Wild Trout Stream Habitat Improvement

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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#cc9966] Stream habitat enhancement has had a long history in the management of salmonid populations. Most of the available information on the effects of this work, however, has stemmed from projects conducted in mid-Western and Western states. Little quantitative information has been generated from and /or reported for trout stream improvement projects in the southeastern United States.[/#cc9966][/font]

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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#cc9966][/#cc9966][/font] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 1] [/size]The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) began limited stream improvement projects as early as the 1960's. In the mid 1970's, the U.S. Forest service, Cherokee National Forest (CNF) began its own stream improvement program and has continued to install stream structures on an annual basis.[/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"]
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[/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 1] [/size]In order to assess the influence of stream habitat improvements in headwater trout streams in Tennessee, the CNF and TWRA initiated a six-year study in 1995 to evaluate the response of wild brook and rainbow trout populations to stream habitat improvement. With this in mind, four primary objectives were developed in a attempt to answer some of the basic questions pertaining to stream habitat improvement. These include (1) evaluating the changes in available macrohabitat, (2) determine influence of stream habitat improvement on the standing crop and density of wild trout populations, (3) determine if stream habitat improvements increase the number of harvestable trout in the fishery, and (4) provide cost/benefit analysis that will aid in setting priorities for future habitat enhancement projects. [/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"]
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[/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 1] [/size][/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 1] [/size]Three study streams were chosen on the CNF, Wolf Creek (Cocke Co.), Bill Creek (Carter Co.) and Stony Creek (Carter Co.). Six sites (each ~ 100m in length) were selected on each stream, three controls and three treatment sites. Fish have been sampled using the three-pass depletion technique at each site on an annual basis. [/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"]
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[/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 1] [/size][/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 1] [/size]Three consecutive years of pre-improvement data were collected before habitat structures were installed. After the third year of sampling (1997), stream habitat structures were installed in the treatment sites. Population surveys will continue for three years post-improvement to evaluate responses of the trout populations. Additional quantitative habitat data will be collected to evaluate changes in stream macrohabitat.[/font][/#cc9966] [#cc9966][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 5]Wild Trout Stream Habitat Improvement[/size][/font][/#cc9966] [font "Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow"][size 2]Former TWRA Fisheries Biologist[/size][/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow"][size 2]Price Wilkins inspects a newly installed structure in North River[/size][/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow"]
[size 2][/size][/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow"][size 2]A nice brook trout collected in Wolf Creek during the annual electrofishing surveys[/size][/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow"][size 2]Richard Pierce and Marcia Carter of the U.S. Forest Service record data from fish collected in Wolf Creek[/size][/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow"][size 2]Gurny Miller and Lavetha Johnson of The U.S. Forest Service install geo-textile fabric on a straight log dam in Bill Creek[/size][/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow"][size 2]A nice pool created by the installation of a wedge dam structure. This one was constructed in Bill Creek[/size][/font] [font "Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow"][size 2]Summer volunteers with the U.S. Forest Service install a cover log in Stony Creek[/size][/font]
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