Fishing and Boating: Past, Present, and Restoration Thoughts

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1 Fishing and Boating: Past, Present, and Restoration Thoughts West Branch Susquehanna River Douglas Austen Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

2 West Branch Basin

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4 Stream Resources Miles Category 1,249 Exceptional Value 5,229 High Quality Cold Water Fisheries 73 High Quality Trout Stocked 3,971 Cold Water Fisheries 359 Trout Stocked Fisheries 1,208 Warm Water Fisheries

5 West Branch Fishes 130 species in the Susquehanna Basin 3 species of special concern

6 Mussel diversity 11 Species of Mussels 1 species extirpated

7 Our connection to the land

8 Logging Clear cutting Erosion and Siltation Warming

9 Tannery

10 Impact on the fishery

11 Coal

12 Impacts of Mining

13 AMD Impacts on Community Loss of stream bottom habitat Reduced productivity Depressed populations macroinvertebrates fishes Worst case no aquatic life

14 AMD & Fish Kills We didn t know what was causing it at first, but we knew it meant the end of good fishing. John Youngman, Williamsport

15 Prompting Recovery Concerned citizens PFSC formed 1932 State and Federal Laws, regulations Mine discharge Land reclamation Clean Water Act

16 PA Constitution The people have a right to clean air, pure water and to the preservation of the natural scenic, Pennsylvania s public natural resources are the common property of all the people,.

17 WB Sections Headwaters to Clearfield Clearfield to Lock Haven Lock Haven to Northumberland

18 Headwaters

19 Headwaters to Clearfield 19 fish species AMD; Clearfield Creek

20 Clearfield to Lock Haven AMD Impact Sterile Pockets of fish Mouth of tribs 6 species

21 Lock Haven to Northumberland 28 species Muncy Hint of what could be AMD impact invertebrates

22 Confluence

23 Recreation potential $16 million/year: Fishing Increasing boating Family destination Combine trips

24 Boating Public access River trails Power boating Paddling

25 Fishing Cold water (620 miles class A wild trout waters) Warm water

26 Migratory Fish Passage Sunbury Main Stem Hepburn Street Dam Grant Street Dam International Paper Stocking fry ~4million since 1996

27 Lessons Learned from the Illinois River Restoration Effort The more you learn, the more acutely aware you become of your ignorance...

28 Large-scale Restoration Projects

29 Illinois River Basin Statistics Geographic Area: 15,707,000 acres or 24,543 miles 2 Population: 10 million people Land Use: 10.5 million acres in agriculture

30 Stream Issues Channel incision Bank erosion Sedimentation Nutrients

31 Loss of Side Channel/ Backwaters Lost 70% of 1903 Volume Average depth greatly reduced

32 Key Imported Lessons Know the battlefield Accept complexity Assess where possible Obtain support from the top Do something, but also be patient

33 The Illinois Conservation Practices Tracking System (ICPTS) A multi-agency approach to coordinating conservation information within Illinois

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36 Key Imported Lessons Know the battlefield Accept complexity Assess where possible Obtain support from the top Do something, but also be patient

37 Learning to Live With Complexity Ecosystems are too complex to fully understand. The systems will change before we understand them. Public expectations. Pressures on resources. Our agency resources, support, capabilities. Natural resources constantly change

38 Key Imported Lessons Know the battlefield Accept complexity Assess where possible Obtain support from the top Do something, but also be patient

39 Monitoring Specific Projects

40 Assessment Tools Stream flow Water quality (sediment, nutrients) Instream and near-stream habitat Fish Macroinvertebrates Stakeholder views Erosion modeling

41 Issues: Available historical data Court Creek diverse and is applicable to other watersheds Very high stakeholder interest Illinois River tributary, sediment, and water quality Court Creek (Pilot) Haw Creek (Reference)

42 Value of Monitoring and Assessment Measure the ecological state of the system Provide data to improve effectiveness of practices Can be used to develop indicators

43 Chesapeake Bay Indicators Habitat Wetlands Forested buffers Underwater grasses Resource lands Fisheries Crabs Rockfish Oysters Shad Pollution Toxics Water clarity Phosphorus Nitrogen Dissolved oxygen

44 Condition of the Chesapeake Bay

45 Key Imported Lessons Know the battlefield Accept complexity Assess where possible Obtain support from the top Do something, but also be patient

46 Key Imported Lessons Know the battlefield Accept complexity Assess where possible Obtain support from the top Do something, but also be patient

47 Mining Mitigation Mitigation, permit conditions

48 The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. Albert Einstein (more or less)

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