THE
FRONT PAGE
setting up for habitat restoration habitat restoration success stories
2023 Fisheries Management Division / Minn Kota projects benefit 11 fisheries in seven states
By Steven Bardin and Gary Klein planning CONVERSATIONS OPPORTUNITIES designs GOALS IMPROVEMENTS
Bass need habitat to thrive . Any angler who has caught them from grass mats , brushpiles or boulders knows that . Over the past two years , Minn Kota and the MLF Fisheries Management Division ( FMD ) in partnership with Berkley Labs have teamed up to complete habitat restoration projects on 11 reservoirs in seven states , adding a total of 597 individual pieces of artificial structure for bass in those waterways .
Restoring bass habitat is not as simple as dumping Christmas trees into lakes . Long before these projects take place , there ’ s a planning phase that involves months of meetings , permitting and design and includes state agencies , water authorities and MLF anglers .
setting up for habitat restoration
• FMD ’ s habitat-restoration process begins with exploratory conversations with state biologists about local fisheries near upcoming events . During these conversations , we look for waterbodies that offer opportunities to make impactful habitat improvements . Most of the time , the fisheries we identify are experiencing habitat loss or were initially impounded without habitat . Habitat loss is widespread across the U . S . and is typically driven by increasing siltation , degradation of timber , erosion or vegetation changes .
• Once we identify fisheries in need of habitat , we pinpoint areas that provide an opportunity to answer questions or accomplish a specific goal . The simplest of goals would be to increase anglers ’ success , but others include improving fry stocking , increasing electrofishing harvest of brood stock and providing recovery sites for fish released from tournaments . These goals will eventually determine the habitat type , density and placement .
• After identifying a waterbody and our goals , it ’ s time to involve the lake authority . Many do not realize there are individual groups that own or control almost every reservoir and the water impounded within them . These could be local water companies , lake management groups , river authorities or the Army Corps of Engineers . The lake authority has the power to approve or veto habitat-restoration projects and also controls what permits may be needed , what types of materials can be used and where habitat can be placed . No two states or lake authorities use the exact same process , which leads to unique requirements for each project .
Habitat being transported for deployment on Lake Greenwood , South Carolina .
• Once we have a permit or approval from the lake authority , we then involve our artificial habitat supplier , MossBack Fish Habitat , and start selecting products that are in line with the goals we plan to accomplish . MossBack products are made from recycled PVC and have no known degradation time or breakdown mechanism in water . After selecting the products , we create a design plan that groups the habitat into small deployment areas . During this phase of planning , we consider water fluctuation to determine where habitat can be placed without interfering with boaters or being exposed during drawdowns .
• MLF anglers may be involved at any point during this process . Often , local anglers are consulted in the exploratory phase , or at least by the time we select products and design their deployment . On the day of the habitat restoration project , MLF anglers join local volunteers , the state agency and the water authority . The structures are built , weighted with concrete blocks and loaded onto barges or boats provided by the state . GPS locations for each deployment are recorded for the states to put on their websites .
• Within minutes , we have observed anglers catching fish on the recently deployed habitat , and we often observe fish relating to the structure on side imaging before it even hits the bottom . The success of each individual project is determined by the goals we planned to accomplish . For most , we can use sampling data in the years before the project and compare it to the sampling data afterward .
Following is a look at three projects the FMD has overseen so far in 2023 , as well as a 2022 project that is already paying dividends .
PHOTO BY RACHEL DUBROVIN
10 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2023