades," according to an AP wire story. [/size][/#330000]
The money, time and effort put into this project have brought about changes that are expected to end up re-creating recreation in the area. Sportfishing and all the activities associated with it are making cash registers ring a tune not heard before — approximately $34 million a year in fishing-generated-revenue — according to economist Bernard Anderson in a report for American Sportfishing Association.
And, according to FishAmerica Foundation Director Tom Marshall, "There's been an increase in license sales and angler satisfaction. Havasu catch rates have increased sixty percent in the last five years. Before the project, anglers fished Havasu about 43,000 days a year. Now angling use has more than quadrupled to over 175,000 angler-use days per year."
Another sign the fishery and the fishing are improving is the fact that professional bass tournaments have increased ten-fold since the project got underway with up to 100 tournaments a year being held on the increasingly productive waters.
![[Image: P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water2.jpg]](http://espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/conservation/i/P2_c_fea_Allen_weary_water2.jpg)
[size 1][#330000]Anglers with disabilities can now enjoy what was once a difficult shoreline to access.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]Additionally, anglers with disabilities now have an opportunity to enjoy what was once a difficult to access shoreline. One major aspect of the fisheries improvement plan was to create six barrier-free public fishing access developments with amenities. Five have already been completed, with the newest additions added to a man-made peninsula formed with excavated dirt from the Central Arizona Project inlet structure and its mountainside tunneling. [/size][/#330000]
"I walked that spit of land when it was a breakwater for the CAP pumping station," said Koch. "It was boulder-strewn with banks that were hardly accessible, pretty rough-and-tumble stuff. Dump truck after dump truck load was dropped into the lake, flattened out and landscaped to make it look like it had always belonged here." Today a quarter-mile of paved, handicapped-accessible trails connect three fishing piers, five shade ramadas, restrooms, and fish-cleaning stations for the luckier anglers.
Completion of the project is being heralded universally by anglers and politicians alike. Governor Janet Napolitano called it "a celebration of collaboration and conservation and a model of what can be accomplished."
Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton went a step further, noting, "separately we might not have a chance to accomplish a task like this, but together we have proven we can get the job done. The Lake Havasu Fisheries Improvement Project will prove to be a springboard of better things to come
[signature]
[font "Arial"][size 3]John[/size][/font]
[font "Arial"][#a50400][size 5]Renewing Lake Havasu's weary waters
[/size][/#a50400][/font][size 1]
[/size][size 3][#330000]A positive attitude overcame obstacles in the way of a habitat enhancement project that has benefited fish, anglers and economics
[/#330000][/size][size 1]
[/size][size 1][#330000]By Lee Allen
[/#330000][/size][#663300][font "Arial"]Special to ESPNOutdoors.com
[/font][/#663300] [#663300][font "Arial"][/font][/#663300] [font "Arial"][#663300]
[/#663300][/font][size 1][#330000]The restoration project submerged organic and synthetic habitat in more than 40 coves throughout Lake Havasu.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]Syndicated columnist Dave Barry provides zany one-liners to newspapers all over the country and one of his most recent writings seemed appropriate to illustrate a Colorado River comeback taking place along the Arizona-California border at Lake Havasu City. "Never be afraid to try something new," he wrote. "It was an amateur who built the Ark while a large group of professionals were responsible for the Titanic." [/size][/#330000]
Amateurs and professionals alike stood side-by-side and rolled up their sleeves together to tackle the largest reef rehabilitation project in North America, a decade-long Fisheries Improvement Project that has attracted more fish, more fishermen, and a financial windfall — along with a myriad of ecological improvements.
All this has happened at one of the nine national wildlife refuges on the Arizona side of the Colorado River, part of the more than 1.7 million acres of outdoor recreation space available to those who love, respect and want to perpetuate nature in that neck of the woods.
While some mop up work is on-going, dedication ceremonies were recently held at the Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge, south of Lake Havasu City, to mark completion of an effort to improve the fishery and angling opportunities for families that frequent the 400 miles of coastline on both sides of the waterway.
"This project had all the usual bottlenecks involving entities with differing agendas, inter-departmental bureaucracies, and tons of red tape from the federal and state level to tribal and local governments," said Duane Shroufe, Director of the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
"Every time you put additional layers into a project of this size, you can run into all sorts of trouble and this project had all the potential to do so. Fortunately for everyone concerned, a prevalent can-do attitude overcame any obstacles." The $14.8 million dollar project had seven principle partners, dozens of bit players and hundreds of volunteers who contributed thousands of hours of sweat equity to make its success possible.
[size 1][#330000]Artificial reef habitat being installed from Program Headquarters at Partners Point, Lake Havasu City Arizona, 2001.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]Lake Havasu, formed in 1938 with the completion of Parker Dam, was getting tired and its waters weary due to a lack of habitat regeneration. The restoration project submerged organic and synthetic habitat in more than 40 coves representing nearly 900 acres. "Roughly ten percent of that acreage was loaded with organic brush bundles (4 foot by 4 foot by 10 feet), about 150 bundles per acre in close proximity to artificial reef structures," says project director Kirk Koch of the Bureau of Land Management. [/size][/#330000]
In the process, largemouth bass were given more than 65,000 housing shelters and flathead and channel catfish now compete for lodging among the 55,000 catfish condos sunk in the river. As many as 12,000 brush bundles, weighed down by cinder blocks, have settled on the riverbed where they will attract plankton, baitfish, and, ultimately, gamefish.
"Organic brush bundles to replace those dropped a decade ago when we first started out will decompose and melt away over time," says Koch, who has spent the last 9 ½ years at the site.
"While we want to get fresh brush back on the lake bottom, we want to intersperse it with artificial habitat (inorganic structure such as PVC pipe, sewer pipe, snow fence, and other indestructible products). There's a synergistic effect when you add organic material to synthetic structure. It tends to hold more fish and provide greater species diversity. In the last year, we've seen some impressive results with much greater use of the fishery as well as more — and bigger — sportfish."
Under the theory that 90 percent of the fish live in 10 percent of the lake, the return on investment in sinking sportfish structure is a proven equation. "The whole idea about habitat improvement," says AZ G&F Fisheries Chief Larry Riley, "is to congregate fish where people can get to them. One of the problems we have on these big desert reservoirs is habitat with a limited lifetime. Hopefully this combination of natural and man-made habitat will last longer and make this a more fish-friendly place."
[size 1][#330000]A deep-water aritificial reef holding young bluegill — excellent forage for bass.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]"Fisheries tend to decline as original cover structure disappears," says Brad Jacobson, regional G&F Fish Program Manager. [/size][/#330000]
"Over several decades cover structure disintegrated in Havasu and, as the terrestrial vegetation died, it removed nutrients and microscopic organisms (periphyton) that the invertebrates fed on, causing a ripple effect all the way up the food chain. Placement of new habitat, both organic and man-made structures with longer life expectancies, will reset the cycle by providing additional surfaces for microscopic organisms to re-colonize. Not only do these structures provide places for the food chain to initiate, they provide shelter for smaller fish, ambush sites for larger fish, and concentration points for anglers to visit."
Lake Havasu is already home to striped bass of gigantic proportion. Imported from California in the early 1960s, 50-pound, 50-inch fish are not uncommon. These waters once gave up a world record for land-locked striped bass, and Arizona's current state record, set in 1997, is a 67-pounder. Havasu is also blessed with largemouth bass, catfish, crappie, rainbow trout and some monster carp, like the record 42-pounder.
Another primary focus of the fisheries improvement project was to augment dwindling populations of two endangered species fish, the razorback sucker and the bonytail chub. Since Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock nearly four centuries ago, more than 500 species, subspecies, and varieties of plants and animals in the U.S. are thought to have become extinct and Arizona has its share of fish in trouble — more than half the state's 36 native fishes are in the endangered category.
To prevent further dwindling of once-abundant fishes, 30,000 razorback suckers have been re-stocked. One of the largest suckers in North America, the razorback can grow up to 3 feet long and weigh more than 13 pounds as it feeds on organic material strained from the water. Nearly half of a planned stocking of 30,000 bonytail chub, considered by some to be the most endangered fish in the Colorado River, have also rejoined the existing population and that effort continues as more hatchery-raised fish are made available.
[size 1][#330000]About 30,000 endangered razorback suckers have been re-stocked in Lake Havasu in hopes of saving the fish.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]Success of the restocking efforts is becoming evident. The Associated Press reports that some twenty years ago wildlife officials could find only one razorback in the entire lake. Two years ago, "an aerial survey by the Fish and Wildlife Service spotted a school of as many as 100 of the suckers — the first time anything like that had been seen in decades," according to an AP wire story. [/size][/#330000]
The money, time and effort put into this project have brought about changes that are expected to end up re-creating recreation in the area. Sportfishing and all the activities associated with it are making cash registers ring a tune not heard before — approximately $34 million a year in fishing-generated-revenue — according to economist Bernard Anderson in a report for American Sportfishing Association.
And, according to FishAmerica Foundation Director Tom Marshall, "There's been an increase in license sales and angler satisfaction. Havasu catch rates have increased sixty percent in the last five years. Before the project, anglers fished Havasu about 43,000 days a year. Now angling use has more than quadrupled to over 175,000 angler-use days per year."
Another sign the fishery and the fishing are improving is the fact that professional bass tournaments have increased ten-fold since the project got underway with up to 100 tournaments a year being held on the increasingly productive waters.
[size 1][#330000]Anglers with disabilities can now enjoy what was once a difficult shoreline to access.[/#330000]
[/size][#330000][size 2]Additionally, anglers with disabilities now have an opportunity to enjoy what was once a difficult to access shoreline. One major aspect of the fisheries improvement plan was to create six barrier-free public fishing access developments with amenities. Five have already been completed, with the newest additions added to a man-made peninsula formed with excavated dirt from the Central Arizona Project inlet structure and its mountainside tunneling. [/size][/#330000]
"I walked that spit of land when it was a breakwater for the CAP pumping station," said Koch. "It was boulder-strewn with banks that were hardly accessible, pretty rough-and-tumble stuff. Dump truck after dump truck load was dropped into the lake, flattened out and landscaped to make it look like it had always belonged here." Today a quarter-mile of paved, handicapped-accessible trails connect three fishing piers, five shade ramadas, restrooms, and fish-cleaning stations for the luckier anglers.
Completion of the project is being heralded universally by anglers and politicians alike. Governor Janet Napolitano called it "a celebration of collaboration and conservation and a model of what can be accomplished."
Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton went a step further, noting, "separately we might not have a chance to accomplish a task like this, but together we have proven we can get the job done. The Lake Havasu Fisheries Improvement Project will prove to be a springboard of better things to come
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