On the largest dam removal and recovery project in history the threat of law suits is now a reality.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...yndication=rss
More controversy over Elwha restoration after dam removal
On the largest dam removal and recovery project in history the threat of law suits is now a reality.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm...yndication=rss
"The reason you have a good vision is you're standing on the shoulders of giants." ~ Andy Batcho
Thanks so much - Trav also found a slide-show of the removal so far, just amazing.
They are complaining about steelhead being stocked???
If it's any help, they are more than welcome to bring them here to Tn. and stock them. We'll take real good care of them.
I think you missed the point. Yes, we are complaining about non-native stocked fish. In essense an invasive species being introduced by the people responsible for recovery of NATIVE fish. The very methods they are planning on using to restored the Elwha are the very same methods proven to damaged wild runs on most of the northwest's steelhead rivers. We have an opportunity to watch a river that has been for all intent and purpose destroyed by dams recover from that damage. Why proceed with methods known to cause even more damage?Originally Posted by Gigmaster
"The reason you have a good vision is you're standing on the shoulders of giants." ~ Andy Batcho
I guess I missed something in the article, but I didn't see anything that said the hatchery fish were GMOs. They are the exact same species, identical on a genetic level, to the wild trout. So they are not non-native trout. They are just domesticated. While the hatchery trout may not survive as long as the wild trout, they don't have to. They just have to survive long enough to spawn, and the offspring will be wild trout, indistinguishable from the adult wild trout. They will adopt the same habits and behavior. Every fish that spawns means several thousand new eggs, which means a lot more fish in the river. This means a faster recovery time for the species. Yes, hatchery fish may take different flies, but that's only a problem for a single generation.
There have been countless studies on crossing hatchery fish with wild ones. All of the legitimate studies (ones that did not have an ax to grind) showed that as long as they are the exact same species, the offspring were indistinguishable from their wild relatives, both genetically, and behaviorally. It's been successfully done with Bass, Striped Bass, crappie, Bluegills, rainbow and brown trout, and other species. Steelheads should be no different.
I don't understand a lot of the gripes about environmental issues. it seems that sometimes, people won't take 'yes' for an answer. They are fixing the river. As a scientist myself, I know that these highly educated biologists have done extensive research on the issue, and while they may occasionally make a mistake, most of the time, they know what they are doing. But they are looking at the Big Picture, 25-50 years down the road, not just next year's fishing season. Give 'em a chance.
I was being flippant about bringing them here, but we would probably give it a try. E. TN. is one of the best-kept secrets in the fly fishing world. We have both wild, and stocked populations of brown, and rainbow trout that freely interbreed. Our fishery rivals anyone's in any part of the world. Our rivers that can support trout are full of big, belligerent bruisers that are usually more than happy to smash your fly. Hatchery and wild mixes haven't hurt anything here. If it wasn't for that, all we would have is a few rivers high in the mountains that have little wimpy brook trout.
Anyway, I don't live in the area, so I don't have a horse in this race. I'm just trying to understand both sides of the issue.
Studies over the past 10 to 15 years have shown that steelhead from differing water sheds vary significantly. These show that the fish of a particular drainage adapt to that drainage. Rivers with a higher gradient than another will produce fish that are larger and stronger and have a better chance of surviving to their spawning grounds. Also these fish will adjust their spawning times to the river they are native to improving the odds of the parr surviving. These changes have taken thousands of year to develop. When steelhead from another drainage are introduced several scenarios can take place. One would be the fish are preprogrammed to spawn earlier then the native fish, which is the case with the Chambers Creek steelhead. An earlier spawn means an earlier maturing parr which is larger and can out compete the native parr which hatch later and are developmentally behind the introduce stock. This can limit the ability for the native parr to survive. Now you have a dominant species that is not native to the system and over time they begin to fail because they are not adapted to the drainage they were introduced to. This scenario has been played out across the northwest steelhead rivers and has been shown to be a contributing factor in the collapse of native steelhead across the region. Why would they purposely repeat the same mistakes in the Elwha? The only answer is some of those in charge do not want to wait for the river to heal itself. They are too concerned with producing fish now to be worried about what will happen in the future.
"The reason you have a good vision is you're standing on the shoulders of giants." ~ Andy Batcho
hello kerry, hope things are going well with you.
you make a very valid point about water managers trying to speed up the process of river recovery and in their haste screw things up just so they can look good. short term gains should not over shadow the desired result of the recovery of a river. one thing i think that should be evaluated then is taking spawning fish from the river and raise the eggs and fry in the same river to get a better survival rate. this may give the river a jump start with native fish reared in a hatchery setting. i'm not sure of the viability but it seems intrigueing to me.
In college I was programmed to roll my eyes at this kind of biology... A steelhead is a steelhead, is a steelhead, they said. And events like Mt. St. Helens move strains and races around to keep the system flexible and moving in the right direction...
Then I see seemingly identical streams within a mile of one another with radically different fish and it is obvious there is a difference between strains of fish and there is a need to let them do things the way the river shaped them.
More reading on the Elwha;
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/12954543/Fis...nceArticle.pdf
"The reason you have a good vision is you're standing on the shoulders of giants." ~ Andy Batcho
Maybe the Stocked Steelhead will give the Native Steelhead population to grow...
Stocking Steelhead is all fine and good, to help the wild steelheads that are native to that stream to survive.
In Minnesota the SE corner of the State has 7 counties that originally had native Brook Trout.... Fishery folks started importing Brook Trout from other areas of the nation to restock, what the Fishery folks thought was a diminished stock population.
Your local streams native stock has been reduced for various reasons, stock from other fisheries are introduced. This give the native stock a better chance of survival, while the imported stock is what being caught more than the native stock...
Many years later a survey showed that the Brook Trout population was again healthy, only problem was when the DNA samples from these Brook Trout were analyzed, there all were from the original strain of Brook Trout native to those waters. There were no indications of what happened to the imported Brook Trout that were shipped in many years earlier....
Minnesota DNR has introduce Hybrid Tiger Muskies to many of the 15,453 lakes in Minnesota. Since Tiger Muskies are sterile, they are helping to balance the ecosystem, while allowing the native Northern Pike to rebuild their place in the lakes. Also the Minnesota DNR has put a minimum size limit for "Catch and Keep" of 30 inches or 40 inches, depending on these body of water.
Right now Minnesota is worried about the Asian Trout that are moving in, we have had positive DNA samples on the Mississippi River as far north as the Coon Rapids Dam just north of the Twin Cites, and also on the St. Croix River that empties into the Mississippi River at Prescott WI and Hastings MN!
"Everyone you meet in life, give you happiness! Some by their arrival, others by their departure!" ~Parnelli
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
